Maria Caspani, MHC-LP

Loss can change how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and the future we imagined. You may be grieving someone you love, living with the effects of trauma, or trying to find your footing after a diagnosis or significant life change. Perhaps your grief feels difficult to explain, or you feel pressure to be doing better than you are. I offer a warm, thoughtful space where you can bring these experiences without needing to make them tidy or know where to begin.

My work centers on grief in its many forms, including complex grief and the ways loss and trauma can become intertwined. I support clients navigating bereavement, the loss of a beloved pet, changes in health or identity, and endings that may go unrecognized by others. Grief can hold longing, anger, guilt, relief, and love at once. Together, we can make room for those contradictions, explore what feels unresolved, and find ways to live alongside loss while remaining connected to what matters to you.

I also work with clients carrying the effects of traumatic experiences. Our work may involve understanding how the past shapes present relationships, finding language for experiences that have been difficult to share, and developing a greater sense of safety and choice. I respect your pace and readiness.

My experience in psychosocial oncology and chronic illness informs my attention to the emotional and existential challenges of illness, uncertainty, and changing abilities. I am continuing to deepen my specialization in end-of-life and palliative care counseling, an area of particular professional interest. I welcome conversations about mortality, dignity, meaning, and the grief that can begin before a loss occurs.

My approach to individual and couples counseling is integrative, grounded in person-centered and psychodynamic perspectives and shaped by clients' needs, history, and goals. I am interested in both what brings you to therapy now and the relationships and experiences that have shaped you. We may explore longstanding patterns, attend to difficult emotions, or develop practical ways to navigate daily life. Throughout, I value a collaborative relationship in which you feel heard and able to speak honestly, including about therapy itself.

Before becoming a therapist, I worked as a journalist. That background informs my curiosity, close listening, and understanding of vicarious trauma and the demands of high-pressure work. As a queer, bilingual clinician offering therapy in English and Italian, I also make room for the ways identity, culture, and belonging shape our experiences and our access to support.