Complex Trauma Therapy
With Maria Reiter, LCSW
I'm a therapist who has experienced complex trauma myself. I know what it's like to be praised for being independent or responsible even though you felt like you didn’t have enough choice. And I know the experiences follow you into adulthood, and how good therapy gets you unstuck.
Are you exhausted from being the person everyone can rely on?
Do you ever wonder why it’s so hard to relax and just live your own life?
Have you thrown yourself into work or struggled to slow down?
Maybe you’ve spent so much of your life being the responsible one, the independent one, and the one who has it all together that you don’t even know who you are outside of those roles.
Others come to me when they struggle to trust others, ask for help, or set boundaries without feeling like you’re doing something wrong. And even when life is going well, you can’t shake the feeling that something is about to go wrong.
Survival strategies may have helped you navigate childhood, but now they’re probably getting in the way of the life and adult relationships you want.
Clients Come To Me With:
People pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries
Perfectionism or never feeling good enough
Constantly anticipating everyone else’s needs before their own
Guilt around resting or not being productive
Feeling constantly on edge, even when things are going well
Exhaustion from years of living in survival mode
Staying busy to avoid uncomfortable emotions
Difficulty knowing who they are outside of their accomplishments and worth to others
The roles you learned to take on growing up don’t stay in childhood. They follow you into adulthood, shaping your relationships, your career, the expectations you place on yourself, and the way you perceive yourself.
How Complex Trauma Therapy With Me Works
Before we process anything deeper, we will focus on building a sense of safety, regulating your nervous system, and developing the tools you need to navigate difficult emotions and everyday stressors. From there, we’ll explore how your childhood experiences shaped the beliefs, relationships, and patterns you carry into adulthood.
Together, we’ll work to understand where those patterns came from and how to change the ones that are no longer serving you. Healing isn’t about changing who you are, but realizing that the ways you learned to survive growing up don’t have to determine how you live the rest of your life.
Modalities I Use
-
Helps process childhood trauma, attachment wounds, and negative core beliefs that continue to influence your relationships, emotional responses, and the way you feel about yourself.
-
Focuses on how trauma affects your body and nervous system, helping you recognize and regulate stress responses so you can feel more grounded, present, and safe in everyday life.
-
Helps you navigate difficult thoughts and emotions with greater acceptance and self-compassion, rather than getting caught in cycles of avoidance, shame, or self-criticism.
-
Helps you understand how your earliest relationships shaped your ability to trust, connect with others, and feel emotionally safe in relationships today.
-
Helps you understand the parts of yourself that developed to keep you safe during childhood, allowing you to approach old survival strategies with curiosity and compassion rather than shame or self-criticism.
-
Helps you recognize how past experiences influence your present reactions, creating space to pause, check in with yourself, and respond differently instead of automatically reverting back to old survival patterns.
Some sessions may focus on EMDR processing, while others will focus on learning how to set boundaries without guilt, ask for help, or stop feeling responsible for everyone else's emotions. We'll work on both understanding where these patterns came from and practicing how to respond differently in your everyday life.
My clients describe me as relatable, direct, and compassionate. I'm not a blank slate therapist. I'll offer honest feedback, ask questions, and challenge you when needed. Therapy with me is a conversation, not a one-sided experience.
You Deserve More Than A Life Spent In Survival Mode
Imagine waking up and thinking about what you want out of your day instead of immediately running through everything everyone else needs from you. You’ll make decisions without guilt, have relationships where you’re equally supported, and knowing your worth isn’t tied how much you do for others. Complex trauma therapy changes the patterns that have kept you living according to other people’s expectations.
After Complex Trauma Therapy, My Clients Report:
Healthier, fulfilling relationships
Setting boundaries without feeling responsible for others’ reactions
Making decisions without second-guessing
Being worthy of love without needing to earn it
Resting without guilt
Being grounded, not always anticipating what could go wrong
Knowing who you are outside of everyone else’s expectations
Less anxiety and overthinking
A kinder, compassionate inner voice
A life that reflects your own needs, values, and desires, not someone else’s dreams for you
About Maria Reiter, LCSW
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker licensed in Wisconsin and Florida.
I work with a lot of people who on the outside, they seem to have everything together, but behind the scenes, they’re struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, and exhaustion from years of living in survival mode.
My therapy focuses on helping you understand and heal from the survival responses you had to develop during past experiences, so you can create healthier patterns and build a life that is aligned with who you are and what you actually want.
Through therapy, we’ll explore how your experiences have shaped you while building the emotional safety, self-trust, and confidence to navigate relationships, manage difficult emotions, and prioritize your own needs.
Before opening my private practice, I worked in corporate healthcare and private practice settings, where I saw firsthand how trauma, burnout, and nervous system overload affect people’s lives.
Outside of therapy, I love trying new coffee shops, practicing yoga, playing pickleball, traveling, and spending time with my two dogs, Reggie and Zoomba. I recently traveled to London and am already looking forward to my next beach trip.
Availability: I work with individuals via telehealth in Florida and Wisconsin.
Education, Credentials, and Trainings
Master’s Degree In Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison (https://socwork.wisc.edu/)
Bachelor’s of Arts, Lawrence University (https://www.lawrence.edu/)
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Wisconsin–11586-123
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Florida– SW25748
Trained in EMDR Therapy (2023)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Perfectionism and People Pleasing https://psychwire.com/harris/act-for-perfectionism-and-people-pleasing
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Training (2022), Lesley Chapin
3 Steps To Get Started
-
Fill out the contact form and tell me a little about what’s been feeling hard lately. You don’t need to have it perfectly figured out.
-
We’ll schedule a brief consultation to talk through what’s bringing you to therapy and see if we’re a good fit.
-
In our first sessions, we’ll begin building safety, understanding your patterns, and creating a plan for moving forward together.
Ready To Begin?
Schedule a free consultation to talk about what you’re struggling with and explore whether working together feels aligned for you.