Marissa Giffen, PLPC

Marissa’s philosophy to life is that humans were made to be in relationship.  She believes people aren’t made to be alone and are at their best when they are in healthy relationships with others and through relationships they have the opportunity to learn more about themselves, grow, and find healing. Whether clients would  like to learn some skills to help manage stress, anxiety, or negative thoughts; find some support through a hard phase in life; or have a supportive ear to lend toward their overall self growth and discovery, the unconditional positive regard of a therapy-client relationship can offer tremendous power to lend toward their goals.Marissa works from attachment and psychodynamic models of therapy, working to help her clients understand how their previous experiences and relationships have shaped them into the person they are today. It’s common for people to ask “why am I the way that I am?” Marissa finds that people ponder this both inside and outside of therapy. They might not understand why they make the choices they do, or why their automatic responses aren’t what they want them to be. Maybe they feel stuck inside an endless loop of the same patterns in life, over and over, or stuck and unable to move. No matter their age, all behavior is communication. With the help of a trusting, safe therapeutic relationship Marissa and her clients work together to understand what is being communicated. With understanding comes the power and freedom to make new and different responses that clients WANT to make; to be the person they want to be.