Hi, I’m Mariah. I am a dance/movement therapist and counselor educator living in the Pacific Northwest. I moved to the Portland area in 2015, but before that, lived all over the Midwest. I grew up mostly in Lincoln, Nebraska and then went to college at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where I studied dance and psychology. After that, I moved to Chicago and studied dance/movement therapy and counseling at Columbia College Chicago. Following the completion of my master’s degree, I lived and worked in Madison, Wisconsin for nearly a decade.

I believe whole-heartedly that we heal in relationship, and that our body has a way of telling the stories that need to be told. In my work with both clients and students, I focus on the importance of reciprocal relationships, curiosity for one’s lived experiences, and the inherent connection between our mind, body and spirit. I trust that inner connectivity breeds outer expressivity, and invite creativity and movement into sessions.

In my free time, I love being with my family and connecting with friends. The Pacific Northwest is like a candy-land for someone who grew up on the Nebraska plains, and I enjoy being outside hiking, kayaking, or just gazing at the enormous trees. I always try to carve out time for dancing, my first and most complicated love.

Positionality

Positionality is a term that refers to where a person is located in relationship to various social and cultural identities. My positionality: I am a white, married, cis-gendered woman and mother of two children. I recognize the privilege I bring to my embodied experiences in the world and how that might impact others’ experiences of being with me. I am committed to ongoing learning in trauma-informed and anti-oppressive work, yet acknowledge the historic and current brokenness in the systems I belong to. Ultimately, I believe that healing happens in relationship and I respect the positionality of my clients and am honored to learn from and with them.