About Maria
Maria Ruud is a licensed social worker with ten years of clinical experience. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, addiction, grief, and low self-esteem. She also supports those dealing with relationship strain, parenting stress, intimacy concerns, and career changes.
Her style is straightforward and compassionate. Sessions focus on small, practical steps people can try between meetings. She listens for patterns that keep problems going and helps clients build healthier habits and clearer communication.
How Maria works
Maria pays close attention to trauma and abuse histories and the ways those experiences affect daily life. She works with people coping with chronic illness, caregiving strain, cancer, and aging concerns. She also addresses issues tied to identity and LGBT experiences.
Over time she helps clients move from crisis management to steady coping. That often means learning to name emotions, set boundaries, and make plans that match personal values. She encourages realistic goals and celebrates incremental progress.
Maria holds an LMSW, which stands for Licensed Master Social Worker. She practices from Michigan and conducts therapy in English. Her background makes her comfortable guiding people through relationship problems, codependency, addiction recovery, and grief.
In sessions she aims to create a calm, practical space where people can sort priorities and try new ways of handling stress. She helps clients find tools to manage anger, dissociation, or compassion fatigue and to rebuild trust in themselves.
What Maria works with
The areas below are the ones Maria selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LMSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 10 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Michigan |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Maria uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on building coping skills and improving communication. One approach emphasizes practical skills training to manage anxiety and stress through breathing, grounding, and behavior changes designed for everyday life. This helps people reduce overwhelm and regain routine control.Another approach centers on trauma-informed work that recognizes how past harm shapes reactions today. It helps people understand triggers, practice pacing, and build safety in relationships and daily activities. This method is often used for grief, dissociation, and recovery from abuse.
Deciding which approach fits best is a collaborative process. The therapist and client review goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. They then try techniques together and adjust the plan as needed to find the right balance of support and challenge.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful for in-depth conversations and visual cues. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins. Live chat and text messaging work well for brief updates, between-session coaching, or when writing feels more comfortable. These options provide flexibility for busy schedules and varied needs.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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