Currently Accepting New Clients

Services Provided

Individual Therapy

Marisa Gentile typically sees clients on an individual basis. Sessions can vary in length but generally clients meet for 50 minute sessions where multiple therapeutic modalities are blended to have a person-centered approach to treatment. Marisa has been formally trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), CBT for psychosis (CBTp), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Trauma Informed Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Trauma Incident Reduction (TIR), and Life Skills/Executive Functioning Maintenance.   

Couples/Family Therapy

Having a safe space to explore ongoing concerns, ideas and communication is essential with promoting healthy relationships. This modality of therapy allows the therapist to remain natural and foster a strong therapeutic relationship with all participants to reach the identified goal. Marisa will utilize different Solution Focused therapies, gestalt principles, Systems Centered Therapies (SCT), Imago Relationship Therapy, and other Attachment therapies.

Individual Therapy with Support System

There are times where bringing additional persons into the session can be clinically necessary for treatment goals. In those instances, family and couples sessions are offered with the primary focus addressing the identified client’s goal. Please note, this is different than standard family or couples counseling where the therapist participates from a neutral role, and all parities goals are represented in the treatment planning. If having standard couples or family counseling is the primary focus for seeking therapy, please identify this when filling out intake paperwork.  

Group Therapy

Marisa will periodically offer group counseling for clients in her private practice. Groups are offered on a first come first serve basis and pending current client interests. Groups typically are structured from a psychoeducational lens with opportunities to build your support network with participants.

All Services are provided via Telehealth at this time. In some instances, Marisa has been able to accommodate meeting in person with clients in the Northern Virginia Area on case-by-case basis. Please consider if Telehealth is best suited for you while searching for your mental health support.

Please read before booking a consultation

All interested clients must meet the following requirements:

  • Be at least 14 years of age or older. Marisa does not have the specialized training required to work effectively with young children

  • Be residing in the state of Virginia. Marisa’s license does not allow her to provide therapeutic services outside of the state of Virginia.

  • Have access to a Zoom capable device. All telehealth sessions are conducted on a secure platform that require both microphone and camera capabilities.

Marisa CANNOT provide the following:

  • Medication management or guidance. Please seek out psychiatrists, nurses or primary care doctors if you are in need of a prescription

  • Psychological Testing. Formalized testing instruments can only be administered by trained psychologists who have permission to utilize specific assessments.

  • Dual Roles. Marisa cannot be your individual therapist and your couple/family therapist. It would be impossible to be impartial and therefore she can only provide one form of service. Please note, if you are seeing Marisa individually and would like to include your partner or family members in relation to your own personal therapy goals, that can be accommodated as the therapist does not have to take a neutral stance.

“The change you want to see first begins with you.”

— PROVERB

Areas of Interest and Expertise

  • Support Persons

    individuals whose life is directly impacted by the needs of someone else in their care/close association. This could be a person who has a first-degree relative that has significant impairments (ex. an untreated mental illness) and the stressors associated with ‘walking on eggshells’ due to the unpredictability. In general, this person typically sees their needs as secondary to the person they are supporting, leading them to sacrifice their own comfort.

  • Life Transitions

    Early adulthood, divorce, grief, moving, college, break-ups, etc.

  • Mood Disorders & Psychosis

    The ongoing treatment and support for those with Bipolar disorder. Mood disorders also include major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders. Psychosis involves experiencing a temporary break from reality where an individual’s perceptions or thoughts were altered. Experiencing psychosis is not indicative of having a thought disorder; however psychosis does occur as a symptom for many psychological disorders including ones that fall under the schizophrenia spectrum.

  • First Degree Relatives of Criminal Offenders

    Individuals who are directly impacted by the decisions (that led to court/police involvement) a close relative/friend made. A loved one has been arrested/sentenced/publicly ostracized/etc. and now you face the aftermath of being connected through association to this person.

  • Trauma Incident Reduction

    This modality helps an individual process complex trauma by reducing the ‘emotional charge’ attached to past events. Individuals engage in a structured therapy with the aim to lessen emotional triggers and residual trauma responses.