Maria Andruschenko (she,her) LPC-MHSP
  • welcome
  • Specialties
  • About
  • APPOINTMENTS
  • fees
  • contact / location
  • faq
"I would not interfere with any creed of yours, or want to appear that I have all the cures. There is so much to know; so many things are true, the way my feet must go may not be right for you. And so I give this spark of what is light to me, to guide you through the dark but not tell you what to see."  Anonymous
Picture

about . . .

I am a native Las Vegan who made Nashville home in 2003, where I live with my husband and pineapple conure, Apple Jackson. I am an  Enneagram 8w7, Generator in Human Design, and Pisces with a strong upwards swim. 

Interests: art galleries and museums, meditation, birding, experiential gatherings, social justice, pushing my edge and yours, reading non-fiction, djembes, movement, the unknown, cultural, sexual, and religious
diversity, eating but not cooking, fire pits, board games, coffee shops, travel, nature, and continued personal growth and healing. 

My values drive my practice and personhood and help me to be with you and myself nonjudgmentally, allowing space for safe exploration as you make your way toward change and healing.

Note: I do not bring religion, astrology, or the enneagram into our sessions; however, I honor what you bring into your session such as your personal spirituality or quest which I will tie into the big question of what you want for yourself. 

background . . .

Many years ago, I wanted to become a therapist but wasn't ready. My own work had to come first before I could step into the arena with anyone else. Eventually, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with the intention of becoming a physical therapist. However, massage therapy took hold of my heart and I switched paths, becoming a nationally certified massage therapist, focusing on the treatment of chronic and acute physical pain using an assortment of deep tissue and structural integrative modalities.
 
This led to whole body balancing using various energic and physical based modalities. Repeatedly, I witnessed individual physical structures - the quality of tissue, the anatomical balance of each part to its whole, and the bodies movement - most notably how these physical observations correlate to the individual's emotions, beliefs, trauma, and interpersonal strategies. How we move and interact with others and Self reveals the integration of disconnection versus connection throughout our whole being - emotional, physically, mental, and spiritual. 
 
After unpacking my own issues, to include an eating disorder, with consistent counseling, meditation, and determination, I decided to become a professional counselor and received a Master's in Counseling Psychology from Trevecca Nazarene University.
 
private practice . . .
People I work with in private practice experience eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, ADHD, ASD, mood and anxiety disorders, PTSD or developmental trauma (C-PTSD), drug/alcohol abuse (in-recovery), personality disorders, general dissatisfaction in life or a particular aspect of discomfort or internal conflict.

I have led various therapeutic groups such as experiential body-image, expressive movement, boundaries, DBT skills, and process groups within a clinical eating disorder agency, and have presented on eating disorders for graduate students at Trevecca Nazarene University. 

My therapeutic approach is heavy in self-awareness, the repair of attachment disruptions by dismantling personal strategies that keep you from connecting to yourself, the actual attachment we need the most to function as heart-centered beings. I believe the source of suffering originates from our natural biology and predispositions, early experiences, and poor attachment to caregivers, as far back as life in the womb, and past generations.
​  
-  Mindfulness
-  Comprehensive DBT 
-  Experiential techniques
-  Internal Family Systems (IFS)
​
-  Neuroaffective Relational Model (NARM - Developmental/Complex trauma)
​-  C
omprehensive Resource Model (CRM - Complex trauma and shock trauma)

This is an abbreviated list of my education and I hope it gives you an adequate understanding of my clinical experience and training as a professional counselor.

Memberships:
ACA - American Counseling Association 
IAEDP - International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals 
Renewed - Eating Disorder Support of Tennessee.
TLPCA - Tennessee Licensed Professional Counselors Association 

start where you are .  .  .  615-830-3178  /  3925 gallatin pike, Nashville TN,  37216  /  Andruschenko@comcast.net

  • welcome
  • Specialties
  • About
  • APPOINTMENTS
  • fees
  • contact / location
  • faq