The Basics

Title: Clinical Therapist

Availability: Limited availability

Location: Telehealth only

Schedule: Weekdays, evenings

Insurance/payment: UPMC commercial, Highmark BC/BS commercial, Cigna, Optum/United, Allegheny County Medical Assistance (CCBH) - Sliding scale $100-140

My Specialties

  • Reproductive mental health issues (infertility; miscarriage; abortion; medically complex pregnancies and infants; perinatal mood and anxiety disorders; early parenting support);

  • Reproductive grief and loss;

  • Reproductive Trauma (challenging birth, medical trauma, sexual trauma, intimate partner violence);

  • LGBTQIA2SP+ support;

  • Neurodivergent support (please note our approach is generally therapeutic/acceptance-based, not coaching);

  • Adjustment, stress, transitions;

  • Anxiety and mood symptoms

My Orientation & Approach

Systems (including familial, transgenerational, historically oppressive, intersectional identity frameworks); Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT), including process-based; Strengths-based; Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT); Mindfulness-based therapies.

Some Fun Facts

I can be lost for hours in a good library, and I welcome your recommendations for a good tea or coffee shop! When I am not working, I am probably tinkering in my city garden while keeping an eye on the kids. My favorite outings are to the farmer's market and for ice cream with my family.

What working with me is like

I work from a relational, holistic approach and utilize techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, family systems, and mind-body interventions. My approach is informed by compassion, mindfulness, harm reduction, and the Health at Every Size movement. I am attuned to how early life experiences and societal forces shape an individual and work with you to deconstruct values and beliefs you have inherited if they are no longer serving you. I value creating a supportive, non-judgmental, and reflective space, and I will share my insights while always respecting you as the ultimate authority on yourself and your life.

Currently, I specialize in reproductive mental health and neurodivergent support. In the past, I have worked with individuals with substance use and mental health disorders, as well as in a hospital setting. I have extensive experience working with individuals with chronic illnesses, especially autoimmune diseases and disorders of brain-gut interaction. I welcome members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, those with non-traditional relationship structures, and people of color as clients.

Quote

“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together, and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” ― Pema Chödrön

Important about me

I received my Master's degree in Social Work with a concentration in Children, Youth, and Families from the University of Pittsburgh. I began counseling in 2014 and became a Licensed Clinical Therapist in 2017. My therapeutic work is informed by evidence-based practices, my lived experiences as a parent, and what I have learned directly from my clients.

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Maria Del Toro, LPC (she/her)

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Molly Silverman, LPC (she/her)