River Marino

Vegan Holistic Therapist in Florida & North Carolina

Therapy

Things happen in life that are painful, unexpected and overwhelming. During these difficult times, we may feel anxious, alone and unsure of our next steps. We need someone who can hold space for us – to listen without judgment or giving advice – while we learn to compassionately support ourselves. You’re not alone. I’m here to offer compassionate, empowering support while you navigate your way into the unknown.

​At other times, we may feel confused and frustrated, stuck in old patterns and disconnected from the wisest part of ourselves. We’d like to (re)connect with ourselves and gain a deeper insight into what’s working in our lives and what’s not. I’m here to be an honest travel companion, walking beside you and reflecting back to you your deepest truth.

​If we’re grieving, we need someone who can, as grief expert Megan Devine says, “bear witness to that which cannot be fixed.” Someone to sit beside us while we grieve the unbearable. Someone who won’t gaslight us with toxic positivity or harmful platitudes. Those of us familiar with grief know this truth: “Some things cannot be fixed. They can only be carried.” (Devine) Grief can be achingly lonely. I’m here to sit with you through it all.

Convenient + Confidential Holistic therapy from the comfort of your home, office or airbnb.

​We’ll meet online via an easy-to-use HIPAA compliant (secure) video conferencing system,

Autistic-Affirming Therapy

I provide an Autistic-affirming perspective in therapy and believe Autism is a genetically-based neurotype, not a medical disorder. “I understand being autistic to be a cultural identity and recognize #actuallyautistic people as experts on their own culture.” -Janae Elisabeth, Trauma Geek

As an Autistic therapist, I’m here to create a safe space that affirms your Autistic identity.

Autistic-affirming therapy seeks to…

• ​support you in better understanding yourself, by better understanding your neurotype
• create a safe space to explore Autistic masking and unmasking
• attend to the complex trauma many Autistic people experience
• validate your unique lived experience as a late-identified Autistic adult
• provide an experience of Autistic culture in session with an Autistic therapist
• encourage infodumping about special interests in sessions (this can be profoundly healing)
• unpack internalized ableism + discuss Autistic burnout
• support you in discovering your needs + learn Autistic coping skills

Hi. I’m River. I use they/them pronouns.

​I value equity, consent and boundaries in the therapeutic relationship and am committed to creating an anti-oppressive space that is safe(r) – especially for people who are made marginalized. As a white person, I’m committed to challenging white supremacy, both internally and externally, and anti-racism work will be my life-long practice. I also aim to unlearn and disrupt my own internalized oppressions.

My approach

My approach to therapy is both collaborative and holistic, centering around values of⁣ embodied presence, empathy, connection and deep listening. I’m not here to change you or fix you. In fact, I don’t think you are “broken” or that there’s anything “wrong” with you. I’m here to create a nonjudgmental, accepting space for you to connect more compassionately with yourself.

I’m trauma-sensitive, social justice-informed, and view therapy through an intersectional lens (bodymind, environment, culture, etc.). During our time together, we’ll likely look at the environmental factors (interpersonal, economic, systemic oppression, etc.) that create, and contribute to, individual/collective stress and trauma.

​My approach is Internal Family Systems-informed and I view IFS through a neurodivergence-affirming lens. I have my own IFS therapist that I meet with regularly and participate in a monthly IFS group for late-identified Autistics.

​I believe the therapeutic relationship is an important aspect of therapy. I put this belief into practice by: prioritizing self-care when I’m not in session and limiting client scheduling on a daily/weekly basis so that I’m able to show up fully for your sessions and be completely present with you.

I fell in love with meditation and mindfulness many years ago and have been practicing ever since. My offerings are infused with the transformative and healing qualities of mindfulness-based practices, bolstered by recent research and grounded in years of practice.

We’ll meet online

Before beginning my private practice, I provided counseling and advocacy at a domestic violence center and have also worked in hospice care, supporting individuals and their families through the process of loss and grief.

​Over the past 15+ years, I’ve met with people who have experienced (or are experiencing):

• ​anxiety
• depression
• complex trauma
• religious trauma
• domestic violence
• emotional abuse
• oppression
• loss and grief
• alexithymia
• sensory sensitivity/overload
• ableism/internalized ableism
• difficult or unexpected life transitions
• anxiety/grief related to climate collapse
• Autistic masking/unmasking
• burnout and Autistic burnout
• challenges with self worth
• compassion fatigue
• vicarious trauma
• chronic pain
• chronic illness
• perfectionism
• abandonment
• chronic stress
• vystopia

​My training

Above all else, I value lived experience – yours and mine. I’m insatiably curious and a life-longer learner who seeks to listen to and learn from the voices often left out of research, expensive trainings and academia. While “professional” trainings inform some my approach, I’m always listening to the wisdom of lived experience and exploring how I can make my practice (more) anti-colonial/anti-oppressive.

​I provide an Autistic-affirming perspective in therapy and believe Autism is a genetically-based neurotype, not a medical disorder. “I understand being autistic to be a cultural identity and recognize #actuallyautistic people as experts on their own culture.” (quote from Janae Elisabeth, Trauma Geek)

To know more, click here