Mariah Peterson

# Let's Get Real Before We Get Serious! Let's be honest. Most of us are walking around trying to convince ourselves (and everyone else) that we've got it all together. We're doing the positive affirmations, downloading the meditation apps, filling out gratitude journals, setting intentions, and attempting whatever ridiculous wellness challenge TikTok has convinced us will transform our lives. All in pursuit of that magical, confident, emotionally regulated, best-version-of-ourselves person we imagine we'll become someday. Meanwhile, our present-day self might be feeling like a complete **HOT MESS**. And frankly, I think there's a certain *je ne sais quoi* to being a hot mess. At least we're interesting, right? Here's the good news: **You don't have to become a completely different person to heal. You can start by getting to know, understand, and accept the person you already are.** I believe that beneath our struggles, protective defenses, painful experiences, and sometimes questionable coping strategies, we all have an inherent capacity for healing, growth, and connection. The challenge? Learning to access that capacity with curiosity, compassion, and a little less self-judgment. We are all made up of complex, fascinating, and sometimes contradictory parts of ourselves. There's the wounded inner child, the relentless inner critic, the overachiever, the people-pleaser, the angry protector, the exhausted hot mess, and, of course, that persistent little voice whispering, "You're not good enough." Sound familiar? Here's what I've learned after nearly two decades as a therapist: **The parts of ourselves we spend the most time criticizing, avoiding, or trying to get rid of are often the very parts that need our compassion the most.** Even the parts that drive us absolutely crazy. Especially those parts. These aspects of ourselves aren't character flaws or evidence that something is fundamentally wrong with us. Often, they're protective responses shaped by our experiences, relationships, and trauma. At some point, they learned how to help us survive. The problem is that what once protected us may now be keeping us stuck. My work is about helping you understand those patterns, heal the wounds beneath them, and develop a healthier, more compassionate relationship with yourself. Whether you're navigating trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, shame, guilt, relationship struggles, low self-worth, or simply feeling stuck in a life that doesn't quite feel like yours, healing is possible. And no, you don't have to meditate for two hours a day, become a morning person, or suddenly develop an enthusiastic relationship with kale. You get to be human. Imperfect, complicated, resilient, and worthy of connection exactly as you are. **My philosophy is simple: You don't heal by rejecting parts of yourself. You heal by learning how to understand, care for, and integrate them.** Now, a little about the person who will be sitting across from you. ## The Clinical Stuff (Because Credentials Matter, Too!) I'm Mariah Peterson, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 19 years of clinical experience specializing in trauma and the complexities of being human. I earned my Master of Social Work from the University of Utah in 2006, where I was honored to receive the distinguished Belle S. Spafford Award, recognizing achievement and promise in improving the lives of women and children. Following graduation, I moved to Denver, Colorado, where I developed extensive clinical experience across a variety of settings, including community mental health, day treatment programs, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient services, corporate case management, and outpatient psychotherapy. Much of my work has focused on helping adults heal from trauma and navigate the emotional and relational challenges that often accompany it. In 2018, I returned to my Utah roots and the beautiful Wasatch Front to continue doing the work I love. ### My Approach to Therapy I specialize in trauma-informed, evidence-based treatment that goes beyond simply managing symptoms. My goal is to help you understand *why* you feel, think, and respond the way you do, and to create meaningful, lasting change. I am a certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist and incorporate Internal Family Systems (IFS), a therapeutic approach that helps us understand and heal the different parts of ourselves. I particularly love combining EMDR and IFS because these approaches allow us to address both the painful experiences that shaped us and the protective patterns we've developed along the way. My clinical training and experience also include: - **Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT):** Building emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and healthier relationship skills. I have also spent four years facilitating DBT groups. - **Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT):** Helping you develop psychological flexibility, make room for difficult emotions, and build a life aligned with your values. - **Motivational Interviewing (MI):** Exploring ambivalence and helping you move toward meaningful change without judgment or pressure. - **Mindfulness and self-compassion:** Learning to respond to your internal experiences with awareness, acceptance, and curiosity rather than criticism. I also have a professional interest in integration work and cannabis-assisted therapeutic approaches, particularly as they relate to trauma and PTSD. In addition to my clinical practice, I teach Advanced Practice at the University of Utah College of Social Work, where I work with master's-level students exploring clinical best practices, professional ethics, and evidence-based treatment approaches. I believe deeply in continuing education, clinical curiosity, and the understanding that even after nearly two decades in this profession, there is always more to learn. ## What It's Like to Work With Me First, you should know that I take your healing seriously. **Myself? Not always quite so seriously.** I believe therapy can be meaningful, challenging, deeply emotional, and, yes, occasionally hilarious. Sometimes we cry. Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes we discover that the coping strategy we've been using since childhood deserves a retirement party. All of it belongs in the room. My style is compassionate, direct, curious, collaborative, and grounded in genuine human connection. I don't believe in sitting silently across from you, nodding thoughtfully for 50 minutes while you wonder whether I'm actually going to say something. I'm engaged. I'm present. I'll ask questions, offer clinical insight, gently challenge patterns when appropriate, and help you explore the experiences that have shaped your relationship with yourself and others. My practice focuses primarily on adults navigating trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, life transitions, shame, low self-esteem, and that frustrating experience of feeling stuck despite knowing you want something to change. At the heart of my work is the belief that **the relationship you have with yourself influences every other relationship in your life.** When we learn to approach ourselves with curiosity instead of criticism, compassion instead of shame, and acceptance instead of constant self-improvement, something powerful begins to shift. And let's be clear: Radical acceptance doesn't mean loving everything that has happened to you, excusing harmful behavior, or giving up on change. It means acknowledging reality without continuing to wage war against yourself. I also recognize that change isn't always linear, easy, or even immediately possible. That's why I value realistic goals, individualized care, and harm-reduction approaches that meet you where you are rather than where someone thinks you should be. Above all, I believe the therapeutic relationship is one of the most important foundations for meaningful healing. Feeling safe, understood, respected, and genuinely connected matters. And because I believe that so strongly, if I'm not the right therapist for you, I'll help you explore finding someone who is. Therapy is about your healing, not my ego. ## One Last Thing… You don't need to have everything figured out before coming to therapy. You don't need the perfect words to explain what's wrong. You don't need to be motivated every day, have a five-year plan, or even know exactly what you want to change. You just need a willingness to get curious about yourself. We'll work on the rest together. **Come as you are. Bring your trauma, your contradictions, your inner critic, your exhausted parts, your humor, and yes, even your hot mess.** There's room for all of you here. And who knows? You might discover that the person you've been trying so hard to become has been waiting underneath all those layers of self-doubt all along. See my additional profile on Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/mariah-peterson-lcsw-salt-lake-city-ut/1034284