Marisa Schaff is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and a certified Substance Use Disorder Professional practicing in Washington. She brings 10 years of experience and a background that began in 2010 as a Substance Abuse Counselor working with adolescents, where she noticed how often substance concerns intersect with mental health.

Marisa earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver with a concentration in Family Systems and an Animal-Assisted Social Work Certificate. While at Denver she also completed three psychology courses focused on military culture and treatment. During her second year of graduate training she entered a two-year post-graduate program at the Denver Family Institute focused on marriage and family therapy, graduating from that program in February 2019.

Her professional experience spans settings from Drug Court to residential programs for pregnant and postpartum women. She works with a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, relationship issues, communication and family conflict, addiction, and trauma and abuse, and she also supports work on intimacy-related issues, grief, self-esteem, bipolar disorder, coping with life changes, and ADHD.

Marisa’s counseling style is strength-based and person-centered, with room for humor and lightness when appropriate. She believes therapy should include positivity, learning, and growth alongside the harder work of change. Her clinical toolkit draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused techniques, EMDR, and Narrative Therapy, and she tailors methods to fit each person’s goals. She views each person as the expert in their own life and aims to support them in overcoming challenges. Marisa currently offers evening and some weekend appointments.