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Meet Marah

My Story

I’m Marah Warhaftig — a licensed therapist in Connecticut and a chronically ill adult who has lived years of invalidation, medical gaslighting, and trauma, while trying to make sense of a body no one seemed to understand.

My story isn’t neat or linear. I grew up navigating symptoms that were dismissed, minimized, or explained away. I learned early how to mask pain, how to shrink myself to make others comfortable, and how to survive in systems that didn’t know how to care for me.

As my illness progressed, I lost pieces of the life I thought I’d have — work, identity, relationships, dreams that once felt certain. And then, slowly, I began rebuilding a life that made room for my body instead of fighting it.

That lived experience shapes everything I do as a therapist. I know what it’s like to be disbelieved. I know the grief of watching your world shrink. I know the exhaustion of advocating for yourself when you’re already depleted. And I know the fierce, tender hope of creating something new.

I became a therapist because I wanted to offer the kind of space I needed for so long — one where your body is believed, your emotions make sense, and your story is held with care.

Marah sitting on couch with legs crossed and hand in lap with picture frames on wall behind

My Approach

Energy‑aware:

Sessions adapt to your capacity, not the other way around.

Trauma‑informed:

Your pace, your boundaries, your truth.

Disability‑affirming: Your body is not a problem to solve.

Collaborative:

We make meaning and set goals together.

My Style

Marah sitting on couch doing telehealth on laptop in lap with picture frames on wall behind

I show up as a real person — not a blank slate, not a distant professional, and not someone who hides behind clinical jargon.​​ My work is person‑centered and collaborative — you set the goals, and we move at a pace that honors your body and your nervous system. I don’t hand you a rigid plan or tell you what your healing “should” look like. We figure it out together, gently and honestly.

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And yes — I bring my sense of humor into the room when it helps. Not to bypass pain, but to create breath in the heaviness. Humor has carried me through more medical rooms than I can count, and sometimes a well‑timed laugh is its own kind of medicine.​ I’m gentle, but I’m not passive. I name patterns, I validate your reality, and I help you build a life that honors your body instead of fighting it.

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I’m also trained in ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy), which can be incredibly effective for treating complex trauma, phobias, and difficult‑to‑shift behaviors. When it’s a good fit, we can integrate ART into your work in a way that feels safe, collaborative, and grounded.

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I meet you exactly where you are, whether that’s hopeful, overwhelmed, grieving, angry, foggy, flaring, or somewhere in between. You don’t have to perform wellness or pretend you’re okay. You get to arrive as your full self, and we build from there. I structure sessions around what you need in that moment. Healing isn’t linear, and your therapy shouldn’t be either.

My Credentials

Licensure & Education:​

  • Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) — Connecticut

  • Master’s in Professional Counseling — Central Connecticut State University (CCSU)​

 

Clinical Background:

My clinical roots are in community mental health, where I learned how to sit with people in the full complexity of their lives — not just their symptoms.

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​I’ve worked in:

  • Outpatient Mental Health at InterCommunity: Providing individual therapy, group therapy, and IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) support for adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic illness, and complex life stressors.

  • Methadone Maintenance at the Hartford Dispensary (now Root Center): Offering individual therapy, group therapy, and support for clients navigating substance use, trauma, chronic pain, and systemic barriers.

 

I’ve worked with clients from all walks of life, including:

  • People navigating poverty, disability, and chronic illness

  • Individuals involved with CSSD (Court Support Services Division)

  • Mandated clients

  • People managing co‑occurring disorders

  • Individuals facing stigma, systemic harm, and generational trauma

 

These experiences taught me how to hold space without judgment, how to meet people exactly where they are, and how to collaborate on goals that feel meaningful and possible.

Therapeutic Training & Approach

I use an eclectic, person‑centered approach, pulling from multiple modalities depending on what your body, nervous system, and lived experience need.

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I am trained in:

  • ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy) for:

    • Complex trauma

    • Phobias

    • Distressing memories

    • Difficult‑to‑shift behaviors

 

I also integrate:

  • Parts work

  • Gestalt work

  • Grief work

  • Somatic awareness

  • Disability‑affirming practice

  • Relational and experiential approaches

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