Martha Blechar Gibbons

Throughout our lives, we encounter challenges that strain our ability to cope. Like a storm at sea, these experiences can be overwhelming, and threaten to leave us immobilized. At these times, we can respond as a skillful sailor, adjusting course and adapting new methods to navigate even the most formidable waters. There are ways to manage the most... intense experiences: death, separation, divorce, job loss, depression, anxiety, family dysfunction, relationship issues, loneliness. Each person and each situation is unique, requiring a diversity of creative approaches. As a nurse psychotherapist I conduct a practice of therapy and consultation with the goal of assisting individuals, families, and groups to progress more effectively through demanding phases of life. I strive to form a relationship with those seeking my assistance that allows for the exploration and understanding of the presenting issues, and the development of the capacity to negotiate the storms of life transitions. Following a career as a community health nurse in Germany and as a nurse practitioner in a variety of settings, then as a clinical nurse specialist in oncology and later as a psychiatric liaison at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) I became an educator and the director of a graduate nursing program at the University of Maryland. I entered the field of psychotherapy as the co-director of the childrens program and grief therapist at the St. Francis Center, formerly the center for loss and grief in Washington, DC. I have developed and currently facilitate a private practice of psychotherapy, consultation, and supervision. I am an educator, author, lecturer, and qualitative researcher. I provide psychotherapy for children, adolescents, adults, couples, families and groups. I believe that the relationship between the therapist and client is pivotal, and I strive to facilitate the development of the trust that is the essential foundation for the work that is to be done together. I also maintain that the setting for the practice of ...Read More