Therapy for people who carry responsibility
For high-capacity people managing careers, caregiving, and everything in between.
Currently completing clinical training | Accepting new clients September 2026
My services are for people who are exhausted from holding it all together
Caregiving stress + burnout
You’re responsible for someone else’s wellbeing — a child, parent, or partner — and there’s no real off-switch. You love them. You’re exhausted. It’s a lot.
Ambition, leadership + meaning
You’ve built things, held roles, or been “the capable one.” On paper it looks good. Internally, something feels flat, resentful, or misaligned, and you’re not sure what comes next.
Grief, illness + medical trauma
Something happened that changed your body: illness, loss, or prolonged medical stress. Life moved on, but you are still shook, and feel stuck.
If you're managing aging parents while leading teams, coordinating care between Zoom meetings, or wondering when you became everyone's emergency contact, you're in the right place.
I'm building a practice specifically for ambitious people navigating the impossible overlap of career demands and caregiving responsibilities.
Opening Fall 2026
You don't have to figure this out alone
Hi, I'm Maria O'Neal. I'm a Marriage and Family Therapist trainee completing my clinical training at Cancer Support Community Los Angeles, where I do individual and group therapy for people navigating illness, caregiving, and loss.
Before transitioning to clinical work, I spent a decade in high-pressure leadership roles, so I understand the specific pain of managing a product launch while your person is going through an episode. I know what it's like when your calendar says "executive" but your phone says "emergency contact."
My approach combines present-moment, somatically-informed relational therapy with real talk about the systems that make caregiving so impossible. No toxic positivity. No "just practice self-care" nonsense. Just support for people dealing with genuinely hard situations.
How we will work together
Present-Moment, Somatic Awareness
You have a lot of insight about yourself and know your patterns, but still feel stuck. We slow things down enough to notice what your body has been managing for you, often for years. This is where real change starts.
Relational & Systems Informed
We look at patterns shaped by family roles, caregiving dynamics, power, culture, and attachment, not just symptoms in isolation.
Existential & Spiritual
We make room for big questions: meaning, responsibility, choice, grief, and what kind of life you want to live from here.
Expect curiosity, steadiness, and real engagement. No spiritual bypassing. No generic advice.
There are a few ways we can work together
1:1 Therapy
50-minute sessions focused on your specific situation, whether that's processing anticipatory grief, setting boundaries with family, managing burnout, or figuring out how to stay ambitious while exhausted.
Couples / Caregiver Duo Therapy
75-minute sessions for people navigating caregiving together. This could be you and your partner; you and your care partner; you and your sibling - duos. We’ll navigate how your relationship is evolving in this chapter and how to make it better.
Support Groups
Weekly 90-minute support groups for caregivers of specific conditions to diffuse the load, together. These are small groups - no more than 12 people - and confidential.
“Maria is a special person who helped me return to a mindset of love and acceptance when I lost my center.”
– Former Client
Join the waitlist for Fall 2026 openings
If this page feels like it’s describing you, you’re welcome to reach out.
You don’t need a perfect explanation of what’s wrong, just a sense that something needs attention.
I’ll review your message and get back to you within a few business days.