MEET DR. MARIA PAREDES

Warmth. Honesty. Curiosity. Experience. Capacity for Change

At A Glance

SPECIALTIES

Eating Disorders · Anxiety · Depression · OCD · ADHD & Executive Functioning · Grief/Loss · Life Transitions · Maternal Mental Health · Parent Coaching · Clinical Supervision

WHO I WORK WITH

Children · Teens · College Aged & Young Adults · Adults · Athletes · Professionals

APPROACH

Relational · Active · Collaborative · Compassionate · Direct · Integrative

TREATMENT MODALITIES

EMDR · Brainspotting · CBT · Motivational Interviewing · DBT · ACT · RCT · FBT · Polyvagal-Informed · Intuitive Eating · Responsive Feeding

LOCATIONS

In-person in Greensboro, NC · Telehealth in NC

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A Little About Me

I'm Maria Paredes, a therapist, clinical supervisor, and the owner of Three Birds Counseling. I'm glad you're here.

Have you spent years trying to feel comfortable in your own skin and trying so hard to feel *normal?* Maybe you're very good at functioning on the outside while feeling overwhelmed, afraid, disconnected, or relentlessly critical of yourself on the inside.

Or exhausted by the amount of time and energy you spend thinking about food, your body, your relationships, your performance, or whether you're doing enough.

Or perhaps you're simple tired of feeling stuck in patterns you understand intellectually but can't seem to change.

I understand how frustrating—and sometimes frightening—this can be.

I've spent more than 20 years working in mental health and education, helping people navigate some of life's most painful experiences & transitions.

I take your pain seriously--and your capacity for change just as seriously.

My approach is warm, relational, collaborative, direct, and active. I'll listen carefully, ask questions, offer perspectives, challenge you when it may be helpful, and work alongside you as you try new ways of understanding and responding to yourself and the world.

Ultimately, I want more for you than simply becoming better at coping with a life that feels just tolerable. I want to help you build a life in which you have more room for connection, courage, meaning, and joy.

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK WITH ME

I bring compassion, honesty, energy, and genuine curiosity to my work.

Therapy with me is a collaborative process—not a place to be fixed, but a space to understand what's going on, explore what's possible, and build on your strengths.

I'm comfortable with the messy, complicated parts of being human, and I'm not afraid of difficult conversations. You can bring your anger, fear, shame, confusion, contradictions, and the parts of yourself you're not especially proud of. We can make room for all of it.

And we can be curious about it, too.

I'm interested in how you came to understand yourself and the world the way you do. What you've learned about staying safe, protecting yourself, managing expectations, seeking connection, or avoiding pain. Some of those patterns may have helped you survive difficult experiences. Others may have become so familiar that you no longer notice how much they're limiting you.

I believe understanding these patterns matters. But insight alone doesn't always create change.

Sometimes therapy involves sitting with something painful long enough to understand it, grieve it, or make peace with it. Other times, it means practicing a new skill, challenging an old belief, taking a meaningful risk, or approaching a conversation you've been avoiding.

I won't tell you that your fears aren't real or that change is easy. And I won't rush you faster than you're ready to go. But I will encourage you to discover what you're capable of, including when that means doing something difficult before you feel entirely ready.

You won't find me to be a phone-it-in therapist. I'm engaged, active, and invested in our work. I'll ask questions, offer perspective, share what I'm noticing, and challenge you when I think it may help. I'll also know when to slow down, sit with you in something difficult, and give you room to find your own way forward.

You don't need to arrive knowing exactly how to talk about your feelings or what you want from therapy. I've worked with people who can describe their inner world in extraordinary detail and people who would much rather be doing just about anything else than sitting in a therapist's office. We can start wherever you are.

Ultimately, I want our work to help you develop greater self-understanding, flexibility, and confidence in your ability to navigate life—with more agency, connection, and choice.

My goal isn't to become someone you need indefinitely.

It's to help you become increasingly capable of meeting your own life.

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WHY THIS WORK MATTERS TO ME

I've been drawn to understanding people for as long as I can remember.

Why we do the things we do. How our experiences shape us. Why we sometimes cling to patterns that hurt us. How relationships can become sources of both tremendous pain and extraordinary healing.

And how, even after very difficult experiences, somehow, people find ways to move forward.

Over more than two decades in mental health and education, I've had the privilege of working with people across the lifespan and in a wide range of circumstances. I've seen remarkable resilience, deep suffering, complicated relationships, and extraordinary acts of courage.

I've also learned that people are rarely as simple as the labels, diagnoses, or stories we've come to use to describe them.

Your experiences may shape your story, but they don't have to become your entire identity.

My perspective is shaped by both my professional training and my own experiences. I've recovered from an eating disorder, and I know something personally about the difficult work of healing from complex developmental trauma.

I share that because I understand the vulnerability of being on the other side of the therapeutic relationship—of trusting someone with painful parts of your story, confronting things you'd rather avoid, and trying to change patterns that may once have helped you survive.

But I also know that my experiences aren't yours. Your story deserves to be understood on its own terms, and my personal history is no substitute for the education, training, experience, and clinical judgment that this work requires.

Both have shaped the therapist I am.

I believe good therapy can be powerful. It can also be difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes surprisingly messy. Healing doesn't always feel good while it's happening.

But I've seen what becomes possible when people begin to loosen the hold of shame, develop more confidence in themselves, repair relationships, and participate more fully in their lives.

And I keep coming back to hope.

Not a naive insistence that everything will work out or that every painful experience happens for a reason.

I mean the kind of hope that allows us to acknowledge how difficult life can be while remaining open to what might still become possible.

The kind that makes room for grief and gratitude, disappointment and joy, vulnerability and courage.

I don't believe we have to deny the darkness to find our way toward something better.

I believe there is still so much life available to us, even when we have a hard time seeing it.

That's why this work matters to me.

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OUTSIDE THE THERAPY ROOM

Outside of work, much of my life revolves around family, good food, movement, music, and the people and things I love.

I'm a mom to three daughters and married to my best friend, Daniel. I'm also a former college soccer player (ahem, benchwarmer) and a runner. I still love kicking a soccer ball around, training for a marathon, lifting weights, dancing, walking, hiking, and finding different ways to enjoy what my body can do.

I love cooking, reading, watching movies, spending time outdoors, being creative, and finding reasons to laugh—including at myself. I'm also quite happy to sing enthusiastically despite having no particular talent for it. My family would tell you that when I discover a new favorite song, I need to listen to it at least 50 times in a row until I've thoroughly exhausted my interest in it.

I've learned that the ordinary parts of life often turn out to be some of the most meaningful: good conversations, shared meals, laughter, being active, watching the people we love grow, and finding little moments of joy in the middle of imperfect days.

I want a full, interesting, connected life for myself.

And I want that possibility for the people I work with, too.

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EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, & SPECIALIZED TRAINING

My approach to therapy draws on more than 20 years of experience across mental health, education, clinical practice, teaching, and supervision.

I've worked with people across the lifespan and in a variety of settings, which has given me a broad perspective on the ways our emotional lives, relationships, development, environments, and experiences intersect.

I take an integrative approach to therapy, drawing on different clinical frameworks and evidence-informed interventions based on the needs of each individual.

I don't believe there's one method that works for every person. My goal is to understand your particular needs, the experiences that have shaped you, and the approaches most likely to support meaningful change.

EDUCATION

PhD in Counseling & Counselor Education, UNC-G

MS in School Counseling, UNC-G

BA in Psychology, SUNY Geneseo

LICENSURE & CERTIFICATIONS

Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor & Supervisor (NC #S6986)

Certified Eating Disorders Specialist & Consultant (#3627)

Certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider

Certificate in Animal-Assisted Therapy, Oakland U

EXPERIENCE

20+ years in mental health & education, including clinical practice, program development, undergraduate and graduate teaching, & clinical supervision.

ADVANCED CLINICAL TRAINING

Advanced training in EMDR, Brainspotting, Safe & Sound Protocol, DBT, CBT, ACT, ExRP, MI, FBT, ADHD/EF Coaching, Intuitive Eating, Weight-Inclusive Care, Family Based Therapy, Clinical Supervision, Developmental Counseling & Therapy

A CLOSER LOOK AT MY EXPERIENCE

A broad background across settings, populations, and professional roles.

CLINICAL SETTINGS

Public and charter schools
Acute inpatient psychiatric care
College counseling
Hospice and palliative care
Private practice
Support group settings

PEOPLE & CONCERNS

Eating disorders, body image concerns, and experiences related to polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
ADHD, OCD, & executive functioning difficulties
Infertility, pregnancy loss, and infant loss
Perinatal and postpartum mental health concerns and transitions
Grief, bereavement, terminal illness, chronic pain & disability, & other experiences of loss
Depression, anxiety, suicidality, self-injury, and other mental health concerns
Physical, sexual & emotional abuse, including interpersonal violence
Relationships, family dynamics, and life transitions
Career exploration, decision-making, and professional development