About Me

My Style: Making Space for Healing that is Both Personal and Collective

The foundation of my work is person-centered therapy (also known as client-centered therapy), which is built on the belief that all people have the inner capacity for growth and healing, activated with the right conditions: safety, curiosity, compassion, and unconditional positive regard. We’ll explore what it means to live in greater alignment with your values, your limits, and your truth. Therapy isn’t about becoming a new version of yourself, rather it's about coming home to the self you’ve always been. As an IFS-informed practitioner, we will engage in parts work to deepen your understanding of your internal world. Identifying and engaging with your parts means peeling back the layers of who you are and delivering care to all of your parts in order to empower internal security, unity, and a loving relationship with yourself. This work ripples outwards to enrich all of your relationships. To quote Richard Schwartz (the creator of IFS), “When we learn to love all our parts, we can learn to love all people - and that will contribute to healing the world.”

You can learn more about me & my approach on my webpage: abbyarsispsychotherapy.com

All of You Makes Sense in Context

The systems we develop and exist within have a profound impact on our experiences, thus shaping our stories, well-being, relationships, sense of self, and internal world. As an Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), I work from a systemic lens, meaning I hold a deep awareness of how family dynamics, cultural narratives, and larger social systems shape our internal world and mental health. This approach brings curiosity about the contextual factors that have shaped you and honors your lived experience. I am committed to centering the deconstruction of oppressive norms both in our work and in my personal life.

Quotes that Guide My Work ‍‍ ‍

“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” - bell hooks

“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” - Jiddu Krishnamurti

"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." - Carl Rogers

"You do not have to be good… You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." - Mary Oliver

"All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince

“What you avoid controls you. What you face frees you. The pain you’re running from is the doorway to your liberation.” - Cory Muscara

“When we learn to love all our parts, we can learn to love all people - and that will contribute to healing the world.” - Richard Schwartz

Fun facts‍ ‍‍ ‍

Living in Maine, like becoming a therapist, has been a life-long dream of mine. Living here helps me stay grounded and remember that life is always offering glimmers. In my free time, I'm an artist, and I also hike, camp, hang out at the beach, and explore coastal Maine towns & New England nature. My favorite book is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Social location: white/ queer/ neurodivergent/ cis-gender/ spiritual/ living & working on unceded Wabanaki land

Rates for Clinical Services

Please inquire about my rates as they vary per state.

I offer discounted sliding scale rates for clients with financial need. Reach out to ask about the current availability of sliding scale spots.

I provide superbills for clients being seen out-of-network.

Extended IFS intensives (90 or 120 minutes) are not reimbursed by insurance, inquire for rates

Payment

Payment is due in full at the time of service. I accept checks, debit/credit/HSA cards.

I am in network with the following insurances (for MAINE CLIENTS):

• Anthem/BCBS

• Harvard Pilgrim (pending)

• Optum/United Healthcare

• MaineCare (Medicaid of Maine) (pending)

Schedule a Session with Abby

I am accepting new clients. Please email me to explore working together.