About Me:
I am a Certified IFS Level 3 practitioner and licensed psychologist in private practice in Northwest Austin. For the past 25 years, I have worked with adults and youth who have special gifts, including high intelligence, creativity, learning differences, and emotional sensitivities.
My approach to therapy is based on IFS, also known as Internal Family Systems therapy. IFS is a gentle, but profound, method for both understanding ourselves and healing from emotional wounding that has happened in our lives, whether from the complexities of everyday life, or as a result of trauma and overwhelming situations we have experienced.
I think of the therapeutic relationship as a collaborative process in which we work together to discover the deep inner resources within you that will help you achieve the healing and happiness you seek. Therapeutically, the feedback about my style that I most often hear is that I’m warm and supportive, and that I get to the heart of matters quickly. I like to think of myself as a trusted and caring guide who is committed to sharing your healing journey with you. Wherever you need to go, you don’t need to go there alone. Through deep compassion, clarity, and courage, we work together to bring about change.
My interest in psychology started in childhood as I watched the many ways my LD/AHDH, highly intelligent brother was misunderstood and harmed by those who didn’t know how to educate or love a different-drumbeat learner. After achieving my PhD in Counseling Psychology through UT Austin, realizing that very little had changed in the three decades since my brother was in school, I co-founded Odyssey School to address the needs of bright, non-traditional learners. This has been an important resource in the Austin area for the past two decades, and I’m eternally grateful for the gifts of health and growth that students have received in an environment that understands them. Fast-forward another 15 years, during which time I was a stay-at-home-mom.
Once my daughter was old enough that I was tempted to helicopter her, I returned to work, both as an Emotional Intelligence educator for gifted middle-schoolers at ACE Academy, and as a psychologist in private practice. My three years of teaching was a wonderful time and I loved working with elementary and middle-schoolers, but at an even deeper level, the more I studied and experienced IFS therapy, both as a client and as a therapist, the more I found the wholeness and peace I had been seeking since childhood. I now know that the deepest wounds can be healed, relationships can become joyful and fulfilling, and I feel gratitude daily helping facilitate the sacred healing journey that therapy can bring to clients.
Additional background information:
Marie has always had a desire to improve the lives of special youth and she has founded several programs, such as:
- Founder and owner of ImprovThinkers, social and emotional learning for teens www.ImprovThinkers.com
- Co-founder of Odyssey School for students with learning differences.
- Founder of GirlBots robotics afterschool program for a local girls’ school.
In order to obtain a feel for Marie’s own professional and personal development, here is a chronological highlight of what has kept her focus prior to her current endeavors:
- ImprovThinkers, founder and owner, 2013-present.
- First Lego League Volunteer Coach, Paragon Prep Middle School, 2011-2014
- Adjunct Instructor, Austin Community College, Austin, TX, Spring Semester 2010
- GirlBots Robotics Program, Founder and Lead Coach, The Girls’ School of Austin, Austin, TX, 2007-2009
- Educational Tutor, Private Practice, Austin, TX 2006-2008
- Co-Founder, Head of School, Board Member, Odyssey School, Austin, TX 1996-2004
- Pediatric Neuropsychologist, Austin Neurological Clinic, Austin, TX 1990-1999
Marie’s educational background, all from The University of Texas at Austin, includes:
- Ph.D., Educational Psychology
- M.A., Educational Psychology
- B.A., Plan II Honors Program
She had academic fellowships at:
- Post-Doctoral Child Psychology Fellowship, Harvard Medical School, The Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge, MA
- Clinical Fellow in Psychology, Harvard Medical School, The Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge, MA
Each fellowship was 1 year in length. The first fellowship focused on out-patient psychotherapy with children, college students, and adults. Many of the clients were low-income, minority, and underserved populations, including her first transgender client, a career criminal, and a family who was afraid to travel two miles to get help for their daughter–because they had never been that far away from home. She also occasionally saw Harvard students. The second year fellowship was all psychiatric in-patient with children ranging in age from about 6-13. As you can imagine, they were highly traumatized kids with a long road ahead. Teamwork was a key aspect of their treatment, i.e., building a safety net for them.
Putting learning into active service, Marie applied her education to meet the needs of others through working at various organizations:
- Neuropsychological Services, Austin State Hospital, Austin, TX
- Austin Mental Health Associates, Austin, TX
- Austin State Hospital, Austin, TX
- Austin Child Guidance Center, Austin, TX
- San Antonio Children’s Center, San Antonio, TX
- Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center, San Antonio, TX
Lastly, Marie has also shared her knowledge through several publications, including co-authoring “Coping and Adjustment of Children with Neurological Disorder” in the “Handbook of Child Clinical Neuropsychology” published by Plenum Press, and co-authoring research on “The effects of sex, side, and site of lesion on measures of intelligence” in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Marie is a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Texas since March 11, 1993. License Number 4795.
Dr. Walker is married and has a 22 year-old daughter. In her spare time she and her family enjoy ballroom dancing, the art of improv, and back-country camping.
Marie’s education, hands-on working knowledge, and her continued educational pursuits are sure to be able to assist you, please contact her to schedule an appointment or to ask any questions.