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Maring Higa

Hi, I'm Maring Higa.
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist | Neurodiverse Retreats

💛 I See You—Because I’ve Been You

If you’re considering a retreat like this, you may be carrying pain that feels invisible.

You’ve probably tried everything—talked to friends, read the books, maybe even gone to therapy—and yet the ache remains. You love your partner, but something feels off. And you’ve started wondering… Is it me?


I know that ache. I lived it.
 

I was once in a neurodiverse marriage that, despite its moments of connection, left me emotionally alone. I didn’t know what Cassandra Syndrome was at the time. I just knew I was trying so hard, and nothing was getting through. That relationship eventually ended, but it gave me a profound education in what it means to live with unanswered longing—and how to begin again.
 

Now, I’m in a very different kind of relationship—one where repair is possible, differences are honored, and growth is mutual. That lived contrast helps me hold space for your journey. Not from a place of theory, but from the messy, beautiful trenches of real-life transformation.

🌿 Healing at a Retreat: Why It’s Different

There’s something powerful about stepping away from your usual environment.

In retreat spaces, we slow down. We breathe differently. We begin to feel again.
 

At the Neurodiverse Retreat, I guide partners through the often-invisible wounds that come from chronic misattunement:
 

  • Feeling dismissed or misunderstood in your relationship
     

  • Questioning your own perceptions
     

  • Carrying the emotional labor of two people
     

  • Losing touch with your joy, identity, or even your body
     

This is not about diagnosing or blaming. It’s about finding you again—your clarity, your calm, your voice.

🧠 Therapy That Honors the Whole You

Many Cassandra partners come in saying, “I’ve done therapy—but I left feeling worse.”

Why?

Because most therapy isn’t built for neurodiverse couples. It misses the nuance. It can accidentally gaslight. It tells you to “just communicate better” without understanding the profound gap in processing styles, emotional language, or sensory needs.

​

At the retreat, we do it differently.

We’ll work gently but deeply with:
 

  • Understanding why you're so exhausted
     

  • Exploring the grief no one talks about
     

  • Reconnecting with your intuition and nervous system
     

  • Building a path forward—whether that’s recommitment or release
     

This is a space where your experience makes sense. And where you don’t have to carry it alone.

👩‍👧‍👦 Parenting While Overloaded

I’m a mom of two amazing kids. My son is autistic, and my daughter is her own kind of wonderful.

Parenting neurodivergent children while in a neurodiverse relationship is a unique challenge—especially if you feel like the only emotionally available parent.
 

I hold space for parents who are:
 

  • Managing advocacy, IEPs, meltdowns, and medical systems
     

  • Trying not to disappear into exhaustion or resentment
     

  • Longing to find joy in parenting again
     

  • Wondering how to protect their kids and their own hearts
     

At our retreats, I often witness the moment when a parent finally exhales—and realizes they don’t have to do it all alone.

🏡 Releasing the Stress Stored in Your Body

Before I was a therapist, I spent nearly 20 years doing somatic work and acupuncture. I’ve always believed that our bodies hold what our minds can’t yet express.
 

Many Cassandra partners come into retreat wound tight—on edge, shut down, or just completely depleted.

 

That’s not weakness. It’s survival.
 

In our somatic sessions, we’ll use:

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  • Breathwork and grounding practices
     

  • Somatic tracking to connect with stuck emotions
     

  • Body-based tools to help regulate and restore
     

  • You don’t need another coping strategy.
    You need your body back.

🎨 Real, Curious, Creative

I don’t do sterile therapy. I show up with my full self—my heart, my story, my creativity, and my deep belief that healing can be real.

Even if it’s messy. Even if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s path.

🛠️ Training & Experience

  • M.A. in Counseling Psychology – National University
     

  • M.S. in Oriental Medicine – Pacific College of Oriental Medicine
     

  • Certified Bioenergetics Therapist (in progress)
     

  • Registered AMFT #145908 Supervised by Dr. Harry Motro, LMFT #53452
     

Therapeutic lens:
 

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)
     

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
     

  • Somatic Therapy & Nervous System Regulation
     

  • Trauma-Informed Couples Work
     

  • Fertility, Pregnancy, & Postpartum Mental Health
     

  • Acupuncture & Embodiment Practices

🎙️ Podcasts

  • The Messy Middle (2016–2021) – Personal growth & emotional healing
    Listen on Apple Podcasts »
     

  • Body Talk (2024–present) – Somatic therapy & mind-body connection

        Listen on Apple Podcasts »

🤝 You Are Not the Problem

You’ve been carrying so much—alone, unseen, and still trying.
You don’t need to prove your pain.
You don’t need to explain your longing.
 

At the retreat, you get to be held.
Not fixed. Not blamed. Just held.
 

Let’s begin.

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