Maya Broetje Bairstow Clinical Intern

(she/her)

Maya is a second-year Master of Social Work student at the University of Washington. She completed her first year of practicum at Holistic, and is excited to continue with us for her specialized placement!

She has spent the past five years in clinical and community-based settings supporting children and families navigating medical, interpersonal, and social challenges, with a focus in autism, neurodiversity, and queer identity development. As an ADHDer with chronic pain, she also brings her lived experiences into her work and believes in developing a therapeutic relationship that feels safe and collaborative.

Maya uses narrative, strengths-based, and somatic therapies from a queer- and neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed framework. She has endless curiosity and openness, with an eclectic collection of special interests that includes learning all about others and what brings them joy. She loves to blend humor into her work and hopes, mixed with her (generally) calmer energy, together you can create a space for connection where you can be comfortable and show up as your authentic self, whatever that may look like.

In her free time, Maya loves to get lost in a book or project, whether it’s 1,000 pages or a 1,000-piece Lego set. She also listens to lots and lots of music and when she’s not crafting, is probably snuggling with her kitten, Kaz, or out walking with her sister and her dog, Wally.

Books Maya Loves:

The Raven Cycle — Maggie Stiefvater (found family, quest for dead Welsh kings, psychics and ley lines, spooky trees)

We Are Okay — Nina LaCour (love and grief, it feels like having a good cry while being held by your favorite person)

Resources Maya Wants to Share:

MadQueer.org — created by Elliott Fukui: “Mad Queer Organizing Strategies are the trainings and resources that I offer to support folks who may identify/be identified as people living with mental illness, folks who identify with experiencing emotional crisis, and anyone who is looking for tools to support grounding in disability justice, mutual aid, and abolitionist strategies.”