Milja Brecher-DeMuro, MSW, LCSW, CDWF™ www.miljabrecherdemuro.com
Milja Brecher-DeMuro is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who provides therapeutic support primarily to adults 18+, individually or in groups.
Milja completed her Master’s in Social Work in 2002 and immediately created the non-profit organization: The Women’s Collective (WoCo). WoCo was a product of a dream and a recognized need and provided programming and resources for the women and girls in Hancock County, Maine. WoCo is a wonderful representation of all that is most important in how Milja practices clinical social work today; Milja believes that everyone has the ability within themselves to bounce back from whatever they are struggling with, find their own strengths, connect to their own worthiness and wisdom and have the capacity to feel more peaceful, beautiful, content and grateful in their own lives.
As a Clinical Social Worker & Psychotherapist, Milja specializes in working with clients around anxiety, body image challenges, self-esteem, life transitions, LGBTQ+, and trauma and uses experiential tools such as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT, aka Tapping), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Mind-Body Skills, Mindfulness, Guided Imagery Meditation and her work is rooted in the philosophy of Resiliency.
Education
Milja completed her BA at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA in 1999 with a focus on child and adolescent cognitive and psychological development. Milja’s DIV III (senior thesis) explored Adolescent Female Body Image: Moving Beyond the Western Body Beautiful – exploring the impact of Western cultural feminine ideals on adolescent development and self-esteem.
Milja’s undergraduate internship took place at Kid’s Peace in Ellsworth, ME, working with troubled teens in the outdoor recreation department. Milja also facilitated an after-school program for high-risk elementary school students in Springfield, MA. Milja also studied cognitive development, feminist theory, and sociology.
After working for Community Health and Counseling Services in Ellsworth, ME as a residential counselor in a group home for teen girls, Milja’s graduate education began at Smith College School for Social Work in Northampton, MA. While in school, Milja interned at Youth Links in Portland, ME as an in-home family therapist. Milja completed her graduate education at the University of Maine, focusing on Clinical Social Work and completed her graduate internship working as an in-school therapist at The Liberty School in Blue Hill, ME; an alternative high school.
Milja completed her Masters Degree in Social Work in 2002 at the University of Maine School of Social Work and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
The Women’s Collective was founded in 2002 and gave birth to programs such as Girls Eye View – Gambia, A cultural exchange program between girls from Hancock County, ME and Jambanjelly, Gambia in West Africa. The award winning documentary project In Our Image –created by 9 high school girls from Mount Desert Island about the impact of Western Culture on body image, self-esteem and health. A production of the Vagina Monologues, raising thousands of dollars for The Next Step domestic violence program. During the young child rearing years Milja worked as the Alumni Director at College of the Atlantic, Health Coordinator at Healthy Acadia and a mental health provider at Acadia Family Center in Southwest Harbor – working with teens and adults impacted by addiction. Milja has been in private practice since 2012.
Milja is a certified Daring Way™ – Facilitator (CDWF) – trained in the research and work of Dr. Brené Brown. Milja is currently working towards her EMDR certification through EMDRIA (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association). Milja completed her basic EMDR training in 2015 and EMDR 2.0 training is 2023. Milja is currently working with EMDR certified consultant Celia Grand, LCSW, BCD, P.A., and Cythia Hernendez, PhD, LCSW for mentorship, consultation, supervision and EMDR certification.
Finally The Counseling Collaborative was founded in 2015 with colleagues Dawn Nuding, LCPC, ATR and Tara McKernan, LCPC – and the dream continues to grow and provides vital, sound, compassionate and creative mental health support and programming for the people of Hancock County and beyond. So grateful for the support, expertise and passion of The Counseling Collaborative Team – Dawn, Kristin, Tara and Dennis!
Services
- Free 30 Minute Initial Consultation to see if we are a good fit
- In-person or Telehealth – Individual 55 min/session – $140
- In-person or Telehealth – Individual 85 min/session – $175
- In-person or Telehealth – Individual 30 min check-in (for established clients only) – $70
- Group Therapy – Sliding Scale – $25-$60+/ session
Please reach out to Milja directly to find out about the current group therapy offerings. Generally these are closed, intimate groups for up to 6 people (minimum 4) – that will meet weekly for 8-12 weeks. Groups open for new members 3x/year – Fall, Winter, Spring.
Billing
Milja does not bill health insurances for services. For those with health insurance, Milja is considered an Out of Network Provider. Milja can provide a Superbill for services upon request. You can submit this statement of service to your insurance provider for possible reimbursement. Please check with your insurance provider prior to starting therapy to see if your insurance has Out of Network benefits. You may only get reimbursed for part of your out of pocket payment, if any reimbursement is received at all. You can also check with your employer about the availability of a Health Savings Account (HSA) that you can possibly use to pay for mental health services.
Why I do not accept insurance:
- Accepting Insurance does not allow for complete confidentiality and privacy for clients (and Treatment Dictated by Insurance)
- For Insurance you have to have a diagnosis (aka assumption of illness)
- Your diagnosis can impact your insurance premiums and have other negative consequences as you the client
- The potential of fraud to be in service of my clients
- Retroactive denial of claims
- Low rates and delayed payments
- Burnout
- Milja accepts checks, cash, credit/debit cards for payment. Payment is due at time of service. Milja requires a credit card/debit card to be on file that will be charged after each session unless another form of payment is provided at time of service.
- At the first session, Milja will create with you a Good Faith Estimate – a contract with you confirming the fee for service, frequency of service and type of service in which you anticipate to participate and estimated annual costs for service.