Margaret FitzGerald, LCSW

Hey, I’m Margie.

How did I end up as a therapist?

I didn’t wake up one day and decide to specialize in emotional abuse, family court cases, and high-conflict divorce. It wasn’t part of some grand career plan. But over the years, I kept seeing the same thing – moms sitting across from me, completely drained, terrified they were losing their kids. People who used to be confident, steady, and clear-headed now doubting themselves at every turn.

I saw good parents – loving parents – painted as unstable while the real problem walked into court looking calm, collected, and completely in control. And I saw a system that kept failing them, over and over again. It made me angry. And eager to help. I started learning everything I could about coercive control, post-separation abuse, legal system manipulation, and the ways survivors are gaslit – not just by their abusers, but by professionals who don’t understand what they’re looking at.

Now, I not only help clients recover from narcissistic abuse and parenting conflicts, but I also train other professionals (therapists, social workers, attorneys) so fewer people get dismissed, blamed, or retraumatized by the very systems that are supposed to protect them.

Margaret M. FitzGerald, L.C.S.W.

The Catholic University of America

National Catholic School of Social Service

Washington, D.C. 20064