Pronouns: She/Her
Maria is a warm and compassionate psychologist who creates a safe, supportive space for her clients. She takes a collaborative, personalised approach, drawing on evidence-based therapies to meet each person’s needs. With a trauma-informed lens, Maria gently supports and challenges her clients in ways that foster trust, emotional safety, and meaningful change.
Approach
Maria is a genuine, caring, and empathetic practitioner who values building a strong and trusting relationship with each client. Her approach is grounded in a deep interest in understanding people as they are, and a sincere curiosity about how they experience the world. Maria strives to see things from her clients’ perspectives, exploring their inner world with openness and respect. She is passionate about this process and values the opportunity to walk alongside clients through their journey of healing, growth, and self-discovery. Maria listens in a non-judgmental and compassionate way, making every effort to avoid assumptions and instead meet each person with acceptance and understanding. This allows her to offer thoughtful, individualised support that honours each client’s unique experiences and needs.
Experience and Interests
Maria is a highly experienced, skilled, and passionate psychologist and counsellor, who has worked in partnership with people for 20 years. She is passionate about supporting individuals through a wide range of psychological challenges and life experiences. Her areas of interest include working with people experiencing depression, stress, anxiety, complex trauma, and PTSD. Maria also has a strong focus on relationship and interpersonal difficulties, family violence, and parenting challenges (including early parenting and parenting after relationship break-up), as well as fertility issues. She has extensive experience supporting people managing significant life transitions. Maria provides compassionate care for individuals navigating grief and bereavement, self-esteem concerns, eating disorders and body image issues, and issues related to alcohol and substance use. In addition, she works with clients experiencing personality disorders and bipolar disorder, tailoring her approach to meet each person’s unique needs.
Therapies
Maria uses a personalised therapeutic approach, drawing from a range of evidence-based modalities to support each client’s unique journey. Her therapeutic toolkit includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Schema Therapy, Motivational Interviewing (MI), and psychodynamic approaches. Guided by a strengths-based and trauma-informed framework, Maria works collaboratively with clients to tailor therapy to their individual needs and goals, creating a safe and supportive environment for meaningful change and growth.
How is Maria Described by Her Clients?
Maria is often described by her clients as friendly, approachable, assertive, and compassionate. Clients report feeling both supported and gently challenged throughout their therapeutic journey. Her caring and genuine approach helps create a safe and effective space for personal growth, allowing clients to work toward their goals with confidence and trust.
Maria Personally
Outside of the therapy room, Maria enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends. She enjoys looking after her body and mind through running, playing tennis, and dancing. Maria also has a passion for travel and loves exploring different cultures and learning new languages.