About me
I'm Maria, an Integrative Counsellor working with adults online, with occasional in-person sessions in Hackney, London.
I offer a warm, non-judgmental space to explore whatever feels difficult, at your own pace. I have a particular interest in grief and loss, including pet bereavement, and in the emotional impact of chronic illness and health related change. I also support anxiety, trauma, life transitions, identity exploration, relationship difficulties and neurodivergence. I welcome LGBTQIA+ clients, people in non-traditional or alternative relationships, lifestyles, and those working in creative and performing fields where the pressures of the work are misunderstood.
I work integratively, drawing on a range of approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), shaping the work aroudn what you need rather than fitting you to one model.
My practice is mainly online, which clients tend to find relaxed and easy to fit around their week. Many of my neurodivergent clients finds this easier to access. I offer a free 30 minute consultation before we start, so we can both get a sense of whether it feels right to work together.
The best way to reach me is by email - I usually reply within 24 hours on a working day. You're welcome to call too; if I don't pick up, please leave your name and number and I'll call you back.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a Level 4 Diploma in Integrative Counselling, and I'm a registered member of the BACP and NCPS.
I've been in private practice for a year and a half, alongside ongoing work at a mental health charity where I have been for several years. This keeps me in regular, varied clinical practice alongside my own clients. I continue to invest in my development through CPD, including training in ACT, neurodiversity and LGBTQIA+ affirming practice, so that what I offer stays current and well-informed.
Before training as a counsellor and working with a mental health charity, I worked in creative environments. Growing up in an immigrant family and living overseas have shaped the cultural sensitivity I brin to my work, and I draw on relevant lived experience alongside my clinical training.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations. In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I also work with clients in creative and performing fields - musicians, writers, other artists and creatives where pressures and rhythms of the work are often misunderstood elsewhere. I welcome people in alternative and subcultural communities, including pagan and spiritual clients, and those who connect with sci-fi, gaming, etc. I work with adults across a wide age range, and with people in poly and other non-traditional relationship structures. I don't offer couples work. Questions around sex, boundaries and voicing needs sometimes arise naturally within this work too, often connected to a relationship, identity or pattern we're already exploring together.
I also support people navigating what I think of as a 'long mourning' - the grief of watching a parent, partner or someone close decline with dementia, including the difficult decisions around care, such as moving a loved one into residential care. This is family-member support rather than work with someone who has a dementia diagnosis themselves.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£40.00 - £80.00
Additional information
Online sessions are £60 for 50 minutes, with a sliding scale down to £40 for those who need it - please raise this during your free consultation. In person sessions in Hackney are £80, available on selected Saturday mornings only, up to 12pm, by arrangement.
I also offer a small number of early online sessions from 7am, with some 7:30am, 8am and 8:30am slots on certain days, for clients who prefer to meet before the working day begins. My last online session is usually at 9/9:30pm.
Payment is by bank transfer or Stripe, requested at least 48 hours (2 days) before each session.
Further information
I understand how vulnerable it can feel to reach out, especially if you're used to managing things alone. There's no pressure to share more than you're ready to, and we go at your pace from the first session onward.
Alongside standard weekly sessions, I offer a small number of early online slots from 7pm to clients who prefer to begin their day with a session before work. I also have occasional Saturday morning availability for in-person sessions in Hackney, London.
You can find more about how I work, about what else I offer, on my website Mauve Wellbeing.
