Maria Ferguson
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I'm a highly experienced therapist working with adults, young people, children, adolescents and parents, both in person (Craigavon) and online.
With over 15 years of experience in this field, I am able to support you with issues such as addiction (alcohol and drug), childhood trauma, bereavement, health issues, ASD, autism, ADHD, relationship problems, anxiety, difficulties in communicating, overwhelm, fertility issues, weight management, sexual trauma and abuse, and domestic abuse.
My background is in secondary education having spent 16 years as a teacher of French and Spanish and 6 years as a school counsellor with the Independent Counselling Service for Schools. I have extensive experience of delivering psycho-educational programmes in secondary schools to support adolescents with their mental health and of supporting teaching staff in the aftermath of a traumatic event in a school setting.
Additional work experience:
- Rehab centre with individuals in drug and alcohol recovery.
- With young people in foster care and adoption.
- PIPS - supporting individuals who are experiencing or have experienced suicidal thoughts or mental un-wellness.
- Lifeline - suicide prevention helpline.
Children, young people and parents
I use creative strategies such as Sandplay, figures and drawing to help young people develop their language and express what they are feeling. This is particularly effective when words are difficult to find.
I have extensive experience in working with anxiety in children, skin picking, school issues, struggling to leave their comfort zone, children with ASD, ADHD, bereavement, separated parents, divorce, adoption, fostering and communication issues. My aim is to support both children and their parents to understand their feelings and articulate what is going on for them.
Sometimes as a parent, you can feel powerless and unsure what to do. I help by giving parents a place they can come to create a parental planning strategy.
I support children and young people to understand and manage their emotions and mental health. I help young people work out where they are stuck and or what they are worrying excessively about. I meet with individual young people/ adolescents alone or with a parent for a number of counselling/therapy sessions. I am committed to helping young people successfully navigate the turbulence of modern adolescence and help them recover from or avoid overwhelm, excessive worry, anxiety, panic attacks, anger outbursts, depression and addiction.
I will create a space where you feel safe, heard and valued. I want my clients to feel comfortable and achieve their best outcomes.
Let's get you back into the driving seat of your life.
Training, qualifications & experience
- MSc in Adolescent Psychotherapy
- Diploma in Person Centred Counselling
- Advanced Diploma in Person Centred Counselling
- Certificate in Counselling
- Understanding Trauma
- Risk Assessment
- Telephone Counselling
- Secret language of Intimacy Gestalt Training Workshop
- Safeguarding and Child Protection
- MISP Mindfulness in School Project at Primary and Secondary level
- Sitting alongside Trauma
- Staying Calm in spite of your circumstances LIFESKILZ Training
- The Anxiety Clinic
- Anxiety, Autism and Gender in Adolescence .
I am highly experienced in working with young people, children, adolescents and young adults and hold an MSc in Adolescent Psychotherapy. I have over twenty years' experience as a secondary school teacher, combined with extensive experience as a school counsellor and advocacy role for young people in care.
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.
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.
