Maria Laskou
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hello and welcome! I am Maria, an experienced and BACP Accredited Humanistic counsellor based in central Farnham, Surrey. I am currently offering both in-person counselling sessions on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at a central Farnham location, and online counselling sessions (via Zoom or FaceTime) throughout the week (Tue-Fri).
I work with adults and young adults 18+, on a one-to-one basis. I provide both long-term/open-ended and short-term therapy depending on your specific needs and the complexity of the issues you want to work on.
Areas of interest & Experience:
I have a keen interest in working with neurodivergent individuals (especially with people who have Autism and/or ADHD) and in enabling them to accept themselves and to embrace their unique qualities and capabilities. I also have a special interest in working with people who struggle with a broad range of mental health difficulties (such as Anxiety and Depression) and in helping them manage their struggles and build a more fulfilling life.
Additionally, I am very interested in working with individuals who have faced many types of Trauma during their lives, as well as with those who experience low self-esteem and low self-confidence, and in helping them process their experiences, develop self-acceptance and self-compassion, and grow their sense of self-belief and self-trust.
I have extensive experience in working with clients who present with a wide range of difficulties, such as: Anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, depression, low mood, feeling sad, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, attachment difficulties, grief and loss, death anxiety, anticipatory grief, identity and relationship issues, family issues, physical and emotional abuse, emotional neglect, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, Trauma, C-PTSD (Complex PTSD), and neurodiversity (ADHD, ASD). In my practice,I have also successfully supported clients who experience more severe mental health struggles, such as: Bipolar disorder, and personality disorders.
My focus:
I am committed to offering a safe, warm therapeutic relationship in which you can explore all your thoughts, feelings and experiences at your own pace. I aim to offer a truly accepting and non-judgemental space where you could bring and process anything that is troubling you or causing you distress.
This type of environment could lead you to greater self-awareness and to a better understanding of the way you relate to yourself and to others. It could also help you acknowledge your patterns of behaviour and thinking, as well as enable you to find your own unique way of making the changes that could better serve your needs.
How I work: In our work together, I will not be telling you what to do or leading you to a direction that does not feel right for you. I will work collaboratively with you, by respecting your pace, and by helping you to get in touch with your inner resources and strengths.
I will aim to help you find the answers that you are looking for and to empower you, by asking open, exploratory questions so you can get a better understanding of yourself and your situation, and by providing a safe space where you can feel truly heard, understood, unconditionally accepted and valued.
I will be there with you every step of the way, and I will facilitate you in building self-acceptance, resilience, and in finding the right way forward for you.
The value of the therapeutic relationship:
I hold the belief that healing and growth can only happen within a trusting, warm and genuine relationship, which is free of judgement and full of empathy. I am committed to offering this type of relationship to my clients, with the aim to help them accept every part of themselves, and to help them make the changes that they may choose to make.
When you feel ready to take the first step please send me an email at: info@mlcounselling.uk, or text/call on: 07565 115728 to arrange a reduced-fee (£40) 50-minute consultation, during which I can answer any questions you may have and explain how we could work together, so you can get a sense of whether working with me would be helpful for you.
For more information please follow the link to my website, or you can contact me through the Counselling Directory.
Training, qualifications & experience
Professional membership: I am an Accredited Member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.) I adhere to their Ethical Framework and their code of conduct. I am committed to ongoing clinical supervision and continuing professional development.
Experience: I have extensive experience working with individual clients from the age of 18+, on an open-ended basis or an agreed period of time, depending on their unique needs. In addition to my private practice and the broad range of issues I work with, I have had several years' experience of working as a counsellor at a local charity which provides counselling support and vocational training to people who face a wide range of both common and more severe mental health difficulties.
Professional Qualifications
- BACP Accreditation
- CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- NCFE Level 3 Award in Counselling Skills and Theory
- NCFE Level 2 Award in Helping Skills
- NCFE Level 1 Award in Interpersonal Skills
Member organisations
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
It is very important to feel comfortable with your counsellor and to get an idea about whether they are the right 'fit' for you; for this reason I offer a reduced-fee 50-minute initial online or in-person consultation, as an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about me or about how we could approach our work, and to decide whether working together would be beneficial for you.
- Initial 50-minute consultation £40
- Individual online or in-person counselling sessions £60
- I have limited availability for concessionary rates for online sessions and for trainee counsellors. Please enquire for further information
- All sessions last for 50 minutes
- Payment by bank transfer 24 hours before the session
When I work
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Daytime and evening appointments available during weekdays. I offer both online counselling sessions throughout the week and in-person counselling sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Further information
Some of my additional training includes:
- L2 How to do Counselling Online: a Coronavirus Primer
- Safeguarding and managing risk through digital media — a practitioner’s resource
- A short guide to what every psychological therapist should know about working with psychiatric drugs
- The River of Life: A person-centred response to grief
- Healing the wounds of trauma with Dr Gabor Mate
- Working with trauma in a time of trauma with Carolyn Spring
- Do we have a choice? An attachment perspective on choosing and not choosing
- Sexuality & Gender Identity Awareness — OUTLINE
- Autism: Developing Understanding and Implementing Practical Approaches
- What works when counselling those affected by Autism, Asperger's and ADHD
- Recognising ADHD in Adults - H. Brannon
- Trauma: Healing from the bottom up - P. Levine
- Unshame: Healing trauma-based shame through psychotherapy - C.Spring
- Working safely with your clients Inner Child
- Addiction: A search for a secure base
- Shame: The function and impact of chronic shame
- Working with Trauma that has become stuck - C. Spring
- Complex PTSD - P. Walker
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents - L. C. Gibson
- Unmasking Autism- D. Price
- The Body Remembers - B. Rothschild
