About me
Tailored, compassionate support for people navigating chronic and life-limiting illness, including cancer, as well as grief. Support is also available for those living with or caring for someone with a life-limiting condition. Treatment for anxiety, depression, trauma (PTSD), and eating disorders. Extensive experience working with neurodivergent individuals, including those with ADHD and autism. Parental coaching.
I’m a Counselling Psychologist working in Cambridge and online. I care deeply about building trust and safety within the therapeutic relationship, and about working together to make sense of your difficulties. I offer a kind, supportive space where you can feel safe to be yourself, talk about what is going on for you, and feel supported in moving towards where you want to be. My style is direct, honest, and curious. Together with my clients, I think about what keeps them stuck and how to achieve a better quality of life. I see therapy as a process where we do meaningful (sometimes uncomfortable) work that leads to change.
I draw mainly on: Psychodynamic therapy to understand recurring patterns and relationships; CBT for practical strategies; Existential–relational therapy (Irvin Yalom-informed) to explore agency, uncertainty, and loss.
Differences matter. I invite open exploration of how culture, race, gender, age, faith, neurodivergence, and disability shape your experience.
Therapy is a significant commitment. It requires hard work, time, and financial investment. Still, in my work with clients and through my own experience of therapy, I have seen how powerful it can be in supporting personal and professional growth and in improving our relationships with others and with ourselves. Reach out to discuss how therapy may help.
Training, qualifications & experience
- HCPC-registered Counselling Psychologist (PYL048037)
- Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society)
Qualifications include:
- Doctorate in Counselling Psychology
- Master’s in Neuroscience and Psychology of Mental Health at King’s College London
Alongside my private practice, I work clinically during the week within the NHS and in the charitable sector. I have a wide range of NHS experience, working across the lifespan with children, young people, adults, older adults, and families. I have worked with people experiencing a variety of mental health difficulties, including different forms of anxiety, such as generalised anxiety, health anxiety, social anxiety, and specific phobias, as well as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, personality disorders, and cognitive difficulties associated with brain injuries and different forms of dementia.
I also have a track record of published research:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria-Valkovskaya
My professional background and strong interest in research mean that I regularly draw on the latest evidence to inform my clinical work.
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.
British Psychological Society
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£130.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
For self-funding clients, ongoing sessions cost £130 and last 50 to 60 minutes. The first session costs £150. Payment is made by bank transfer. A limited number of reduced-fee spaces may be available, so please enquire about eligibility.
Fees may also be covered by Aviva, AXA and Vitality health insurance.
When I work
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