Maria Mars , HCPC

Maria Mars is a licensed Chartered Clinical Psychologist based in the United Kingdom with 27 years of clinical experience working with children, young people and adults across public, voluntary and private mental health settings. She combines deep knowledge of psychological assessment and intervention with a warm, collaborative style to support clients through a wide range of difficulties.

Her specialist practice covers stress and anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, parenting challenges, low self-esteem and identity concerns related to race and sexuality. She also works with relationship and family problems, grief, sleep difficulties, anger, bipolar disorder, ADHD and the practical and emotional demands of caregiving. Additional focus areas include adoption and foster care, attachment issues, autism and Asperger syndrome, domestic violence, immigration-related difficulties, intellectual disability, isolation and veteran and armed forces matters.

Maria draws on a blend of evidence-based methods, integrating ideas and techniques from Cognitive Behavioral approaches, Attachment-Based work, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and client-centered principles alongside systemic, compassion-focused and cognitive-analytic perspectives. She aims to help clients make sense of their experiences, set realistic therapeutic goals and build skills to improve daily functioning. Maria seeks to establish a trusting, nonjudgmental partnership and tailor treatment collaboratively to each person’s needs. She holds HCPC registration, which indicates professional registration with the UK body for health and care professionals.

Therapeutic approaches suited to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify their values and build psychological flexibility by learning to accept difficult thoughts and feelings while taking committed action toward meaningful goals. It is often helpful for stress, anxiety, low mood and life transitions. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on relationships and patterns formed in early caregiving - it explores how attachment needs and interpersonal styles influence current relationships and can be useful for parenting issues, attachment concerns and relationship difficulties. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviors and teaches practical skills to reduce symptoms and change unhelpful patterns; it is commonly used for anxiety, depression, sleep problems and many day-to-day challenges.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Maria works with clients to identify which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences and will adapt techniques from different models to create a tailored plan. The aim is to test what helps and adjust the work together over time.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions by video or phone allow real-time conversation, while live chat and text-based messaging provide options for shorter check-ins, ongoing support and those who prefer written communication. These formats make it easier to access licensed professionals from different locations, fit therapy into busy schedules and continue care during life changes.