Maria Mars , HCPC

Maria Mars is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) in the United Kingdom, bringing 27 years of specialist clinical experience across public, voluntary and private mental health settings. She has supported children, young people and adults, working with a broad range of presenting difficulties and life challenges.

Maria’s work covers stress and anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, parenting concerns, low self-esteem and identity issues, relationship difficulties, grief, sleep problems, anger and bipolar disorder. She also supports clients with ADHD, compassion fatigue and coping with life changes, and maintains additional focus on adoption and foster care, attachment issues, autism and Asperger syndrome, caregiver stress, domestic violence, family and origin problems, gender dysphoria, immigration issues, intellectual disability, isolation and veteran and armed forces issues.

Her practice draws on evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), with flexible integration of compassion-focused, cognitive analytic and systemic ideas when helpful. Maria aims to build a warm, trusting and collaborative therapeutic relationship, helping clients make sense of their experiences, set achievable goals and develop practical skills to improve emotional functioning. She recognises that reaching out for support can be difficult and strives to offer empathic, goal-focused care tailored to each person’s needs.

Therapeutic approaches for effective online support

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify their values and learn flexible ways to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings, supporting increased psychological flexibility when life feels overwhelming or stuck. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns of connection and relationship, exploring how early and current attachments affect trust, intimacy and emotional regulation, which can be useful for parenting, relationship challenges and attachment concerns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical, structured techniques to identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours, commonly used for anxiety, low mood, sleep problems and stress.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work itself. Maria Mars will collaborate with each client to identify which methods best match their needs, goals and preferences, adjusting the plan as progress unfolds to ensure a good fit.

Online therapy with Maria is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for scheduling and making support more accessible across locations and time zones. These options allow continuity of care, easier integration into busy lives and the ability to work together from wherever a client feels most comfortable.