Maria's story
I have a background in Aged Care and Community services as well as have obtained a Bachelor’s in Social Sciences - Psychology and a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
During my time in the aged care sector, person-centred care was vital when working with clients. My work mostly involved connecting, referring and guiding clients within a range of issues including aged care, community, housing and mental health issues as well as being a support person and representative for the client for any issues they face within their communities.
My Bachelor’s in social sciences and psychology has helped me develop a broad understanding of current social and psychological issues and how they tend to impact an individual’s thoughts and behaviours. It has also assisted me to understand and apply various psychological and clinical interventions in client work. Further, my Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy has allowed me to engage in engaging in broader therapeutic methods and has assisted me to view the client in a deeper and more holistic manner.
As a person, I tend to view life from a holistic perspective always taking into consideration all factors in situations from a mental, physical and spiritual manner. I believe that when working with clients, a holistic approach can assist to develop therapeutic alliance and collaboration between the client and a therapist as well assist the clients to meet their goals effectively during the therapeutic process.
The humanistic approaches are the primary methods I tend to use in therapy with clients as I believe acknowledging people’s humanity first is vital to develop effective therapeutic relationships. Methods include ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), PCT (person-centred therapy) and CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and Psychodynamic therapy.
