Meet Maria
I am a Registered Psychotherapist and Art Therapist, trained through the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. I work with children, teens, adults, and families, adapting therapy to each person’s needs, personality, life stage, and goals.
My path to psychotherapy was not a straight one. Before coming to Canada, I had a career in engineering. Immigration became a time of significant change and reinvention in my life, and as I adapted to a new country, raised my family, and explored new interests, I found myself increasingly drawn toward work centred on people, relationships, creativity, and emotional well-being.
Art had always been part of my life—as a hobby, a refuge, and a way to express and process experience. As I began working in this field, I saw firsthand the value of creative expression in rehabilitation hospitals, schools, and long-term care. Bringing psychotherapy and art together eventually felt like a natural connection between my personal experiences, my strengths, and the kind of work I wanted to do.
Today, I bring both professional training and lived experience to my work. As an immigrant, a wife, a mother of three, and a grandmother, I understand that life can involve periods of transition, uncertainty, growth, and redefinition.
I enjoy working across different stages of life. With children and teens, I often use creativity, playfulness, and art to make therapy feel more accessible and natural. With adults, therapy may focus on relationships, life transitions, identity, stress, emotional patterns, or feeling stuck or disconnected. With families, I help create space to better understand patterns, needs, and relationships.
My Approach
I believe therapy is most meaningful when there is a strong therapeutic relationship built on trust, respect, curiosity, and collaboration.
My approach is person-centred, strength-based, relational, and creative. I pay attention not only to what is difficult, but also to the strengths, values, experiences, and resources each person already brings with them.
Art therapy is an important part of my practice, particularly when words alone do not feel like enough. Some clients are naturally drawn to creative expression, while others prefer conversation or a combination of both.
When helpful and appropriate, I also draw from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) to support greater self-understanding, emotional awareness, and new ways of responding to challenges.
My intention is to offer a therapeutic relationship where clients can feel genuinely seen, understood, and supported as they explore change in a way that feels meaningful to them.
