Maria Van Vreden

Maria Van Vreden is a BACP counsellor practising in the United Kingdom with 10 years of professional experience. She helps people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, family conflict, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem and depression. She also supports concerns around life purpose and midlife change.

Maria encourages clear conversation about what is troubling someone. Sessions focus on what is getting in the way day to day and on small steps that can make a difference. She aims for direct, straightforward discussion rather than jargon or long theory explanations.

Her work covers a wide range of related issues, including abandonment and attachment worries, body image, caregiver strain, communication challenges, and difficulties around divorce and separation. She also addresses guilt, shame, isolation, panic attacks and other mood concerns.

Maria speaks English and Spanish and is used to working with people from different backgrounds. She asks practical questions early on to understand what a person needs and which problems are the priority.

When someone first connects with Maria they complete a short questionnaire and book an initial session. That first meeting is used to agree what to focus on and how to proceed. Ongoing sessions look at realistic changes and ways to manage stress, tackle unhelpful patterns and explore questions about purpose and next steps.

Therapeutic approaches and online work

Maria uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on changing patterns in thinking and behaviour. Cognitive-style approaches look at how thoughts influence feelings and actions, and help people try different responses to anxious or depressive thinking. These approaches can be useful for panic, mood changes and day-to-day worry.

She also draws on experiential and relational methods that look at how past relationships affect current reactions. These methods help when attachment, abandonment or family conflict are central concerns, and they aim to increase emotional awareness and practical communication skills.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss options with the client, consider their goals and preferences, and agree a plan that can be adjusted as the work progresses. This is a collaborative process rather than a fixed prescription.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so please confirm which options are available before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also allow people in different locations to continue regular meetings without disruption.