Maria Stride, BACP, NCPS

Maria Stride offers help for stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, depression and relationship difficulties. She also supports people dealing with addiction, trauma and abuse, intimacy issues, sleeping problems, anger and career-related stress. Maria works in a warm, down-to-earth way to make it easier to start talking about hard things.

Maria is a BACP counsellor and holds NCPS accreditation. She has six years of practice experience and uses a person-centred style that keeps the client’s needs at the heart of the work. That means she listens closely and follows the pace that feels right for each person.

In sessions Maria blends client-centred listening with mindfulness and solution-focused ideas. Mindfulness helps people notice thoughts and feelings without getting swept up in them. Solution-focused techniques help set small, practical goals and notice what changes are already happening.

She also brings in creative tools when words are difficult. Simple art activities and playful exercises can make it easier to name feelings and try out new ways of coping. These are used alongside talking, not instead of it.

Maria aims to work collaboratively, so clients decide what matters most and the goals they want to try for. She welcomes conversations about practical needs, life changes and ongoing stresses, and adapts her approach as work progresses.

Approaches that translate to online work

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on being heard and understood. It involves open listening, reflecting what you say and supporting you to follow your own pace, which can work well over video or phone. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and notice thoughts and feelings; these exercises can be practised between sessions to support everyday stress. Solution-Focused Therapy looks for small, practical steps and existing strengths to build on, aiming for short-term progress that can be tracked session by session.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work and Maria treats it as collaborative. She will talk with each person about goals and preferences, then try methods that suit those aims. If something does not feel helpful, the plan can be adjusted together as therapy proceeds.

The biography does not list specific session formats, so please confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy around life commitments, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also let people use mindfulness practices between sessions and bring creative exercises into their home routine. Registered or accredited professionals and therapists often find these practical benefits help people sustain regular work on goals while balancing everyday demands.