About

Maria is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Maria also received her certification in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (C-DBT). She completed her undergraduate studies in Applied Behavioral Sciences at the National Louis University and completed her Master’s in Clinical Psychology at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University. Her multicultural background and passion for integral psychology allows her to incorporate progressive methods that are tailored to meet the needs of clients from diverse backgrounds. Maria is bilingual and provides therapy in English and Russian. Maria has worked in a variety of professional settings, providing therapeutic services in community outreach centers, schools, nonprofit organizations, executive counseling settings as well as private practice. Maria’s clinical focus includes emerging adults, children, adolescents and families; recently her clinical focus has been expanding to working more with adults/professionals. Maria believes in creating a supportive environment, bringing innovative solutions and providing practical feedback to meet the unique needs of clients in individual and group settings. Her approach focuses on expanding self-awareness and facilitating change when working with depression, anxiety, family conflict, identity formation, transitional stages and multicultural issues. She incorporates evidence based mindfulness practices as well as mainstream psychotherapy approaches. Additionally, she utilizes an experiential Game Consulting method. Her interest in this method evolved once it became evident that the game process helps build rapport quickly, takes away the limitations of real life and can help see much broader and think more freely. Maria focuses on providing a supportive environment to explore any concerns a client may bring. How people perceive their reality, react, form their values and beliefs, and ultimately address life challenges all depends on how well they know themselves.