- Guilt and shame work
- Trauma informed methods
- Relationship patterns
About Maria
Maria Phillips is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Pennsylvania with three years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and family concerns, trauma and abuse, and issues around guilt and shame.
She helps people talk through difficult emotions and everyday conflicts. Sessions focus on practical skills for managing panic, impulsivity, and compassion fatigue as well as improving self-esteem and intimacy-related concerns. Maria also supports people dealing with caregiving strain, codependency, abandonment and attachment wounds, and life transitions such as career changes or end-of-life caregiving.
Her approach draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques and trauma-informed care. She uses methods that address patterns in relationships and the ways stress shows up in daily life. Therapy includes learning new coping strategies, practicing emotion regulation, and looking at roots of family of origin problems when helpful.
Maria combines family-systems ideas with skills-based work to help people change unhelpful interaction patterns. She often works on commitment and boundary issues, recovery after intimate partner violence, and navigating identity concerns for LGBT clients. Sessions also address panic attacks, ADHD-related challenges, isolation, and finding clearer life purpose.
She aims to match strategies to each person's needs, values, and cultural background. People who choose to work with her typically focus on concrete changes in how they respond to shame, guilt, and relationship stress.
How therapeutic approaches are used online
Maria uses a few evidence-based approaches adapted for talk-based settings. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on noticing painful thoughts and values-guided action rather than trying to eliminate thoughts, which can help with shame, guilt, and life purpose concerns. Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills (DBT-style skills) teach concrete tools for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness useful for panic, impulsivity, and relationship conflict. Eco-systemic structural family ideas look at interaction patterns and roles that affect relationship problems and family of origin issues and can be discussed one-on-one to change how those patterns show up in daily life.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals, needs, and preferences. That means checking in early and adjusting strategies if something isn’t working.
Confirm current session formats before booking, as the biography does not list specific options. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into busy days, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove commuting time. They also let people work from a place that reduces disruptions, use audio-only when bandwidth is low, or choose a session length that fits a lunch break while still focusing on skills and processing.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Experience
3+ years
Listed in
Pennsylvania
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of issues does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and family concerns, trauma and abuse, and guilt and shame among other issues.
How does she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
She uses evidence-based and trauma-informed techniques to help people name those feelings, practice emotion regulation, and change unhelpful patterns that keep guilt or shame active.
What is her professional background and experience?
She has three years of clinical experience and holds a master’s degree in Art Therapy and Counseling from Drexel University.
What are her credentials and location?
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) licensed in Pennsylvania and practices from that state.
What languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions billed and what does it cost?
Costs vary with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin if I want to work together?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.