The Calgary Institute of Counselling★ 5.0 (7 reviews)600 Crowfoot Crescent NW #340Open today until 9:00 PMView clinic

Maria Ehlers

About Maria

Maria is a counselling intern at the Crowfoot office. Maria believes that therapy is about having someone to walk with you, at your own pace, especially when life experiences are difficult. Rather than offering easy answers, she supports clients in gently recognizing their own limits, their strengths, and what matters most to them. From there, therapy becomes a process of drawing on what is within and around each client, supported by therapeutic tools and approaches, to move toward healing and a fuller way of living. Maria recognizes each client as unique, carrying their own story and their own capacity for growth into therapy. She believes that change begins when we have a safe space to acknowledge our inner world, honour what we feel, reconnect with what truly matters, and explore our own sense of agency. She brings a warm and non-judgmental presence to her work, trusting that safety and genuine connection are what allow therapeutic work to happen. Within that space, clients can be curious about themselves, express emotions, and explore their experiences without fear of judgment, while developing the skills to support their own well-being. Maria brings several years of clinical experience from Brazil, where she supported clients navigating concerns including anxiety, stress, self-esteem, grief, relationship challenges, life transitions, and emotional regulation. She also has experience working with neurodivergent individuals and their families, and supporting women through maternity-related experiences and parenting. Maria's work is grounded in a trauma-informed approach, drawing on evidence-based modalities such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and psychodynamic, person-centered, and solution-focused perspectives. She integrates these into the therapeutic work to best fit each client's needs, supporting them to build self-awareness, make sense of the patterns shaping their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and develop practical skills for change. Having worked across different cultural and clinical contexts, Maria is committed to providing culturally informed and inclusive care. She recognizes that culture, identity, and lived experience shape how people understand themselves and the world, and honours these perspectives within her work. Maria provides individual counselling to children, adolescents, and adults, and offers sessions in both English and Portuguese.