Welcome to Integration Counselling Gold Coast

Welcome to Integration Counselling, my name is Maria, and I would like to share my story with you:

Having been born and raised overseas, I moved to Australia in my late twenties. It took me a few years to fully grasp the magnitude of this change. I faced numerous challenges, from missing home and feeling lost without my usual support network to struggling to find suitable employment and needing to start over after completing a university degree and being successful at work back home.

Looking back, I can now clearly see where my struggles lay, where I got stuck in my attitude and thinking patterns, and what kind of support I needed to move forward with ease and joy. I chose to learn “the hard way” as most of us do, by making mistakes, facing the consequences, “going in circles,” gradually recognising the true reasons behind my challenges, which led to gradual changes—first in my mindset, then in my actual life.

Having experienced all of this, I can truly relate to and empathise with anyone undergoing significant life changes, whether it’s being in a relationship with someone from a different cultural background, parenting children with or without special needs, or struggling to find meaningful and suitable employment—the list doesn’t end.

I feel that I have now reached a point where I have valuable insights to share with others; insights not derived from textbooks, but from the richness of my personal experiences.

My training

As for my Counselling training, I have always been deeply intrigued by human behaviour—why people act the way they do, why they make certain choices, and how we can be so different yet face such similar challenges. What lies behind our life scenarios? How can we recognise and change them?

The events of my life have motivated me to learn more about human psychology and explore ways to support people on their life paths. Among the key qualifications I have obtained are:

  • Diploma of Counselling

  • Fusion Acupressure method certificate

  • 5-element coaching certificate

  • Non-violent communication workshops (NVC by Marshal Rosenberg)

  • Sand play therapy workshop

  • Psychological Portrait personality typology method

  • Bachelor of International Relations +2  Interpreter diplomas (from English to Russian and from Chinese to Russian)

In my counselling practice, I strive to integrate my education and life experience, so that I am able to embrace people’s stories with multicultural acceptance and in a non-judgemental way, which is a key to success in any personal therapy.

Carl Rogers: “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”