Dr. Maria-Christina Kosteli, BACP

Dr Maria-Christina Kosteli offers a person-centred counselling approach that focuses on listening and understanding. She uses gentle, practical work to help people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief and parenting pressures. Maria-Christina speaks English and Greek and provides evening online counselling to fit around busy lives.

She combines the person-centred way of working with ideas from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, tailoring sessions to what each person needs. Sessions often include discussion, skill practice and stress-reduction exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation. Her aim is to help people feel more able to cope and make clearer choices.

Maria-Christina trained at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and completed an MSc in Counselling Psychology at Springfield College in the USA. She also holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Birmingham. She is a BACP registered counsellor and brings ten years of clinical experience across university, clinic and independent settings.

She has particular experience supporting people with eating and body-image concerns, fertility difficulties and pregnancy-related loss. She also works with those facing life changes, isolation, ageing issues and questions about life purpose. Practical tools and short exercises are used alongside talking to make progress between sessions.

Maria-Christina balances academic work with clinical practice as an associate professor of psychology. Her evenings are reserved for online counselling aimed at people who feel overwhelmed and need straightforward, empathic support.

How her approaches translate to online counselling

Maria-Christina uses a person-centred counselling approach that focuses on empathic listening and helping people find their own solutions. This approach helps when someone needs space to reflect, rebuild confidence or talk through a difficult life event.

She also draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour and offers practical exercises. CBT-style work can help with anxiety, low mood, stress management and unhelpful patterns that get in the way of daily life.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences and will suggest a mix of person-centred listening and CBT tools where appropriate. This is a collaborative process and plans are adjusted as needs change.

Online counselling can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, for example by offering evening appointments that avoid travel. It also helps when someone prefers shorter check-ins or wants to use relaxation and visualisation exercises between sessions. Confirm the exact session options when you book so you know which formats are available.