Maria Garda Ortiz
Available on: Maria sees clients online on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Saturday mornings.
Time Zone: Melbourne (AEDT)
Background: Maria is an ACA registered Counsellor and a professional member of Holistic Therapists Australia. She offers counselling via telehealth to individuals across Australia, bringing both professional training and lived experience into her work, particularly in areas such as migration, caregiving, and life transitions.
Specialty: Maria specialises in supporting individuals experiencing anxiety, depression and psychosocial stress; grief and loss; parenting challenges; caring responsibilities; and cultural identity concerns. She also works with people navigating compassion fatigue, carer burnout, relationship challenges, blended family dynamics, and major life or career transitions.
Approach: Maria takes a warm, person-centred and trauma-informed approach, creating a space where you can feel heard, respected, and supported at your own pace. She works in a way that honours your individual experiences and recognises the broader context of your life, relationship challenges, culture and identity, and carer responsibilities.
Her approach is integrative and flexible, drawing on therapies such as Narrative Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and creative and mindfulness-based practices. Maria focuses on helping you make sense of your experiences, reconnect with your strengths, and find ways forward that feel meaningful and sustainable.
Perspective: Maria believes that people have an inherent capacity for healing, growth, and connection. She views challenges as part of the broader human experience, shaped by life circumstances, relationships, and systems, rather than personal shortcomings.
She aims to create a space where you can explore all parts of yourself with compassion and curiosity, supporting you to feel more grounded, empowered, and connected to what matters most in your life.
How to Book
- Think about your goals for counselling, and which counsellor might be a good match
- Send an email to the counsellor you’d like to work with requesting an appointment
- In the rare event you don’t hear from your counsellor within 24 hours, please call us
- Not sure who might be the right fit for you? Call us and we’re happy to make a recommendation
Intake Process
- Initial appointments are $70 for individuals, or $80 for couples
- Due to our counsellor’s busy schedules, they cannot do intakes over the phone
- Your intake session will include discussing what supports you need, your goals for counselling, and to decide whether your counsellor is a good match for you
- If you decide that the fit isn’t right, you can ask to be referred to someone else – no offence will be taken!
Important Notice
There are some people that our counsellors can’t work with – not because we don’t want to, but because we want you to have the best possible care.
If you currently experience domestic violence, are having a mental health crisis, are experiencing severe substance dependency issues, or other acute crises, we can’t provide you with the level of support you deserve. However, we will use your initial appointment to connect you with places that specialise in these issues, so you can get the best possible care.
All Rough Patch counsellors manage their own scheduling and administration. Click on a profile below to read more and send an email enquiry. In the rare event you don’t hear from a counsellor within 24 hours, please call us on 02 7226 0809
All of our counsellors generously reduce their usual fees to provide affordable mental healthcare to our community. They do not receive government rebates or funding to provide their services.
Request An Appointment With Maria
Maria Garda Ortiz is an ACA registered Counsellor offering compassionate, trauma-informed online counselling for individuals navigating anxiety, depression, grief and loss, parenting challenges, and cultural or life transitions. She provides telehealth counselling across Australia, making support accessible in a way that fits your schedule.
Maria works with individuals experiencing psychosocial stress, caring responsibilities, compassion fatigue, and carer burnout, as well as those navigating cultural identity, migration experiences, and blended family dynamics. She brings both professional training and lived experience to her work, offering a thoughtful and grounded approach to complex life experiences.
Her counselling style is person-centred and integrative, drawing on evidence-based approaches including Narrative Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and creative and mindfulness-based practices. Maria supports clients to make sense of their experiences, reconnect with their strengths, and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.
Maria values compassion, respect, and authenticity in the therapeutic process. She aims to create a safe and supportive space where you can explore your experiences at your own pace, build resilience, and move toward a life that feels more aligned and fulfilling.
