Mariana Walker BSc (Hons.), MSc, RP(Q)
You do not have to keep carrying anxiety, low mood, or emotional overwhelm alone when Mariana Walker can help you turn confusion into a clear path forward
When your thoughts will not slow down, your motivation disappears, or your emotions feel heavier than you can explain, even everyday life can start to feel like too much. You may be trying to hold it together at work, in school, in relationships, or in your own head while privately wondering why things that once felt manageable now feel so hard. Mariana Walker BSc (Hons.), MSc, RP(Q) offers a warm, non-judgmental space where you can exhale, speak honestly, and begin understanding what is keeping you stuck.If you are dealing with anxiety, panic, depression, bipolar-related mood challenges, relationship stress, low motivation, or a major life transition, Mariana helps you move beyond simply getting through the day. With training that includes hospital-based work in a Mood Disorders Treatment and Research Clinic, she brings both compassion and clinical structure to your care. That means you are not left circling the same thoughts alone. You are supported by someone who knows how to help you notice patterns, build practical coping tools, and reconnect with what matters most to you.
In Waterloo, Mariana Walker BSc (Hons.), MSc, RP(Q) offers psychotherapy that combines broad support, evidence-based structure, and the kind of calm presence that helps you feel safe from the start
Mariana Walker BSc (Hons.), MSc, RP(Q) provides comprehensive psychotherapy support for a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, panic disorder, mood disorders, relationship stress, personal growth, and life transitions. She is not limited to one issue or one kind of concern. Instead, she meets you where you are and builds care around what you need most right now. What makes her especially effective is the way she blends structured, research-informed methods with a collaborative style that never feels cold or scripted.Her added depth in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy means you can work on both the patterns that keep distress going and the deeper values that help you move forward. If you want therapy that is practical without losing warmth, thoughtful without overcomplicating things, and grounded in real-life change, Mariana offers a strong fit. She is also fluent in English and Spanish, which can make it easier to show up fully as yourself in the room.
Your first sessions with Mariana are designed to help you feel understood, organized, and supported, not rushed into a generic plan that misses what your life is actually like
If you are searching for counselling in Waterloo, what often matters most is not just the name of the approach but how it feels to sit across from the person guiding you through it. Mariana starts by understanding what has been happening, how long it has been affecting you, what you have already tried, what you want to change, and what a meaningful life would look like for you beyond symptom relief. You can expect thoughtful questions, clear collaboration, and a plan that reflects your goals rather than a generic formula.Mariana’s approach is person-focused, evidence-based, and practical. She helps you notice unhelpful thinking patterns, emotional triggers, avoidance habits, and coping strategies that may have protected you at one point but now keep you stuck. From there, she works with you to build skills, clarify values, and take realistic next steps at a pace that feels manageable. Within CARESPACE’s coordinated care model, she can also collaborate with physiotherapists, chiropractors, and fitness professionals when pain, stress, sleep, physical recovery, or day-to-day function are all part of the picture.
Her training across university, hospital, private practice, and coordinated care settings means the support you receive is backed by far more than empathy alone
Strong counselling is not only about feeling heard. It is also about working with someone whose training prepares them to respond skillfully when life feels complicated. Mariana holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminology with High Distinction from the University of Toronto Mississauga and a Master of Science in Psychotherapy from McMaster University. As a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, she brings current, carefully supervised, ethically grounded care to every session.Her practicum at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Mood Disorders Treatment and Research Clinic included more than 350 placement hours and over 142 direct contact hours. There, she facilitated CBT groups for depression and bipolar disorder, provided individual CBT sessions and booster sessions, completed discharge work, contributed to safety planning and suicide risk assessment, and trained within a hospital-based clinical team. She has since continued her work in community and university wellness settings and has completed additional ACT training with Russ Harris. At CARESPACE Uptown Waterloo,, that experience becomes part of a collaborative model where she can coordinate with other health professionals when a wider plan would help you move forward.
If unhelpful thoughts, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm keep pulling you away from the life you want, Mariana’s depth in CBT and ACT can help you respond in a new way
In addition to offering broad psychotherapy support for many kinds of emotional and life challenges, Mariana brings particular depth in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. That combination can be especially helpful when you feel trapped in cycles of worry, panic, self-criticism, avoidance, low motivation, or mood patterns that keep interfering with work, school, relationships, and everyday routines.With CBT, Mariana helps you slow down and examine the patterns that can make distress feel automatic. You may start noticing how quickly your mind jumps to worst-case scenarios, how harshly you speak to yourself, or how certain situations trigger behaviours that bring short-term relief but keep the larger problem going. Together, you can identify those patterns, test whether they are accurate or useful, and practice more balanced ways of thinking and responding. For you, that can mean fewer spirals, more confidence, better follow-through, and a stronger sense that your thoughts do not get the final word.
ACT adds another important layer. Sometimes the goal is not to force every painful feeling to disappear, but to change your relationship with what you feel so it stops running your life. Mariana uses ACT to help you make room for difficult emotions, loosen the grip of overwhelming thoughts, and reconnect with the values that matter most to you. When you become less fused with fear, shame, or self-doubt, you can start taking meaningful action even before everything feels perfect.
This approach can be powerful if you are living with anxiety, depression, bipolar-related mood challenges, relationship stress, or a major transition that has left you feeling disconnected from yourself. Mariana also integrates emotion-regulation skills when needed, so the work stays grounded, flexible, and relevant to what you are facing day to day. The goal is not simply to help you cope a little better. It is to help you build a steadier inner life, respond more intentionally, and move toward a life that feels aligned with who you want to be.
