Maria Del Toro, LPC (she/her)
The Basics
Title: Clinical Therapist
Availability: Available intakes likely within 1 month
Location: Telehealth only
Schedule: Weekdays, evenings, weekends
Insurance/payment: Highmark BC/BS commercial, UPMC, Cigna, Aetna, Optum/United, Medical Assistance (Allegheny County only)
Sliding scale: $100-140
My Specialties
Neurodivergent support (please note our approach is generally therapeutic/acceptance-based, not coaching);
BIPOC/People of the Global Majority;
Trauma;
Grief and loss;
Adjustment, stress, transitions;
Anxiety and mood symptoms;
Relationships and sex (including poly/kink/non-traditional relationship communities);
Reproductive mental health issues (infertility; abortion; challenges across pregnancy; postpartum anxiety, OCD, depression, or other challenges; early parenting support);
LGBTQIA2SP+ support
My Orientation & Approach
Strengths-based; Narrative Therapy; Solution-Focused Therapy; Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT); Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT), including process-based; Attachment based; Psychodynamic/psychoanalytic.
Some Fun Facts
I enjoy ASMR cleaning/organizing videos, food vlogs, and travel vlogs. I also really like collecting Starbucks tumblers.
What working with me is like
My goal as a therapist is to be the guiding post that can help you find your answers, help you with relationships, and provide you with the tools you need. As a therapist, I work toward making you feel comfortable, safe, and heard. I focus on validating your experiences, encouraging you to speak out your thoughts, and recognizing what it is that you want out of your life and what may (or may not) stand in your way. My work is trauma-informed, and I provide psychoeducation throughout sessions and often use analogies to make clinical terms more relatable.
Quote
"A ghost can be a lot of things. A memory, a daydream, a secret.
Grief, anger, guilt. In my experience, most times, they’re just what we want to see.
Most times, a ghost is a wish.”
–The Haunting of Hill House
Important about me
I approach counseling sessions with openness, curiosity, understanding, and encouragement. I work from a person-centered and attachment approach, focusing on understanding where you are coming from, what experiences you have gone through, and what has happened along the way that has shaped your way of relating to others, the world, and (most importantly) yourself. I also approach therapeutic work through the lens of “What happened to you?” instead of “What is wrong with you?” I also use humor to connect and build therapeutic relationships with each other. So please, do not feel discouraged or hesitant in making a couple of jokes in session! I wholeheartedly enjoy some good humor in sessions.