

As an intern at the Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh, Maria Vengachuvattil is proud to offer affordable therapy because we believe that financial hardships should not stand in the way of mental health treatment. Therapy can be life changing and everyone should have access to affordable therapy. Maria utilizes a strengths-based and trauma-informed approach to counseling utilizing an eclectic mix of interventions from cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, and mindfulness to name a few.
Maria emphasizes cultural competency and humility in her practice. She observes people as multi-layered, each layer adding to their life story and affecting their being to this day. Maria considers clients as experts in themselves, and they take the lead in their counseling. She only hopes to help her clients to understand themselves and find healing in a collaborative fashion.
Maria is open to working with clients ages 5 and up from a variety of backgrounds for individual, couples, and family counseling. As a new and growing counselor, she is under well-rounded supervision and consults her cases with licensed counselors for guidance. Maria is consistently keeping up with the most recent empirically based practices.
Maria’s passion for psychology and mental health started in high school. To fully grasp how the human body works, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Science and Psychology from Oakland University (located in Michigan). This degree allows Maria to understand a person holistically through biological, social, and psychological contexts. Now, she is finishing her final year of her Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Duquesne University which is a nationally recognized and CACREP-accredited program. Prior to pursuing her master’s, Maria comes from a medical background working in a variety of settings such as nursing homes, hospital units, and surgery. This varying experience has helped Maria gain confidence and proficiency in helping people of all ages and life stages which has been useful in her counseling.
Before starting her internship at the Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh, Maria was an intern at Catholic Charities where she was seeing individual clients for anger management, depression, anxiety, and trauma. She additionally ran a group for children aged 8 providing psychoeducation on coping skills for life changes.
Working with a Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh intern means you’ll get direct support from a counselor in training backed by an entire team of experts! The intern will get the experience they need to help even more people, and you will get support from a group of amazing therapists. All of our interns offer Sliding Scale Therapy.
Maria is originally from Michigan. She now lives in Pittsburgh with her newly adopted cat. Between school and internship, Maria enjoys exploring Pittsburgh, recuperating in nature, and traveling. Going to counseling is a big step for anyone and it can be overwhelming. As the counselor, Maria is honored to be a part of the client’s journey. She is looking forward to working for Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh and serving her future clients.
Maria provides therapy in-person at the South Hills office as well as via online therapy for your convenience. You can reach us at 412-322-2129 or email us at info@counselingwellnesspgh.com to get started.