Maura Johnston

Maura creates a warm and supportive therapeutic environment where children, adolescents, adults, and families can feel secure, understood, and accepted. She believes meaningful change begins when people feel safe enough to explore their experiences, express themselves authentically, and recognize the strengths they already carry.

​

Maura works with clients experiencing anxiety, trauma, adjustment difficulties, attachment disruptions, emotional dysregulation, behavioral concerns, interpersonal challenges, ADHD, autism, and mood-related concerns. Her approach is integrative, evidence-informed, and tailored to each client’s strengths, developmental needs, and therapeutic goals.

​

Maura is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), an evidence-based approach that can help clients process distressing experiences and reduce their ongoing emotional impact. She thoughtfully adapts EMDR to each client’s age, needs, and readiness, integrating creative and developmentally responsive strategies when beneficial.

​

She also incorporates play therapy, sand tray, and nature-based interventions into her work. These creative approaches offer clients opportunities to express themselves, explore their experiences, strengthen coping skills, and work through challenges in ways that feel natural and engaging. For children who may not yet have the words to communicate what they are feeling, play can provide an especially meaningful avenue for expression and healing.

​

Drawing from person-centered, attachment-based, family systems, and selected behavioral approaches, Maura considers the relationships and environments that shape each client’s well-being. When working with children and adolescents, she values partnering with caregivers to better understand what a child may be communicating through emotions and behavior, strengthen family relationships, and support meaningful progress beyond the therapy room.

​

Maura’s professional experience includes providing individual and group therapeutic services, as well as working in teaching and coaching roles. Across these settings, she has remained committed to helping clients feel seen, recognize their strengths, deepen their connections, and develop skills that support lasting growth.

​

Maura earned her master’s degree in Clinical Professional Counseling from Loyola University Maryland and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with double minors in Human Development and Business, from the University of Maryland. She practices under the supervision of Dr. Courtney Glickman and is actively working toward becoming a Registered Play Therapist.