Maria Franz
Mental Health Social Worker - Associate Trainer
Maria started her career in Mental Health and Social Work in Germany over a decade ago. She worked with children and adults with mental health problems in different settings as well as in research and education. With a passion for both direct front line work as well as Social Science she eventually started her work on her PhD while continuing to work as a Social Worker in Adult Mental Health. After eventually deciding against a shift of her career to academia she moved to the UK and worked in several Adult Community Mental Health settings. Maria’s areas of special interest are Social Pedagogy, Systemic Therapy, Autism and developing and designing training to enhance Mental Health awareness in Social Care settings. She actively started contributing to raising awareness around autism when she became an Autism Champion in SLaM. Maria has vast experience in supporting autistic adults and adults with learning difficulties in Mental Health settings.
Maria holds a M.A. in Social Pedagogy and Social Work and a M.A. in Pedagogy and Sociology from Goethe University in Frankfurt.
