Maria Munro-Schuster, LCPC
Maria Munro-Schuster, M.S., M.A., is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor serving children, adults, couples, and families at her private practice in Bozeman, Montana. Maria was raised in rural Montana where thunderstorms were the entertainment.
Throughout her life she has been curious about the intersection of education and psychology. At 16, she presented a two- year research study at the International Science and Engineering Fair on using motivational psychology in classrooms to improve outcomes for individuals with Type II Diabetes. As a graduate student, she wrote her thesis on how grief occurs in the freshman writing classroom. As a K - College educator for over a decade, she has learned that mental wellbeing was essential to her students' ability to learn and her own ability to teach.
She has led workshops on parenting in the age of social media, being a kid in the age of social media, and mental health practices for educators. She has developed curricula for high engagement middle-school learning, including a mental health-themed English course. Her recent book, The Empathetic Classroom: How a Mental Health Mindset Can Support Your Students and You (Free Spirit Publishing) is available through Teacher Created Materials or anywhere books are sold.
Maria enjoys feeding her inner kid by getting up close to cool things like bright green moss or glittering tide pools, making an absolute mess in the kitchen, and trying to find that owl hooting in her neighborhood. She can be both silly and serious and loves to celebrate the quirks and curiosities that come with being human.
Speaking/Publications/Honors
"Calm Under Pressure," Educational Leadership, September 2025
"Yes, Authentic Connection Is Teachable: Applications From Psychotherapy in Education,"
Association of Teacher Educators, 2025
Fireside Chat Panelist, Conference to Restore Humanity! 2025
The Empathetic Classroom: How a Mental Health Mindset Supports Yours Students--and You,
Free Spirit Publishing, 2025
Ruminate Short Story Prize Semi-Finalist, 2020
HATCH North America Selection, 2017
The Whitefish Review, Winter 2017
Montana Quarterly, Winter 2016
Graze Literary Magazine, Spring 2015
The Lascaux Prize, 2014
Montana Quarterly, Big Snowy Prize Finalist, Spring 2014, 2015
MSU Writer’s Voice Winner, 2014
Distinctly Montana, Spring 2014
Explore Big Sky, 2013
Lan Samantha Chang Mentorship, Tin House Writer’s Workshop, 2013
The Place-Based Classroom In Transition, MSU Master's Thesis, 2012
Throughout her life she has been curious about the intersection of education and psychology. At 16, she presented a two- year research study at the International Science and Engineering Fair on using motivational psychology in classrooms to improve outcomes for individuals with Type II Diabetes. As a graduate student, she wrote her thesis on how grief occurs in the freshman writing classroom. As a K - College educator for over a decade, she has learned that mental wellbeing was essential to her students' ability to learn and her own ability to teach.
She has led workshops on parenting in the age of social media, being a kid in the age of social media, and mental health practices for educators. She has developed curricula for high engagement middle-school learning, including a mental health-themed English course. Her recent book, The Empathetic Classroom: How a Mental Health Mindset Can Support Your Students and You (Free Spirit Publishing) is available through Teacher Created Materials or anywhere books are sold.
Maria enjoys feeding her inner kid by getting up close to cool things like bright green moss or glittering tide pools, making an absolute mess in the kitchen, and trying to find that owl hooting in her neighborhood. She can be both silly and serious and loves to celebrate the quirks and curiosities that come with being human.
Speaking/Publications/Honors
"Calm Under Pressure," Educational Leadership, September 2025
"Yes, Authentic Connection Is Teachable: Applications From Psychotherapy in Education,"
Association of Teacher Educators, 2025
Fireside Chat Panelist, Conference to Restore Humanity! 2025
The Empathetic Classroom: How a Mental Health Mindset Supports Yours Students--and You,
Free Spirit Publishing, 2025
Ruminate Short Story Prize Semi-Finalist, 2020
HATCH North America Selection, 2017
The Whitefish Review, Winter 2017
Montana Quarterly, Winter 2016
Graze Literary Magazine, Spring 2015
The Lascaux Prize, 2014
Montana Quarterly, Big Snowy Prize Finalist, Spring 2014, 2015
MSU Writer’s Voice Winner, 2014
Distinctly Montana, Spring 2014
Explore Big Sky, 2013
Lan Samantha Chang Mentorship, Tin House Writer’s Workshop, 2013
The Place-Based Classroom In Transition, MSU Master's Thesis, 2012