About Sarah
Sarah O'Sullivan is an AASW social worker with six years of experience supporting people through anxiety, stress, addictions, trauma and depression. She draws on her own lived experience of chronic mental illness to shape a practical, down-to-earth way of working. Sarah aims to make sessions straightforward and focused on what helps day to day.
She has a background working inside government and non-government services and knows how complex systems can feel.
Background and approach
That experience underpins the advocacy work she now offers alongside counselling. Sarah can prepare functional capacity assessments using the Allen's model of cognitive function and provide complex report writing for court or NDIS matters. Sarah uses attachment-based, client-centred and mindfulness approaches in conversation to help people understand patterns, build coping strategies and feel less overwhelmed.
She also uses motivational interviewing and narrative ideas when planning change around addictions and relapse prevention. Her practice pays particular attention to parenting and parental capacity building, plus the challenges of chronic and complex mental health. She can also assist with mapping domestic violence dynamics using the Safe and Together model when this is relevant to family court matters.
Sessions are offered in English and are available by video, phone, live chat or text messaging. Sarah asks people to complete a short matching questionnaire to get started and schedules sessions once matching is complete.
How Sarah's approaches work online
Sarah uses attachment-based therapy to look at how early relationships shape current reactions and relationships, helping people identify patterns that trigger anxiety or avoidance. Client-centred therapy provides a calm, non-judgemental space where the person sets the pace and direction of sessions. Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and grounding exercises that reduce stress and help with cravings or emotional overwhelm.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Sarah will discuss what feels most useful and adapt methods to the person’s goals and preferences. Together they decide whether to use more narrative techniques, motivational interviewing for change around addictions, or a steady client-centred pace for exploring difficult feelings.
Online sessions are available by video calls, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to suit different lifestyles. Video sessions are good for face-to-face conversation and reading body language. Phone sessions can be shorter check-ins or fit into a work break with less bandwidth. Live chat and text messaging let people send notes between sessions or use brief check-ins when that suits their day. These options increase flexibility and help therapy fit into real life.
Questions people ask
What concerns does Sarah help with?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How many years has she practised?
What credential does she hold and where is she located?
In which languages can sessions be held?
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What session formats are available?
How are costs and starting arranged?
What this therapist works with
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Codependency
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 6 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English
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