Michael Elwan , AASW

Michael Elwan is an Accredited Social Worker and experienced therapist based in Australia who works with adults and couples who feel worn down, stuck, or quietly overwhelmed rather than broken. With 15 years of practice, he supports people who are managing anxiety, grief, relationship strain, identity questions, burnout, long-term responsibility, and other challenges that may not present as an acute crisis but still weigh heavily over time.

His practice is calm, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive, drawing on emotionally focused, narrative, mindfulness-based, and acceptance-oriented methods. He focuses on helping people understand the patterns they live inside rather than only treating symptoms, guiding sessions toward greater clarity, emotional steadiness, and more grounded ways of relating to self and others. He also works with issues including stress, addiction, self-esteem, parenting, intimacy, and a range of mood and neurodiversity-related concerns.

Michael’s approach is shaped by both professional training and lived experience. He was a young carer for his father and has lived through profound grief after losing loved ones to suicide, experiences that continue to inform how he sits with people in the room. He is a full member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and a member of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AA-CBT), and he is completing a PhD in mental health. Those qualifications reflect formal training and professional accountability in his work.

His practice has been recognised nationally, including being named the 2025 AASW Social Worker of the Year, receiving the WA Mental Health Award for Lived Experience Impact and Inspiration, and being a finalist for the Sir Ronald Wilson Leadership Award and the Barbara Hocking Memorial Award. Outside clinical work he is a husband and father of two, which keeps him grounded in the everyday realities of relationships and responsibility.

Attachment and Acceptance in Online Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then clarifies values to guide meaningful action - it can be useful for anxiety, stress, and life transitions. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on patterns of relating that developed in close relationships and helps people build safer, more secure connections with partners and others, which is often helpful for intimacy, abandonment, and family of origin issues. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, active listening, and the client's own expertise about their life, creating a nonjudgmental space to explore identity, grief, and self-esteem concerns.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work itself. Michael collaborates with each person to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, and adapts techniques over time so therapy feels practical and personally relevant.

Online therapy with a licensed professional offers flexibility and accessibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to schedule sessions around work, family, and daily life, and they allow people to receive ongoing support from wherever they are while working toward clearer emotion regulation, relationship patterns, and coping strategies.