Sarah O'Sullivan , AASW

Sarah O'Sullivan, AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers), brings a lived-experience perspective to her professional work, having started as a lived experience worker within Qld Health more than a decade ago. Her personal journey with chronic mental ill health has shaped how she engages with people seeking support, fostering an approach that recognises similar experiences can affect individuals in very different ways and that the path to wellbeing is unique for each person.

She has worked across government and non-government settings and understands the practical and systemic challenges people often face when trying to access appropriate supports. Drawing on that background, she offers advocacy services alongside therapeutic work, including complex report writing for court or NDIS matters. She also conducts domestic violence perpetrator mapping using the Safe and Together model to support family court applications and related cases.

In addition to advocacy, Sarah provides functional capacity assessments using Allen's model of cognitive function. Her clinical interests focus on parenting and parental capacity building, chronic and complex mental health, addictions, relapse prevention planning, and recovery coaching. She combines professional experience with personal insight to support people navigating stress, anxiety, trauma, addictions, parenting challenges, and depression.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support Options

Sarah integrates attachment-based therapy, client-centered therapy, and mindfulness practices into online work. Attachment-based therapy looks at how early relationships shape patterns of connection and can help with issues like attachment difficulties, relationship strain, and the long-term effects of abandonment or foster care experiences. Client-centered therapy focuses on accepting the person's experience without judgment and helps people build understanding, self-direction, and confidence in addressing stress, anxiety, or depression. Mindfulness therapy teaches present-moment awareness and practical grounding techniques that can reduce reactivity and support recovery from trauma, substance use struggles, and overwhelming emotions.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Sarah works collaboratively with each person to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the approach as therapy progresses so it remains relevant and helpful.

Online therapy offers flexibility in how and when people connect. Video calls and phone sessions allow real-time, face-to-face contact, while live chat and text-based messaging provide more immediate or lower-intensity options for check-ins and between-session support. These options make it easier to access licensed professionals and therapists from different locations and can help people maintain continuity of care alongside work, family, and other commitments.