Sarah O'Sullivan

AASW

Australia

Compassionate social worker with lived experience

Continue with Sarah

At a glance

Credentials

AASW

Registration

AASW, Australia / 507886

Experience

6 years

Languages

English

Location

Australia

Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp.

1. • Practical recovery focus
   • Advocacy and reports
   • Parenting support

   About Sarah

   Sarah O'Sullivan is an AASW social worker with six years working directly with people managing complex mental health challenges. She draws on long personal experience of living with chronic mental illness and on years of roles inside government and community services. Her background makes her practical and down-to-earth in sessions.

   Sarah focuses on stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and addiction. She also helps with parenting concerns and supports people dealing with family problems, abandonment, adoption and foster care issues. Sessions aim to make day-to-day coping clearer and more manageable.

   Her work includes advocacy and practical report writing for court or NDIS matters. She can prepare functional capacity assessments using the Allen model of cognitive function and can create domestic violence perpetrator mapping using the Safe and Together approach to inform family court work.

   Therapy draws on attachment-based ideas, client-centred listening, narrative techniques, mindfulness and motivational interviewing. In practice this means she listens for each person’s story, helps spot moments they want to change, and supports steady steps toward those changes.

   Sarah describes herself as a recovery coach who values honest, respectful conversations. She supports relapse prevention planning for drug and alcohol issues and offers parenting capacity building aimed at clearer routines and safety. Her style is practical, collaborative and grounded in lived experience.

2. How these approaches work for online therapy

   Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current ways of relating and managing emotions. It helps people understand patterns with others and build steadier connections and coping skills. Motivational Interviewing focuses on a person’s own reasons for change and helps strengthen motivation in a non-judgemental way. It is frequently used when people are weighing change around substance use, routines or health goals. Client-Centred Therapy emphasises being heard and respected; the counsellor mirrors concerns and helps clients find their own solutions rather than prescribing them.
   
   Finding the right approach is part of the work. Sarah will discuss what feels useful and try different ways of working to match a person’s needs and goals. This is a collaborative process where the therapist and client check progress and adjust methods as required.
   
   Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into busy days, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when people need them. It also supports ongoing relapse prevention planning, parenting capacity building and practical advocacy work by keeping momentum between in-person meetings or assessments.

4. Areas of expertise

   Primary focus

   Stress, AnxietyAddictionsTrauma and abuseParenting issuesDepression

   Additional focus areas

   AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAntisocial personalityAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeAvoidant personalityCaregiver issues and stressCodependencyDependent personalityDisruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)DissociationDomestic violenceDrug and alcohol addictionEmptinessFamily problemsFirst responder issuesGuilt and shameHoardingImpulsivityIntellectual disabilityIsolation / lonelinessVeteran and Armed Forces IssuesMoney and financial issuesMood disordersObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksParanoiaPersonality disordersPhobiasPost-traumatic stressPrejudice and discriminationSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-harmSexual assault and abuseSocial anxiety and phobiaYoung adult issues

   Therapeutic approaches

   Attachment-Based TherapyClient-Centered TherapyMindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapyPsychodynamic TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapySystemic Therapy

   Experience

   6+ years

   Listed in

   Australia

   Languages

   English

5. Frequently asked questions

   What kinds of concerns does Sarah help with?

   She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and addictions. She also supports people facing parenting strain and family problems.

   What is Sarah's therapy style like?

   Her style is collaborative and practical, using listening, mindfulness, narrative work and motivational interviewing to support gradual change. Sessions focus on small, doable steps.

   How much experience does she have?

   Sarah has six years of direct clinical experience and many earlier roles as a lived experience worker within Queensland Health.

   What credentials and location are listed?

   She is listed with the Australian Association of Social Workers, shown as AASW, and practises in Australia.

   Are sessions offered in languages other than English?

   Sessions are offered in English.

   Can international clients work with her?

   She does not accept international clients at this time.

   How are costs and subscriptions handled?

   Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.

   How do I begin working with Sarah?

   Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to the therapist's availability.

6. Online talk therapy is not emergency or medical care. Stopping or cutting down alcohol or other drugs can be unsafe without medical advice. In immediate danger? Crisis numbers

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