Michael Elwan, AASW

Michael Elwan is an award-winning Accredited Social Worker and therapist based in Australia who supports adults and couples feeling worn down, stuck, or quietly overwhelmed rather than broken. Many people he works with are not in obvious crisis but are holding things together on the surface while carrying anxiety, grief, relationship strain, questions about identity, burnout, or long years of responsibility beneath that composure. Therapy with Michael offers a place to slow down, be met without judgement, and begin to untangle those underlying patterns.

His clinical style is calm, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive. He draws on emotionally focused, narrative, mindfulness-based, and acceptance-based approaches to help people understand the patterns they are living inside, not just manage symptoms. Sessions emphasise building clarity, emotional steadiness, and more grounded ways of relating to self and others.

Michael’s practice is shaped by both professional training and lived experience. He spent time as a young carer for his father and later navigated the grief of losing loved ones to suicide - experiences that continue to inform how he sits with people in the room. Professionally he is accredited by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), which recognises social work qualifications and standards, and he is a member of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AA-CBT). He is also completing a PhD in mental health.

His work 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 the therapy room he is a husband and father of two, which keeps him grounded in the everyday realities of relationships and responsibility. For those seeking thoughtful, unrushed therapy that is honest and grounded in dignity as much as change, Michael offers a steady and experienced presence.

Therapeutic approaches and flexible online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and learn practical ways to live in line with those values even when difficult thoughts and feelings are present. It is often used for anxiety, stress, depression, and coping with life changes.

Attachment-Based Therapy explores how early relationship patterns shape current ways of relating to others and to oneself. It can be useful for intimacy-related issues, attachment difficulties, abandonment concerns, and ongoing relationship strain.

Client-Centered Therapy offers a supportive, non-directive environment where the therapist follows the client’s pace and perspective to foster self-discovery and emotional processing. It is often helpful for building self-esteem, clarifying identity, and finding new direction.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the process. Michael collaborates with each person to identify the best fit based on their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting methods as progress and circumstances evolve.

Online therapy via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging adds practical flexibility to that collaborative work. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, access support from home or work, and choose the communication style that feels most helpful, while allowing licensed professionals to guide treatment in ways that suit each person.