Bárbara Leal Reis , ACA

Bárbara Leal Reis is an ACA counsellor who offers practical, person-centred support for people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, trauma and low self-esteem. She draws on seven years of experience and a background in counselling and clinical practice to help people build coping strategies and manage everyday challenges.

In Australia she works strictly within the scope of counselling. That means she focuses on listening, emotional support, and strengthening a person’s own resources rather than doing diagnoses or clinical assessments. Her sessions aim to be straightforward and useful for day-to-day life.

Bárbara has direct experience supporting people affected by domestic violence and abusive relationships from earlier work in Brazil, and she has supported neurodivergent people including those with ADHD and autism. In her current practice she offers therapeutic support for trauma, panic, eating concerns, and the emotional effects of immigration and cultural adjustment.

She tailors strategies to the individual, emphasising techniques that can be used between sessions. Sessions cover practical skills for managing anxiety, communication challenges, impulsivity, and feelings of isolation or guilt. She also works with people on body image, life purpose, and rebuilding after separation or loss.

Fluent in English and Portuguese, Bárbara brings personal insight as an immigrant to her work. She aims to create a warm, non-judgemental space where people can explore concerns and practise new ways of coping.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online counselling

Evidence-based counselling techniques are used to address practical problems and emotional distress. Person-centred counselling focuses on listening, empathy and helping people identify their own strengths; it suits someone wanting supportive, collaborative conversation about life challenges. Cognitive and skills-based strategies involve identifying unhelpful thinking and practising concrete coping tools for anxiety, panic or impulsivity; these approaches help with day-to-day symptoms and learning new habits.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. The counsellor will discuss your goals and preferences and adapt methods to what feels most useful. That collaborative process means techniques are chosen to match individual needs, whether the priority is emotion regulation, communication skills or adjusting after trauma or migration.

Online formats offer practical flexibility. Video calls let you see facial cues and work face to face; phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited or you prefer not to use video. Live chat and text-based messaging suit short check-ins, written reflection, or people who find typing easier than speaking. These options make it simpler to fit counselling into work, family and daily life while keeping a consistent therapeutic plan.