Malinda Um , AASW

Malinda Um offers a steady, practical approach for people feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or emotionally depleted. She is named in this profile as a counsellor with eight years of experience and an AASW credential. Her style is straightforward and collaborative, so sessions focus on clear steps rather than jargon. She helps people who are dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting strain and career stress. Malinda also supports those coping with compassion fatigue, relationship difficulties, and major life changes. She aims to make therapy accessible for people who feel high-functioning on the outside but drained inside. Her work uses practical methods drawn from cognitive behavioural ideas, acceptance and commitment principles, attachment-focused thinking and narrative approaches. Conversations often include identifying unhelpful patterns, learning ways to manage difficult feelings, and trying small experiments to change day-to-day behaviour. The emphasis is on skills you can use between sessions. Malinda has particular experience with family-of-origin issues, attachment and abandonment concerns, blended family stress, body image and caregiver strain. She also addresses communication problems, codependency, commitment issues, and the emotional impact of separation or disaster. This breadth helps when problems overlap or feel complex. Sessions are offered in English and delivered online by video, phone, live chat or text-based messaging. She works from Australia and does not accept international clients. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule sessions according to availability.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without being pushed around by them. It focuses on values and small actions that make life feel more meaningful, which can help with depression, anxiety and navigating big life changes. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings and behaviours link together and uses practical exercises to shift unhelpful patterns; this is useful for anxiety, low mood and stress. Attachment-Based Therapy attends to how early relationship patterns influence current connections and emotion regulation, supporting issues like abandonment, attachment concerns and family-of-origin problems.

Choosing the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work together with each person to decide which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences. That collaborative process means techniques can be adjusted over time if something isn't helping.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging. Video calls suit deeper conversation and face-to-face interaction, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat works for shorter check-ins, and text messaging can support ongoing reflections between sessions. These options make therapy more flexible, helping people fit sessions around work, parenting, or other commitments.