Alana Thompson , AASW

Alana Thompson is a mental health practitioner in Australia with 18 years of clinical experience supporting people through a wide range of emotional and life challenges. She works with individuals facing depression, anxiety, stress, trauma, grief and loss, relationship and workplace difficulties, career transitions, ADHD, and self-harm, and has particular experience with trauma and emotional abuse.

Her therapeutic manner is warm and interactive, grounded in respect, compassion, and sensitivity. She blends cognitive-behavioral techniques with approaches that draw on emotional insight to create practical safety and management plans aimed at improving daily functioning and overall quality of life. Working collaboratively, she helps clients identify meaningful mental, emotional, and behavioral goals while reinforcing positive emotions and adaptive habits.

Before returning to full-time practice she spent a decade in academia teaching and researching social work, and earlier in her career she worked in child protection and family services supporting young people and families through complex, often confronting circumstances. She also served as Mental Health Practitioner and Manager of the University of Western Australia Student Guild Counselling Service, providing welfare support, counselling, referrals, and skills to help students manage university life.

Alana holds a Bachelor degree in Psychology, a Master of Social Work, and a PhD in Social Work and Law. She is an Accredited Social Worker and a member of the AASW - the Australian Association of Social Workers - and has completed Mental Health First Aid training. Her client-centered practice focuses on building resilience, promoting personal growth, and supporting psychological wellbeing within a compassionate, non-judgmental environment.

Evidence-Based Techniques and Convenient Online Care

Alana Thompson uses cognitive-behavioral techniques to help clients identify unhelpful thought patterns and develop practical strategies for managing symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and stress. These techniques focus on changing thinking and behavior to improve daily functioning and mood.

She also incorporates emotion-focused strategies that attend to emotional awareness and processing, supporting people who have experienced trauma, grief, or emotional abuse to build coping skills and greater emotional balance. These approaches inform safety and management plans when concerns like self-harm or intense distress arise.

Choosing the right therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. Alana works with each person to assess needs, goals, and preferences and adjusts methods over time so the treatment aligns with what matters most to the client.

Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, making it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to access licensed professionals from different locations within Australia. These options support continuity of care and make it possible to maintain regular sessions while juggling work, family, or other commitments.