- Motivational interviewing
- Solution-focused work
- Emotional regulation
About Derrel
Derrel Drinnan is an AASW social worker with more than 20 years of professional experience in Australia. She works with people carrying stress, anxiety, grief, self-esteem struggles and those coping with life changes. Her practice also addresses compassion fatigue and concerns linked to abandonment, codependency, emptiness, forgiveness, guilt and shame.
Derrel describes a strengths-based, person-centred way of working. She believes people already hold the seeds of their own healing and draws out what is useful from a person’s life and values. She also brings life experience and a Christian worldview to her practice, which can shape how conversations are framed.
To support practical change she uses motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques. These methods help people clarify what matters, build motivation and set small, manageable goals. She also incorporates trauma-informed practice and emotional regulation strategies when stress, grief or painful memories are present.
Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented. Derrel aims to help people notice patterns that keep guilt and shame active and to practise new ways of responding to difficult emotions. She explains skills plainly and works with clients to make options workable in day-to-day life.
If someone wants to start, she asks them to use the service matching steps and schedule a first session. That first meeting is used to agree priorities and decide which approaches might help most going forward.
How therapeutic approaches work in online sessions
Derrel draws on motivational interviewing and solution-focused techniques in her work. Motivational interviewing helps people clarify what matters to them and builds readiness for change through guided conversation and small steps. Solution-focused work concentrates on practical goals and on what is already working, so sessions often involve setting realistic, short-term actions to test between meetings.She also uses trauma-informed practice and emotional regulation strategies when grief, stress or past hurts affect daily life. Trauma-informed practice means paying attention to what feels overwhelming and pacing the work, while emotional regulation strategies teach simple skills for managing intense feelings in the moment.
Finding the right mix of approaches is collaborative. The therapist will check clients’ needs, goals and preferences in the first sessions and adapt techniques as the work progresses. That shared decision-making helps to choose which strategies to practise between sessions.
Session formats are not listed in the source biography, so please confirm current online options before booking. Many people find online sessions fit into a busy life because they reduce travel, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, and make it easier to schedule meetings around work or family commitments.
Areas of expertise
Additional focus areas
Experience
20+ years
Listed in
Australia
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, grief, self-esteem and coping with life changes, and also addresses guilt and shame among other related issues.
How does she approach guilt and shame?
She uses a strengths-based, person-centred approach and practical strategies to notice patterns that keep guilt and shame active and to try different responses.
What experience does she bring?
She has over 20 years of professional work experience and combines that with life experience and personal perspective.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an AASW social worker and practises in Australia.
Are sessions available in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions paid for and what do they cost?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.