- Strengths-focused
- Practical tools
- Trauma-aware
About Bernadette
Bernadette Welham is an AASW counsellor with five years of professional experience supporting people through stress, anxiety, grief and parenting challenges. She works with individuals who are facing depression, trauma and abuse, relationship strain, or difficulties with sleep and eating. Bernadette emphasises that each person knows their story best and brings strengths to work from.
Her style is straightforward and respectful. She aims to create a calm space where people can talk through immediate problems and find practical steps forward. Sessions focus on building tools for day-to-day coping as well as understanding patterns that keep problems repeating.
Bernadette draws on approaches such as attachment-based work and cognitive behavioural techniques to help people understand how thoughts, feelings and relationships interact. She also uses client-centred methods to keep the conversation grounded in the person’s own priorities, and mindfulness practices to reduce stress and improve focus.
Her experience includes helping people manage compassion fatigue, addiction concerns, career stress, ADHD and complex life changes such as adoption or caregiving strain. She can help with issues around intimacy, self-esteem and boundaries as well as more specific concerns like bipolar mood challenges and sexual or kink-related questions.
Taking the first step can feel hard, and Bernadette acknowledges that courage. She supports people to set realistic goals, try new strategies, and adjust the pace as needed so therapy fits into everyday life.
How these approaches translate to online care
Attachment-based work focuses on patterns in close relationships and how early connections shape current trust and safety. Online sessions can be used to reflect on these patterns, practise new ways of relating, and rehearse boundary-setting in everyday life.Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts and behaviours keep problems going. In remote work clients learn simple exercises to challenge unhelpful thoughts, try short behavioural experiments, and track progress between sessions.
Client-centred therapy keeps the person’s priorities at the front. This means conversations are led by the client’s goals and pace, with the therapist responding to what matters most that week.
Finding the right approach is part of the process. The therapist will work collaboratively to choose methods that suit the client’s needs, goals and preferences, and will adapt as those needs change. Together they decide which tools to try and how quickly to move through them.
If you are considering online sessions, confirm the current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy day, reduce travel needs, allow shorter check-ins when time is tight, and let people join from different locations. Ask about the session format when you schedule so you know what to expect and can plan around your routine.
Areas of focus
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does this counsellor help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and parenting challenges, plus relationship and intimacy-related issues.
How would you describe the therapeutic style?
Her style is calm and practical, using clear conversation and small steps to build coping skills and insight.
What is her background and experience?
She has five years of professional experience supporting people through a range of emotional and life challenges.
Which credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is credentialed with the AASW and practices in Australia.
Do sessions take place in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside Australia work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are fees and payments handled?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
What should I do to begin therapy?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.