Serife Erten

Serife Erten is an ACA and PACFA credentialed counsellor with 28 years of experience. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, depression, trauma, parenting pressures and life transitions. She also works with those navigating separation and divorce and with people managing chronic illness or workplace stress. Sessions are practical and paced to the individual's needs.

Serife draws on a blend of evidence-based approaches. She uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to identify patterns that keep problems going. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice values and take committed action. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Narrative and Solution-Focused approaches are used when they fit the client's goals.

Her style is direct but warm. Conversations focus on clear steps, useful skills and manageable experiments between sessions. She aims for practical tools that reduce distress and improve day-to-day functioning while also making space for emotions and personal meaning.

Serife has worked in private practice, community mental health, education and trauma-informed services. That breadth has shaped a flexible, person-centred way of working. She encourages clients to set priorities and work at a comfortable pace to build sustainable change.

Sessions are conducted in English and Turkish. Serife is based in Australia and does not take international clients. To begin, people complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online counselling

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small steps toward those values even when feelings are difficult. It is useful for anxiety, depression and coping with major life changes such as separation. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thought and behaviour patterns and practising alternative ways of responding. CBT is often used for anxiety, mood issues and workplace stress. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) adds skills for managing intense emotions and improving interpersonal effectiveness, which can help with relationship strain and emotional regulation.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and what feels manageable, then try methods that fit the person. That collaborative selection can be reviewed and adjusted over time as needs change.

The original biography does not list which online or in-person session formats are offered, so confirm current session options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy life - for example by avoiding travel, allowing shorter check-ins during a work break, or providing an option when there are mobility or health constraints. Appropriately qualified therapists can adapt ACT, CBT and DBT exercises to work well in remote sessions, using written exercises, guided behavioural tasks and skill practice between meetings.