About Michael
Michael Elwan is an Accredited Social Worker and therapist based in Australia with 15 years' practical experience. He supports adults and couples who feel worn down, stuck, or quietly overwhelmed by life. Michael aims to make therapy a calm space where people can slow down and be heard without judgement.
He often works with people carrying anxiety, grief, relationship strain, identity questions, burnout, or long years of responsibility rather than those in obvious crisis.
Background and approach
Sessions are practical and down-to-earth. The focus is on helping people notice their patterns and learn steadier ways of relating to themselves and others. Michael uses a trauma-aware and culturally responsive style.
He draws on somatic approaches, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, attachment-based work, client-centred listening, and cognitive behavioural techniques. Conversations may include noticing physical sensations, values-based goals, and clearer communication skills. His practice is informed by both professional and lived experience.
Michael spent time as a young carer and has lived with profound grief, experiences which shape how he sits with people. He brings those perspectives alongside his AASW membership and ongoing academic study. Outside the therapy room he is a husband and father of two, which keeps his work grounded in everyday relationships and responsibility.
People who want thoughtful, unrushed sessions that balance dignity and change often find his approach a good fit.
How somatic and values-based approaches work online
Somatic work helps people notice how stress and emotion show up in the body. Online sessions can include simple body awareness exercises, breathing and grounding that help reduce tension and improve presence. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on clarifying values and taking small, meaningful actions. This helps with anxiety, low mood, and life transitions by shifting attention toward what matters rather than trying to eliminate difficult feelings.Finding the best approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to try different methods, gauge what helps, and shape sessions around the client's goals and comfort. That collaborative testing makes it easier to adapt techniques whether someone prefers talking, practical exercises, or movement-based awareness.
Online therapy offers flexibility and access. Video calls allow face-to-face connection for guided exercises and conversation, while phone sessions suit people who prefer not to use video. Live chat and text-based messaging support brief check-ins, reflections between sessions, and step-by-step coaching. These options make it simpler to fit therapy around work, family and daily life while still getting steady therapeutic support.
Frequently asked questions
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What background and experience does he bring?
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Systemic Therapy
- Experience
- 15 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English, Arabic