About Doreen
Doreen Patenall is a PACFA-credentialed counsellor with 25 years of professional experience in Australia. She focuses on practical support for people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, trauma and abuse, and bereavement. Her approach is calm and grounded, aiming to make the first step feel manageable for anyone who reaches out.
Doreen creates a warm space where thoughts and feelings can be named without judgement. She listens closely to what matters to each person and adapts conversations to their pace.
Background and approach
Sessions are straightforward and geared to everyday problems rather than clinical jargon. Her work draws on body-aware Somatic practices alongside Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral techniques. This mix helps people notice how stress shows up in the body, clarify values, and try small behavioural changes.
Doreen explains options plainly and checks in about what feels useful. She also uses attachment-informed ideas and client-centred listening to repair communication and rebuild trust after painful events. People come for help with panic, grief, shame, isolation, and life transitions like separation or end-of-life concerns.
Doreen supports each person to find realistic next steps. Sessions aim to teach simple skills that fit daily life. Doreen encourages self-compassion and steady progress rather than quick fixes.
If someone wants practical tools plus a reflective ear, she offers steady, experienced guidance.
Approaches that combine body awareness and practical change
Somatic work helps people notice how emotions show up in the body and then use simple sensing and movement strategies to reduce tension and reactivity. It can be useful for panic, trauma responses and ongoing stress where the body holds symptoms.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, focuses on clarifying personal values and taking small, committed actions even when difficult thoughts or feelings are present. It suits people who want meaningful change rather than quick symptom removal.
Attachment-based ideas look at patterns in close relationships and help rebuild safer ways of relating. These concepts are often used alongside client-centred listening to strengthen communication and repair trust after conflict or loss.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will discuss options and collaborate on what feels most helpful for each person based on their goals and preferences. This means trying practical tools, checking how they land, and adjusting as needed.
Online therapy offers flexible access to these methods through video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text messaging. That variety lets people choose what fits their routine and comfort level, making it easier to keep up with sessions and practice skills between meetings. Appropriately qualified or registered therapists can tailor exercises and check progress remotely, so people can work on breathing, grounding and behaviour change from home.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Existential Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Systemic Therapy
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English