Michael Elwan

Hi, I’m Michael. I’m an Accredited Social Worker and therapist based in Australia, supporting adults and couples who feel worn down, stuck, or quietly overwhelmed by life.

Many of the people I work with are not in obvious crisis. They are holding things together on the surface while carrying anxiety, grief, relationship strain, identity questions, burnout, or years of responsibility underneath. Therapy becomes a place where they can slow down and be met without judgement.

Over time, people often discover that what feels like “being stuck” is really a set of patterns shaped by stress, expectations, culture, relationships, and the roles they have had to carry. My role is to help you step back from those patterns, understand them more clearly, and find steadier ways of moving forward.

My approach is calm, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive. I draw on emotionally focused, narrative, mindfulness-based, and acceptance-based approaches while paying close attention to the pressures shaping your life. Rather than rushing to fix problems, sessions focus on building clarity, emotional steadiness, and more grounded ways of relating to yourself and others.

My work is also shaped by lived and living experience. Before becoming a therapist, I spent many years as a young carer for my father, and later experienced the profound grief of losing loved ones to suicide. I know what it feels like to carry more than you should have to, and how invisible that can feel. Those experiences continue to guide how I sit with people in the room.

Alongside my clinical work, I bring formal training and professional accountability to the space we work in together. I am an Accredited Social Worker and full member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), a member of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT), and I am currently completing a PhD in mental health.

My work has been recognised nationally and across Western Australia. I share this simply to reassure you that I take this work seriously and hold it with care.

Recent recognition includes:

• AASW Social Worker of the Year (2025) - Australia’s highest individual honour in social work
• WA Mental Health Award - Lived Experience Impact & Inspiration (2025)
• Suicide Prevention Australia LiFE Award (2026) - Outstanding Contribution (Western Australia)
• Suicide Prevention Australia LiFE Award (2026) - Priority Populations (Western Australia) - Lived Experience Solutions (LEXs)
• Western Australian Multicultural Awards (2026) - Outstanding Individual Achievement
• R U OK? Barbara Hocking Memorial Award - Finalist

Outside the therapy room, I’m also a husband and father of two, which keeps me grounded in the everyday realities of relationships, responsibility, and the work it takes to stay connected.

If you are looking for therapy that feels thoughtful rather than rushed, honest without judgement, and grounded in dignity as much as change, you are very welcome here.