Malinda Um, AASW

Malinda Um helps people who feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected find clearer ways forward. She writes plainly and listens closely, giving space for what matters most and helping clients take practical steps. Malinda is identified as an AASW social worker with eight years of experience supporting people through anxiety, depression, trauma and major life changes.

Her work often suits people juggling high-pressure roles or carrying a lot beneath the surface. She supports those dealing with compassion fatigue, grief, parenting strain, career shifts and relationship stress. Sessions aim to surface patterns that keep problems repeating, and to try new responses that fit daily life.

Malinda uses several therapeutic approaches to tailor support to each person’s needs. She draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify values and take committed action. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps break unhelpful thought and behaviour cycles. Attachment-based ideas guide how past relationships affect current ones.

Practical tools and small experiments are a regular part of sessions, alongside talking through difficult moments. The focus is on doable steps - not just insight - so people can notice changes between meetings. Malinda encourages collaboration: goals are set together and reviewed as progress happens.

She also attends to cultural and intergenerational influences without asking clients to simplify their backgrounds. If someone is unsure how to begin, Malinda supports a gentle, step-by-step approach to finding the right starting point.

Approaches that translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people get clear about what matters to them and take small committed steps toward those values. It suits people feeling stuck by worry, low mood or uncertainty who want a practical way to move forward. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and testing alternatives through short exercises in daily life. It is often useful for anxiety, depression and stress. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationship patterns shape current connections and helps people try new ways of relating when those old patterns cause pain.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose which methods match their goals, needs and preferences. That choice can change over time as different issues become more or less pressing, and sessions will be adapted together.

The original biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also let people use practical tools between sessions and try homework in their everyday setting, which helps transfer learning into daily routines.