Serife Erten, ACA, PACFA

Serife Erten is an ACA and PACFA credentialed counsellor with 28 years of clinical experience in Australia. She supports people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship and family difficulties, parenting challenges, ADHD, and life changes. Her manner is warm and respectful and she aims to help clients feel heard and understood.

Serife draws on several practical approaches to suit each person. She uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify values and take manageable steps. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is used to notice and change unhelpful thinking and behaviour patterns. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy offers practical skills for emotional regulation and distress tolerance.

Sessions are collaborative and paced to the individual. Serife works with people to set realistic goals, build coping strategies, and practise new skills between meetings. She combines talking, practical exercises, and simple at-home tasks to help changes stick.

Her experience spans private practice, community mental health, education, and trauma-focused services. That background informs a broad perspective on issues such as chronic pain, illness and disability, workplace stress, and multicultural concerns. People who want straightforward, steady support for life transitions often find this approach useful.

Serife speaks English and Turkish and offers counselling grounded in respect for each person’s culture and story. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.

How Serife’s approaches translate to online counselling

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is about clarifying what matters to you and taking small, value-driven steps despite difficult thoughts or feelings. It can help with anxiety, low mood and the stress of long-term health challenges. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thinking and behaviour patterns and practising alternative skills to reduce symptoms and improve functioning. It is commonly used for anxiety, depression and workplace stress. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers concrete skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance and improving relationships, which can be useful when feelings feel overwhelming.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. The therapist will work together with each person to choose and adapt methods that fit their goals, preferences and daily life. That collaborative process may involve trying a technique, reviewing how it worked, and adjusting the plan as needed.

If you are considering online sessions, please confirm the specific formats available before booking. Online counselling can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It also supports continuing care for people managing chronic illness or living far from services. Serife and other appropriately qualified therapists can discuss which approach and session arrangement will suit your situation.