Derrel Drinnan, AASW

Derrel Drinnan is an AASW social worker with more than 20 years of professional experience. She brings practical life wisdom alongside her training and offers calm, down-to-earth support for people facing big changes. If life feels heavy or confusing, she helps clients take a first manageable step forward.

Derrel focuses on stress, anxiety, grief and loss, low self-esteem, and coping with life changes. She also supports people dealing with compassion fatigue, feelings of emptiness, codependency and issues around guilt and shame. Midlife crisis and questions of life purpose are included among the topics she commonly sees.

Her style is strengths-based and person-centred. That means she starts from what a person already has working for them and builds on those strengths. She uses clear tools such as motivational interviewing, a solution-focused approach, trauma-informed practice and emotional regulation strategies to help people make practical changes.

Sessions aim to be straightforward and conversational. Derrel emphasises creating a calm space where thoughts and feelings can be talked through without judgement. She frames decisions as collaborative and helps people set realistic, achievable goals.

Derrel also notes a Christian worldview informs her perspective. She encourages anyone thinking about therapy to take the courageous step of enquiring and to see if her approach feels like a good fit.

How therapeutic approaches guide online sessions

Derrel uses a few practical, evidence-based techniques to guide conversations and goal-setting. Motivational interviewing focuses on drawing out a person’s own reasons for change and building small steps towards those goals. It is useful for improving motivation and tackling stuck patterns.

A solution-focused approach looks at what is already working and helps people build on small successes. This method suits people who want brief, goal-directed work that leads to clear, manageable changes.

Trauma-informed practice and emotional regulation strategies help people understand how strong emotions affect behaviour and teach simple tools to reduce overwhelm. These approaches can be helpful for stress, anxiety, grief and compassion fatigue.

Finding the right approach is a shared process. The therapist will work collaboratively to match methods to a person’s needs, goals and preferences and will adjust the plan over time as progress is reviewed.

The biography does not list specific online session formats, so confirm available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives, reduce travel time and sometimes allow shorter check-ins when needed. Discuss practical arrangements directly when booking to find a rhythm that suits day-to-day commitments.