Counselor, Licensed Master Social Worker, Psychotherapist and Therapist
Counselor, Licensed Master Social Worker, Psychotherapist and Therapist
I’m Michael Elwan, an Award-Winning Accredited Social Worker (AASW) and therapist based in Perth, WA. I offer online therapy across Australia, alongside professional supervision for social workers and peer workers. My work draws on more than 15 years’ experience across mental health, psychosocial disability, suicide prevention, and service leadership. It is also shaped by lived and living experience; caring for family members, migration, grief, and suicide bereavement within my family in Egypt. These experiences inform how I work with care, humility, and respect.
I work with adults and couples who are carrying a lot. This can include stress that won’t settle, anxiety, low mood, trauma histories, grief, relationship strain, identity questions, burnout, and the long tail of responsibility. Many people I meet function well on the outside while feeling flat, reactive, or stuck underneath. Therapy becomes a place to slow things down, make sense of patterns, and develop steadier ways of coping and relating that fit real life.
Alongside therapy, I provide reflective, trauma-informed supervision for social workers and peer workers. My supervision practice centres safety, ethical practice, cultural humility, and sustainability in the work; particularly for practitioners supporting complex presentations or navigating system pressures, vicarious trauma, and role boundaries.
My therapeutic approach is relational and trauma-informed. I draw on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), attachment-based work, narrative practice, and mindfulness-informed strategies. Sessions balance reflection with practical support; understanding what’s happening, while also building the capacity to respond differently when stress, conflict, or old memories surface.
I’m a PhD candidate in Mental Health at Charles Sturt University and hold postgraduate training in mental health. In 2025, I was honoured to receive the WA Mental Health Award and the AASW Social Worker of the Year award, as long as being a finalist for other awards. I work with people from diverse cultural and faith backgrounds, and I offer sessions in English and Arabic.
If you’re looking for a therapist or supervisor who is warm, direct, and thoughtful; and who won’t rush to fix or override your experience; you’re welcome to reach out. We can talk through what you’re looking for and whether working together feels like the right fit.
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mental Health - Charles Sturt University in 2028
- Graduate Certificate in Mental Health (Credit) - Australian Catholic University in 2023
- Diploma in Psychology (Merit) - Austin Peay State University in 2023
- MicroMasters in Organisational Psychology (High Distinction) - University of Canterbury in 2023
- MicroMasters in Business Leadership (High Distinction) - University of Queensland in 2021
- Master of Social Work (Credit) - Specialisation: Counselling for Loss and Grief - University of New England in 2020
- MBA (Distinction) - Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK in 2014
- Bachelor of Commerce - Specialisation: Accounting - Alexandria University in 2008
