About Malinda
Malinda Um is an AASW social worker who helps people feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, stress or big life changes. She writes simply and listens carefully so parents and professionals can talk through what is worrying them. Her style is practical and steady, aimed at small changes that make daily life easier.
Malinda focuses on problems such as anxiety, depression, trauma and compassion fatigue. She also supports people facing relationship strain, grief, parenting stress and career pressure.
Background and approach
She pays attention to attachment and family of origin patterns that can keep difficult cycles going. Her sessions combine clear thinking with practical steps. That might mean tracing patterns, trying a behaviour change, or finding new ways to talk about painful memories.
She uses approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy alongside narrative and attachment-based ideas to help people notice what matters and act on it. Malinda has eight years of clinical experience in Australia and works with people from a range of backgrounds.
She aims to create a calm, non-judgemental space where clients can be honest and take achievable next steps. If someone isn’t sure where to begin, she will help them break things down and plan a simple path forward. Sessions are practical and collaborative, focused on building skills for everyday life.
The goal is not quick fixes but steady shifts that reduce overwhelm and help people reconnect with what matters to them.
How approaches like ACT and CBT work online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and choose actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety, low mood and making life changes by focusing on what matters rather than getting stuck in worry. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour and teaches practical skills to test and change unhelpful patterns; it often helps with anxiety, stress and depression. Attachment-Based Therapy explores relationship patterns from early life and how they show up now, which can help with relationship and family-related difficulties.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to choose methods that fit their goals and preferences, and adapt techniques over time. Sessions usually begin with small, practical goals and build from there as trust and clarity grow.
Online sessions are available by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for busy schedules. Video calls let people use visual cues, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or chat works well for quick check-ins or shorter conversations. These formats make it simpler to fit therapy into daily life and maintain continuity over time.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-love
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Stress, Anxiety
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 8 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English
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