- Attachment-informed care
- Skills for thinking habits
- Gentle goal-focused work
About Karinna
Karinna Johnstone is an AASW social worker with 18 years of experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, grief, trauma and many everyday life challenges. She speaks plainly and aims to help people build confidence and find practical ways forward.
Karinna's background includes work with people from many walks of life and a range of difficulties. She has supported people living with mental health issues, addiction, homelessness and disability. Her practice often focuses on coping with bereavement, trauma and abuse, and strengthening self-esteem and motivation.
In sessions she treats clients as the experts on their own lives and acts as a guide. She uses collaborative conversation to identify small, realistic steps that fit into everyday routines. Her style favours clear tools and steady encouragement over complicated theory.
Karinna draws on approaches such as attachment-based methods, client-centred counselling, cognitive behavioural techniques, mindfulness and narrative work. These approaches are used to help people manage mood, reduce worry, change unhelpful thinking and rebuild supporting relationships.
She understands change can feel hard and sometimes slow. Karinna focuses on practical strategies and building skills that people can use between appointments. Her aim is to support people to find strengths they did not know they had and to move toward a more satisfying life.
Karinna's background includes work with people from many walks of life and a range of difficulties. She has supported people living with mental health issues, addiction, homelessness and disability. Her practice often focuses on coping with bereavement, trauma and abuse, and strengthening self-esteem and motivation.
In sessions she treats clients as the experts on their own lives and acts as a guide. She uses collaborative conversation to identify small, realistic steps that fit into everyday routines. Her style favours clear tools and steady encouragement over complicated theory.
Karinna draws on approaches such as attachment-based methods, client-centred counselling, cognitive behavioural techniques, mindfulness and narrative work. These approaches are used to help people manage mood, reduce worry, change unhelpful thinking and rebuild supporting relationships.
She understands change can feel hard and sometimes slow. Karinna focuses on practical strategies and building skills that people can use between appointments. Her aim is to support people to find strengths they did not know they had and to move toward a more satisfying life.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Relationship issuesFamily conflictsSleeping disordersParenting issuesAnger managementCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderCoping with life changesCompassion fatigueADHD
Additional focus areas
AbandonmentAging and geriatric issuesAntisocial personalityAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeAvoidant personalityBlended family issuesBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressCo-morbidityCodependencyCommitment issuesCommunication problemsControl issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDependent personalityDissociationDivorce and separationDomestic violenceDrug and alcohol addictionEating and food-related issuesEmptinessFamily problemsFatherhood issuesFertility issuesFirst responder issuesForgivenessGuilt and shameHoardingHospice and end-of-life counselingImpulsivityInfidelityIsolation / lonelinessJealousyLife purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisMoney and financial issuesMood disordersObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressSelf-harmSelf-loveSocial anxiety and phobiaWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
Attachment-Based TherapyClient-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Mindfulness TherapyNarrative TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family SystemsSystemic Therapy
Experience
18+ years
Credentials
AASW · Australia
Languages
English
How Karinna's Approaches Work Online
Karinna commonly uses attachment-based and client-centred approaches alongside cognitive behavioural techniques. Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships shape current patterns and helps people develop safer, more supportive ways of relating. Client-centred counselling focuses on listening, understanding and reflecting so people can lead their own change at a comfortable pace. Cognitive behavioural techniques help identify unhelpful thoughts and habits, and teach practical ways to test and change them.Choosing the right approach is part of the therapy process. Karinna works with each person to decide which methods best match their goals, preferences and everyday constraints. She treats this as a team effort and adjusts strategies over time based on what is helpful.
Session formats are not specified in the biography, so please confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into daily life, for example by reducing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins and making sessions possible around work or caregiving commitments. It also supports practising tools in the context of real routines, which can help habits and thinking change more quickly.
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does Karinna help with?
She supports people with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, low self-esteem and depression, as well as relationship, parenting and sleep issues.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is collaborative and person-centred, using practical tools to address thoughts and everyday habits alongside emotional work.
What experience does she bring to sessions?
Karinna has 18 years of experience working with people across a wide range of challenges including mental health, addiction, homelessness and disability.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is an AASW social worker based in Australia.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients book sessions?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions priced?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
What do I do to begin working with her?
Select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to therapist availability.