Derrel Drinnan

Derrel Drinnan is an AASW social worker with more than 20 years supporting people through hard seasons. She brings professional experience and personal life wisdom to conversations about grief, anxiety and major life changes. Many people come to her feeling overwhelmed, stuck or unsure where to begin, and she helps them untangle what matters most.

Derrel uses a strengths-based, person-centred way of working. That means she listens for each person’s values and priorities and helps them build on what already works. She also uses motivational interviewing to help with readiness for change and solution-focused steps to set small, achievable goals.

Trauma-informed practice and emotional regulation strategies are part of her toolkit. These approaches are used gently to help people manage distress and rebuild steadiness after upsetting events. Derrel often supports clients dealing with compassion fatigue, low self-esteem, feelings of emptiness, guilt and shame, and questions about life purpose.

She also works with concerns around abandonment, codependency, forgiveness and money or financial stress. End-of-life and hospice counselling are listed among her focus areas, and she names women’s issues as a particular concern she is comfortable addressing. Sessions are offered in English and reflect a Christian worldview when relevant to the client.

Derrel aims to create an open, respectful space where thoughts and feeling can be named without rush. She invites prospective clients to take the first step by completing the therapy start process and seeing if her style fits their needs.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Derrel uses person-centred work and a strengths-based approach to help people find what matters to them and build on existing resources. This approach focuses on listening, reflecting what’s important, and supporting the client to take steps that feel personally meaningful.

She also draws on motivational interviewing, a collaborative way to explore readiness for change and to set small, practical goals. Solution-focused techniques are used alongside this to break larger problems into manageable next steps that can be tried between sessions.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. Derrel will work with each person to decide which methods suit their needs, goals and preferences, and will adjust the plan as progress is made. The therapist-client relationship is treated as a team effort where choices are reviewed together.

The profile does not list specific session formats, so please confirm available options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce time spent travelling and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It also gives more flexibility to schedule around work, caring commitments or medical appointments, helping therapy feel more manageable alongside everyday life.