Karinna Johnstone, AASW
18 years in practice
Karinna Johnstone is an AASW social worker with 18 years of hands-on experience supporting people through stress, anxiety, trauma and grief.
License and registration
- AASW
- 652890 · expires June 2026
- Years in practice
- 18
- Languages
- English
Details are as listed on the therapist's public professional profile. You can check the registration with the body that granted it.
About Karinna
Karinna Johnstone is an AASW social worker with 18 years of hands-on experience supporting people through stress, anxiety, trauma and grief. She works in a practical, down-to-earth way and focuses on helping people build confidence and cope with life changes. Karinna believes clients are the experts in their own lives.
She describes her role as a guide who helps people clarify goals and try out new ways of handling difficult situations.
Background and approach
Sessions are conversational and goal-focused, with an emphasis on small, achievable steps that make a real difference each week. Her background includes long-term work with people experiencing mental health challenges, addiction, homelessness and disability. She has supported people through trauma, abuse, depression and anxiety, and helped them manage grief, parenting strain and career shifts.
This breadth of experience informs a flexible approach that adapts to each person’s needs. Karinna draws on Systemic ideas alongside attachment-based, client-centred, cognitive behavioural and mindfulness practices. She helps people notice patterns in relationships, understand how past experiences shape responses, and develop practical tools to reduce stress and improve sleep and mood.
People who work with Karinna often focus on rebuilding self-esteem, improving communication, managing anger and addressing ADHD or compassion fatigue. She aims to empower clients to discover strengths they already have and to build routines that support lasting change.
Focus areas and approaches
Everything Karinna lists on their public professional profile, in their own terms.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Karinna names
- Systemic Therapy
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist lists and does not check training records.
Online support
Therapeutic approaches suited to online care
Karinna blends Systemic therapy with attachment-based and client-centred approaches to help people change how they relate to others and to themselves. Systemic ideas look at relationship patterns and roles to find small changes that reduce conflict and stress. Attachment-based work helps people understand how early bonds shape reactions and build safer ways of relating. Client-centred methods focus on listening and collaboration so each person feels heard and respected while choosing their next steps.Choosing the right approach is part of the process and Karinna works collaboratively to find what fits. She will talk about goals, preferences and what has or hasn't helped before, then try methods that match the person's needs. Adjustments are made over time so the work stays practical and relevant.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text messaging. Video calls support face-to-face conversation and visual cues, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat allows shorter check-ins and text messaging suits ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, parenting and other commitments while still focusing on meaningful change.
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Questions people ask
What concerns does Karinna help with?
She supports people with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, low self-esteem and depression. Other areas include sleeping problems, parenting strain, anger, career change, ADHD and compassion fatigue.
What is her therapeutic style like?
Her sessions are conversational and client-centred, focusing on clear goals and practical steps. She mixes systemic ideas with cognitive behavioural and mindfulness techniques to change patterns and build coping skills.
How much experience does she have?
Karinna has 18 years of experience working in social work settings with diverse people and complex needs. That experience includes supporting people through trauma, addiction, homelessness and mental health issues.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is an AASW social worker based in Australia.
Can sessions be held in other languages or internationally?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
Which session formats are available?
Karinna offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How much do sessions cost?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability. Sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button and completing a short matching questionnaire. Then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
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