Berni Palings, PACFA

Berni Palings is a compassionate, non-judgemental counsellor with over 11 years of experience. She helps people navigate relationship difficulties, grief and loss, trauma, anxiety, depression and problems with self-esteem. Berni also supports people facing career challenges, addictions and the stress of life changes. She speaks English and Dutch and practises in Australia as a PACFA counsellor.

Clients work together with Berni to build on their own strengths. She approaches therapy with respect and curiosity, recognising that people usually have paths forward already inside them. Sessions focus on practical steps, clearer thinking and small changes that add up over time. Berni aims to make reaching out feel like a manageable first step rather than a big leap.

Her background includes more than a decade of helping people across a wide range of concerns. This has involved supporting those coping with trauma and abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, addiction and complex grief. She also works with issues linked to ageing and geriatric concerns, adoption and foster care, caregiver stress and the impact of prejudice and multicultural pressures.

Berni describes the work as collaborative and strengths-based. She listens, asks helpful questions and suggests strategies to reduce anxiety, manage anger, improve self-worth and restore motivation. Practical tools might include paced goal-setting, ways to rebuild daily routines and techniques to manage overwhelming feelings.

Reaching out for help is framed as an act of courage. Berni offers ongoing support to help people find clearer direction and greater resilience as they move through change.

How Berni’s approaches translate to online work

Many of the techniques Berni uses are evidence-based and focus on practical change. One common approach helps people break big problems into small, manageable tasks and set realistic goals to rebuild routine and motivation. This can help with depression, low energy and career or productivity concerns. Another approach involves grounding and pacing strategies to reduce anxiety and manage overwhelming feelings after trauma or grief; these techniques teach simple skills that can be practised between sessions.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic journey. Berni works collaboratively to decide which methods suit a person’s goals and preferences, and she adjusts the plan as progress is made. The aim is to find strategies that fit the client’s life and feel useful in day-to-day situations.

If you are considering online work, confirm the specific session formats before booking since the biography does not list formats. Online sessions can make it easier to fit counselling around work and caregiving, reduce travel time and allow quicker check-ins when life gets busy. Phone or lower-bandwidth options can help when video isn’t practical, while longer video sessions can support deeper conversations and visual cues. Discussing practical arrangements is part of the first scheduling step so sessions match what the client needs.