About Vivien
Vivien Ridgway is an AASW social worker with 36 years of clinical experience. She focuses on practical support for people facing stress, anxiety, grief and relationship concerns. She aims to treat everyone with respect, sensitivity and compassion from the first conversation.
Vivien works with a wide range of issues including trauma and abuse, addiction, mood conditions such as depression and bipolar, and intimacy-related or sexual identity concerns. She also helps with parenting pressures, career stress, ADHD-related challenges and compassion fatigue.
How Vivien works
She adapts the pace and tone of sessions to what each person needs. Her approach is collaborative and straightforward. Sessions are built around what a person wants to change and what is realistic for their life.
She uses methods that focus on attachment, cognitive skills and mindful awareness to help people manage difficult feelings and behaviour. Vivien also offers coaching-style support for leadership and career questions. She will work with people to set practical goals, try new skills between sessions and review what is or is not working.
The emphasis is on small, achievable steps rather than dramatic overnight changes. People who choose Vivien can expect a calm, non-judgemental professional who listens closely. To begin, visitors are invited to use the site’s Start Therapy process and complete a short matching questionnaire before scheduling.
Vivien lists 11 ways of working on the entry:
What Vivien works with
The areas below are the ones Vivien selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Coaching
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | AASW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 36 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Australia |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Vivien's approaches translate to online therapy
Attachment-Based Therapy here focuses on how early connections shape current relationships and helps people notice patterns that affect closeness and trust. It can be useful for relationship worries, attachment issues and intimacy-related concerns.Client-Centred Therapy prioritises listening and following the client's lead. The therapist creates a respectful, non-judgemental space and works with a person to clarify goals and values. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps people spot unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviours; it is often used for anxiety, depression and practical problem solving.
Finding the right approach is part of the process. Vivien will work together with each person to decide which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences. That collaborative planning may combine listening-based work, skill-building and mindful practices over time.
Confirm the session formats before booking so you know what is offered for this therapist. Online sessions can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce travel time and provide a quick check-in on difficult days. They can also support using worksheets, guided exercises and mindfulness practices between meetings to help skills stick.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with VivienWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What kinds of issues does Vivien help with?
What is her therapeutic style like?
How long has she been practising?
What credentials does she hold and where is she based?
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Can people outside Australia work with her?
How does payment and cost work?
How do I begin working with Vivien?
A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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