Vivien Ridgway, AASW
Experienced social worker focused on life change
Details
| Name | Vivien Ridgway |
|---|---|
| Credentials | AASW |
| Based in | Australia |
| Registered with | AASW |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English |
| Years in practice | 36 |
About Vivien
Vivien Ridgway is an AASW social worker with 36 years of practical experience supporting people through difficult life moments. She focuses on listening carefully and working alongside each person to shape therapy that fits their situation. Her approach aims to make therapy understandable and useful from the first session.
Vivien helps with stress, anxiety, depression and trauma. She also supports people facing relationship and intimacy issues, grief, parenting challenges and struggles with addiction.
Background and approach
Concerns such as body image, ADHD, sleep and eating problems are also within her scope of work. Her practice draws on Narrative approaches alongside attachment-based and client-centred ideas. She also uses cognitive behavioural and dialectical behaviour strategies when they match a person's needs.
Sessions are practical and conversational, with tools and experiments you can try between meetings. Vivien adapts her style to each person. Some people want direct skills to manage emotions.
Others prefer to reframe painful life stories and find new meanings. She works at a pace clients can handle and focuses on clear goals and steps. People who contact Vivien can expect respectful, down-to-earth care.
She aims to support people to feel more capable and to make changes they choose. To start, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names Stress, Anxiety, LGBT, Relationship issues among the things Vivien works with, alongside the areas below.
- Stress, Anxiety
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Personality disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Attachment-Based Therapy: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Client-Centered Therapy: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Motivational Interviewing: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Systemic Therapy: Listed by Vivien among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Vivien directly how much of the work is narrative and what a session usually looks like.
Narrative Therapy in this listing
Narrative Therapy appears in this therapist's own list of approaches. That tells you it is part of how she works. It does not tell you how much of a session it shapes, and this directory does not check or rate training.
If a narrative approach is what you are looking for, it is worth asking Vivien directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
How therapeutic approaches shape online care
Vivien draws on Narrative Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy to guide her work. Narrative Therapy helps people look at the stories they tell about themselves and try different meanings; it can be useful for life changes and identity concerns. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to patterns in close relationships and can help with trust, intimacy and communication problems. Client-Centred Therapy focuses on being listened to without judgment and helps people lead the conversation about what matters to them.Finding the right approach is part of the process. Vivien will work together with each person to choose methods that fit their goals, needs and preferences. That decision is collaborative and can change as work progresses, so clients help shape what happens session by session.
Please confirm the available session formats before booking, as the biography does not list them explicitly. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives by reducing travel, allowing shorter check-ins and offering options that suit quieter surroundings or lower bandwidth. Appropriately qualified therapists often use online sessions to maintain continuity of care and to support practical, skills-based work just as they would in person.
Common questions about this listing
What kinds of problems does this counsellor help with?
Vivien works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues, and a broad range of other concerns including parenting, grief, addiction and body image.
What is the therapy style like in sessions?
The style is conversational and practical, mixing narrative listening with skills from CBT and DBT when useful. Sessions aim to be clear, down-to-earth and focused on steps clients can try between meetings.
How much experience does the therapist have?
The therapist has 36 years of professional work experience as a social worker.
What are the therapist's credentials and location?
Vivien holds AASW and practises in Australia.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with this counsellor?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are fees and billing handled?
Costs vary with location and availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin working with this therapist?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Vivien are arranged through our partner platform. It asks a few questions about what you are looking for, then shows you the therapists available to you, including Vivien where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
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