Denise Gallo, AASW

Denise Gallo is an AASW-accredited social worker with 34 years of experience. She offers a calm, respectful presence and focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, trauma and life changes. Denise speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian, and draws on a long career in child protection and community work.

Her approach is warm and down-to-earth. She listens first, then shapes sessions around each person’s needs. Conversations are practical and honest, aimed at small steps that make daily life easier. She encourages people to notice what matters to them and to act on those values.

Denise uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ideas alongside attachment-focused work. She also uses client-centred and mindfulness techniques to help people rebuild confidence and cope with loss. Narrative therapy helps people reframe difficult stories and find new ways forward.

Her background includes extensive frontline roles and life experience as a parent and carer. That combination informs a practical focus on coping skills, self-esteem and compassion fatigue. Denise helps people juggling caregiver stress or ageing-related concerns to find clearer ways to manage day-to-day pressures.

People who prefer a straightforward, compassionate counsellor tend to fit well with her style. She tailors conversations to each person and supports gradual change rather than quick fixes. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions according to her availability.

Practical approaches for online counselling and ageing concerns

Denise draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy as central ways to help people. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on noticing thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then taking small steps toward what matters. It can help with ongoing anxiety, stress and motivation. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape current patterns and helps people change unhelpful ways of relating, which can be useful for attachment issues and some caregiving stresses.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Denise will listen to your goals, try different methods in session and discuss what feels most helpful. She aims to tailor her methods to your needs, preferences and life circumstances rather than using a one-size-fits-all plan.

Please confirm current session options before booking, as the biography does not list specific formats. Online counselling can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, saving travel time and allowing sessions during a lunch break or between appointments. It also lets people who speak Spanish, French or Italian connect from different parts of Australia. If you have questions about how sessions run or which approach might suit you, raise them during the initial scheduling and Denise will help clarify what to expect.