- Stress and anxiety
- Life transitions
- CBT and solution-focused
About Catharina
Catharina Oberholster is an AASW social worker with over 10 years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem and life changes. She also supports people dealing with compassion fatigue, parenting strain, relationship and family problems, and questions about life purpose.
Catharina uses straightforward conversations to help people make sense of difficult moments. She favours a person-centred style that focuses on what each individual brings to the room. That approach is combined with practical tools from cognitive behavioural therapy to address unhelpful thinking and from solution-focused work to identify small, achievable steps.
Sessions are conversational and collaborative. Catharina helps people notice strengths, rehearse new ways of thinking, and test small changes between meetings. She discusses feelings like guilt, shame, emptiness and anger in direct terms and works with carers on the specific stresses they face.
Her background includes supporting people through trauma and abuse, depression and ADHD-related concerns. She does not use diagnostic labels as the main focus, preferring to work on problems that affect daily life and functioning. Catharina offers therapy in English and Afrikaans for people located in Australia.
To begin, she asks people to reflect on what they want to change and what has already helped. The emphasis is on practical steps and short-term progress, while still allowing time to address deeper issues when needed.
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and reflecting what the client says. It helps when someone needs time to understand feelings, values and what matters next. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at how thoughts, feelings and actions interact and gives practical exercises to test new ways of thinking. It can help with anxiety, low mood and unhelpful patterns. Solution-Focused Therapy concentrates on small, concrete steps and immediate goals to move forward quickly.Finding the right approach is part of the work. Catharina will discuss which methods suit a person’s current goals and preferences. She makes those decisions together with each client, adjusting the mix of listening, skills practice and short-term planning as needs change.
Confirm the available session formats before booking, as formats are not listed here. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, for example by avoiding travel, allowing brief check-ins during a work break, or choosing a session that does not require being on camera. These practical benefits help people keep momentum while working on stress, life changes and purpose.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
10+ years
Listed in
Australia
Languages
English, Afrikaans
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she commonly help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, relationship and family problems, parenting, trauma and abuse, anger, depression and ADHD-related issues.
How would she approach feeling stuck or directionless?
She combines person-centred conversations with practical CBT techniques and solution-focused steps to help identify small, manageable changes and clarify next actions.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has over 10 years of professional experience working with people across a range of emotional and life-transition concerns.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an AASW social worker and practises in Australia.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and Afrikaans.
Can international clients work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time; she works with people located in Australia.
How are sessions charged and what is the cost model?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
What do I need to do to get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the crisis numbers.