Shoko Kasanami, AASW

Shoko Kasanami is a licensed practitioner based in Australia who combines personal experience with professional training to support people facing depression, anxiety, addictions, low self-esteem and other mental health concerns. She draws on her own life challenges and her move from Canada to inform a compassionate, practical approach to therapy that aims to help clients build resilience and reach their goals.

Shoko holds a Master of Social Work degree and her listed credential is AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers). Over more than four years she has worked with people from complex backgrounds, including a previous role within a government department of child protection and her current work with an organisation focused on rehabilitating offenders. Those roles gave her experience supporting people through difficult life transitions and complex situations.

She creates a calm, non-judgemental space where people can explore feelings and experiences, and she emphasises listening and walking alongside clients as they work through challenges. Her clinical practice specialises in stress, anxiety, addictions, low self-esteem, depression and coping with life changes, with additional focus on body image, guilt and shame, isolation and loneliness, life purpose, mood disorders, self-love and social anxiety and phobia.

Outside work she enjoys motorcycles, skateboarding and music, and she provides therapy in both English and Japanese.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support with Shoko

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps people identify and adjust patterns of thinking and behaviour that contribute to distress. It is often used for anxiety, depression and stress and focuses on practical tools and small steps to change unhelpful habits.

Narrative Therapy invites clients to explore the stories they tell about themselves and their lives, separating problems from identity so that people can reclaim strengths and alternative perspectives. This approach can be helpful for issues like low self-esteem, shame and life transitions.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and Shoko works collaboratively to determine what fits best. She discusses options with clients, considers their goals and preferences, and adapts methods so therapy feels relevant and practical.

Online therapy offers flexibility for different schedules and needs. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction from home, phone sessions suit those who prefer voice contact, and live chat or text-based messaging can support people who benefit from written communication or shorter check-ins. These options make it easier to keep continuity of care and to access appropriately qualified or registered professionals when in-person appointments are not possible.