Heidi Arntzen, AASW

Heidi Arntzen is an AASW social worker who provides calm, down-to-earth counselling for adults. She offers a listening space where people can talk openly, be understood, and make changes at a pace that feels right. Many clients come because they’ve been carrying a lot for a long time and need somewhere to focus on themselves.

Heidi’s practice focuses on stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, grief and depression. She also supports people dealing with abandonment, communication problems, blended family issues and caregiver stress. Her background includes work in mental health and alcohol and other drug settings, so she is familiar with recovery and harm-reduction approaches.

Her style is warm, calm and collaborative rather than directive. Sessions aim to balance emotional support with practical tools that can be used day to day. Conversations explore what feels overwhelming or stuck while building insight and coping skills that support sustainable change.

Heidi draws on person-centred, strengths-based and trauma-informed practice. She uses evidence-informed techniques such as motivational interviewing, CBT-informed strategies and solution-focused work to help people set manageable goals. Psychoeducation and skills development are also part of her approach.

She also brings personal lived experience from supporting a loved one through mental health challenges and navigating breast cancer. That perspective informs a patient, non-judgemental approach that makes it easier to open up. If you are unsure about beginning, she suggests starting with a conversation and taking it one step at a time.

Approaches that guide online counselling

Heidi uses several evidence-informed techniques to guide her work. Motivational interviewing focuses on building your own reasons for change through open conversation and reflective listening; it can help with ambivalence about behaviour such as alcohol or other drug use. CBT-informed strategies look at connections between thoughts, feelings and actions and teach practical skills to manage anxiety, low mood or stress.

She also uses solution-focused ideas that help people set small, achievable goals and notice what already works. These approaches are practical and goal-oriented, helping clients move step by step toward clearer routine and coping tools.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Heidi will collaborate with you to choose techniques that match your needs, goals and preferences. Together you can try different methods and adapt what isn’t working until you find a good fit.

The biography does not name which online session formats are offered, so please confirm available options before booking. In general, online counselling can make it easier to fit sessions around work, caregiving and everyday life. It can reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and make it simpler to continue therapy during transitions or relocations. Appropriately qualified therapists can help clients use these benefits to maintain steady progress.