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SD Portrait of Saima Durrani

Saima Durrani

Collaborative, practical counselling for everyday struggles

ACA Australia

Experience
3 years in practice
Focus areas
Stress, Anxiety, Relationship, Grief
Approaches
Gottman Method, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Languages
English, Punjabi, Pushto, Urdu
Continue with Saima

About Saima

Saima Durrani is an ACA counsellor who focuses on practical, person-centred help. She uses evidence-informed methods to support people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief, parenting pressures and more.

Background and approach

Saima keeps things straightforward and gentle so conversations are easy to follow. She believes people already have strengths to draw on and works alongside them to build new coping skills.

Sessions aim to be collaborative and goal-focused, with simple tools you can try between meetings. Common topics include anger, addictions, sleep and eating concerns, and navigating life changes.

Saima also supports people facing attachment, abandonment and communication problems. She helps with codependency, commitment worries, jealousy and the emotional fallout of separation.

Work may include looking at patterns in relationships and practising different ways to respond. Her approach blends Gottman Method ideas for relationship patterns with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and practical cognitive tools to manage unhelpful thoughts.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills and client-centred listening are used when helpful. Saima draws on three years of clinical experience in multicultural settings.

Sessions are offered in English, Punjabi, Pushto and Urdu. She aims to create an accepting space where people feel understood and able to try small changes that add up over time.

Online approaches that suit busy lives and relationships

Saima uses the Gottman Method ideas to look at how partners communicate and manage conflict, helping people notice patterns and try new ways of relating. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is used to help people accept difficult feelings and commit to actions that reflect their values, which can ease anxiety and life transitions.

She treats approach selection as a collaborative process. The first sessions focus on understanding goals and trying a few techniques to see what fits. Together the client and counsellor adjust the plan so the therapy style suits the person's needs and preferences.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to make counselling more flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face work and relationship-focused exercises, phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited, live chat works for shorter check-ins, and text messaging can suit those who prefer written reflection. These options help fit therapy around work, family and day-to-day life.

Frequently asked questions

What issues does this counsellor help with?
Saima supports people with stress, anxiety, relationship and grief concerns. She also works with parenting challenges, addictions, anger, sleep and eating issues.
What is Saima's therapeutic style?
Her style is collaborative and practical, combining client-centred listening with skills-based approaches like ACT and CBT. Sessions focus on concrete strategies you can use between meetings.
How much experience does she have?
Saima has three years of professional experience working in multicultural settings. That background informs her practical and culturally aware approach.
What credentials and region are listed?
She is an ACA counsellor based in Australia. The credential listed is ACA and it is shown as provided.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English, Punjabi, Pushto and Urdu.
Can international clients be seen?
Saima does not accept international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
She works online using video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How do I begin working with her?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, then schedule according to the therapist's availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, AnxietyRelationship issuesGriefParenting issuesAnger management

Also works with

AddictionsFamily conflictsTrauma and abuseEating disordersSleeping disordersSelf esteemCareer difficultiesCoping with life changesCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAttachment issuesBody imageCodependencyCommitment issuesCommunication problemsControl issuesDependent personalityDivorce and separationEating and food-related issuesFamily problemsForgivenessGuilt and shameIsolation / lonelinessJealousyLife purposeMidlife crisisMood disordersMulticultural concernsObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPhobiasPostpartum depressionPregnancy and childbirthSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSocial anxiety and phobiaVisually impairedWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Client-Centred TherapyCognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)Gottman MethodMindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused Therapy

Experience

3+ years

Registered with

ACA

Languages

English, Punjabi, Pushto, Urdu