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About

Stephan Koutsonas is a registered counsellor holding a Bachelor of Psychological Science and a Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy from the Australian College of Applied Psychology. As a member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), Stephan is committed to providing professional, evidence-based support tailored to each individual's unique circumstances and goals.

 

Stephan began his counselling journey in 2020 through placement and volunteer roles, and since then has built a broad and deeply human clinical career. He has worked extensively with adolescents, young adults, NDIS participants, and individuals navigating a wide range of mental health and life challenges. His experience spans high schools, youth therapy services, residential care settings, disability support services, and community-based mental health programs — an unusually varied foundation that gives him both the flexibility and the depth to meet people where they are, regardless of the complexity of what they are facing.

 

Prior to his current role, Stephan worked as a Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner and Psychosocial Recovery Coach, supporting individuals with complex needs and collaborating closely with multidisciplinary care teams. This work gave him a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between mental health, behaviour, environment and support systems — a perspective he brings into every therapeutic relationship. He also volunteered with White Lion, a service dedicated to young people in residential care, supporting clients in rebuilding confidence, strengthening community connections and developing trust in others. His commitment and impact in that role was recognised with an award from White Lion for his dedication and service.

 

Stephan also works alongside young athletes through Inner Athlete, helping individuals navigate the mental and emotional challenges that are inseparable from high-level sport — motivation, performance anxiety, confidence, stress and overall mental wellbeing. He understands the specific psychological demands placed on competitive athletes and works with them to build the resilience and mental skills that underpin sustained performance and personal fulfilment.

 

Outside the consulting room, Stephan has a lifelong commitment to personal growth and self-development. He has trained in martial arts for more than 20 years — a discipline that has shaped not only his physical life but his understanding of perseverance, discipline, respect and the long-term process of genuine improvement. He enjoys reading, board games and ongoing professional learning, and brings that intellectual curiosity into his continued development as a practitioner.

 

Stephan's presence at Dingley Health Hub reflects the clinic's belief that physical and mental health are deeply interconnected. Whether a patient is managing chronic pain, recovering from injury, navigating a significant life transition, or simply carrying more than they feel they can hold, having access to skilled, compassionate counselling support alongside osteopathic and physical care represents a genuinely different and more complete approach to health.

Clinical Approach

Stephan's therapeutic approach is grounded in evidence-based practice, genuine collaboration and deep respect for each client's unique lived experience. He believes that effective therapy is built first and foremost on a strong therapeutic relationship — that before techniques, models and frameworks can be meaningful, the client must feel genuinely heard, respected and safe. Creating that environment is not incidental to the work; it is the foundation from which all meaningful change becomes possible.

 

Drawing heavily from humanistic therapy principles, Stephan views clients as the experts in their own lives. His role is not to direct or prescribe, but to provide a safe, supportive and non-judgemental space where clients can explore their challenges with clarity, develop insight into their own patterns and experiences, and build genuine confidence in their capacity to create change. He adapts his style, pace and approach to the individual in front of him — what works for one person is rarely exactly right for another.

 

Motivational Interviewing is a cornerstone of Stephan's practice. Many people arrive in counselling in a state of ambivalence — aware that something needs to change, but uncertain, conflicted or not yet ready. Stephan uses Motivational Interviewing to meet clients in that ambivalence without judgement, helping them explore what they actually want, strengthen their own motivation for change and move towards their goals at a pace that feels authentic and sustainable for them. This approach is particularly effective with adolescents and young adults navigating identity, relationships and life transitions.

 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is another significant component of Stephan's work. He uses CBT to help clients identify and examine unhelpful patterns of thinking that are contributing to distress — the cognitive distortions, negative self-talk and assumptions about the world that often become so automatic we stop noticing them. By developing awareness of these patterns and practising practical strategies for responding differently, clients build lasting capacity to manage difficult emotions and situations more effectively.

 

Mindfulness and grounding techniques are integrated throughout Stephan's practice, particularly with clients managing anxiety, stress, emotional overwhelm and anger. These approaches build the foundational capacity for self-awareness and emotional regulation — helping clients learn to notice what is happening in their body and mind before reacting, and to respond to difficult states from a place of greater steadiness and choice. For many clients, particularly those who have never been taught these skills, the impact is both immediate and profound.

 

No single therapeutic model is right for every person or every difficulty. Stephan draws from a range of evidence-based modalities and tailors each session to what is most relevant and most useful for that individual at that point in their journey. His goal in every session is the same: to ensure that the client leaves with something genuinely valuable — insight, a new perspective, a skill, a sense of being truly heard, or simply the relief of not carrying something alone.

Specialist Areas

Stephan works with people from genuinely diverse backgrounds — including members of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals from a range of cultural backgrounds, young people, NDIS participants and individuals involved with youth justice services. He approaches each person with the same care, cultural sensitivity and absence of assumption, understanding that the context in which a person lives their life is inseparable from the challenges they bring to therapy.

 

He works particularly well with adolescents, emerging adults and young adults aged 16–35 — a period of life that is frequently underestimated in its difficulty. Questions of identity, relationships, study, employment, independence, purpose and belonging can feel simultaneously urgent and overwhelming. Stephan understands this stage of life well and provides the kind of grounded, honest and non-judgemental support that genuinely helps young people move forward.

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Areas Stephan Commonly Supports:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Stress management

• Anger and emotional regulation

• Self-esteem and confidence

• Motivation and goal setting

• Life transitions and adjustment difficulties

• Social and relationship challenges

• Mental health support for young athletes

• NDIS-related psychosocial support

• School and care-team collaboration

• Burnout prevention and resilience building

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Mental Health Support for Young Athletes

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Through his work with Inner Athlete, Stephan has developed particular expertise in the psychological challenges faced by competitive and aspiring athletes. The mental demands of sport — managing performance expectations, recovering confidence after injury or poor performance, navigating team dynamics, sustaining motivation through difficulty and pressure, and maintaining identity and perspective beyond results — are real and significant, yet frequently under-supported.

 

Stephan works with young athletes to build the psychological skills and resilience that underpin sustained performance and personal wellbeing. He helps clients develop more productive relationships with pressure and failure, strengthen their sense of self beyond athletic outcomes, and build the mental habits that support long-term growth. His martial arts background gives him a personal and authentic understanding of the discipline, setbacks and long-term commitment that serious athletic development requires.

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Adolescents, Young People and Life Transitions

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Stephan's extensive experience working directly with adolescents and young people — in high schools, youth services, residential care and disability support — has given him a deep understanding of this population and its particular needs. Young people often present with challenges that are tangled together: anxiety and avoidance, identity confusion, difficult family dynamics, social pressures, trauma histories and the ordinary but genuinely hard work of figuring out who they are and what they want.

 

Stephan is skilled at building trust quickly with young people — an essential foundation when working with clients who may have had poor experiences with adult authority, or who are sceptical of the value of counselling. His approach is always collaborative, never prescriptive, and adapted to where the young person actually is rather than where they are expected to be. His time volunteering with White Lion — working with young people in residential care — developed in him a particular sensitivity to the needs of vulnerable youth and a genuine commitment to helping them rebuild the confidence and connection that adversity can erode.

 

Having worked extensively throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephan also developed significant experience supporting individuals — particularly young people — experiencing anxiety, social re-engagement difficulties, isolation and depression. He understands the lasting psychological impact that period had and continues to have on many people, particularly those who experienced it during formative developmental stages.

 

NDIS and Complex Needs

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Stephan's background as a Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner and Psychosocial Recovery Coach gives him a well-developed capacity to work with NDIS participants and individuals with complex support needs. He understands the frameworks, language and expectations of the NDIS context, and — more importantly — he understands the lived experience of the people who rely on it.

 

His work with complex needs clients has given him a sophisticated understanding of how mental health, behaviour, environment, trauma history and social factors interact, and how to provide therapeutic support that is genuinely useful within the realities of each client's situation. He is experienced in collaborating with schools, support coordinators, disability services and other members of multidisciplinary care teams to ensure continuity and coherence of support.

Expertise

Qualifications & Certifications

Professional Links

PACFA (Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia) - Member  2020 to current

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