Shoko Kasanami, AASW

Shoko Kasanami is an AASW social worker with four years of clinical experience in Australia. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, addictions, low self-esteem, depression and coping with life changes. Shoko also focuses on body image, guilt and shame, isolation and questions about life purpose. She speaks English and Japanese and draws on lived experience alongside professional training.

Shoko completed a Master of Social Work after moving from Canada. Her earlier role in a government child protection department shaped how she listens to complex histories. She now works with an organisation involved in offender rehabilitation and brings that background into practical conversations about behaviour and change.

In sessions she uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy and Solution-Focused Therapy. That means she helps people notice patterns in thinking and behaviour, tell their stories with fresh perspective, and set small workable goals. The work is often concrete - trying different ways of responding and checking what helps.

Shoko aims to make the room straightforward and direct. She invites people to name a problem, try a small change, and review what shifted. Conversations can include coping strategies, thought-challenging, and steps toward clearer decision making about work, relationships or health.

Outside of work she enjoys motorcycles, skateboarding and music. Her combination of professional experience and life perspective is directed at helping people who feel stuck figure out practical next steps.

How therapeutic approaches shape online sessions