About Sandra
Sandra Shearer welcomes people who are facing family strain, grief, low self-esteem, career uncertainty or big life changes. She writes plainly and listens closely to understand what matters to each person. Sandra aims to make the first step feel manageable and respectful.
Sandra has eight years of work in community services and mental health supports across Australia. She uses a flexible, person-focused approach so discussions and goals match each client’s situation.
How Sandra works
Conversations are practical and centred on the client’s priorities. Her practice includes support for people affected by cancer, caregiver stress, chronic illness and chronic pain. Sandra also assists with issues related to HIV and AIDS, intellectual disability, isolation, workplace problems and finding life purpose.
These areas often overlap, and she helps people untangle practical and emotional challenges. Sandra draws on client-centred therapy to follow the person’s lead, and on motivational interviewing to strengthen motivation for change. She uses narrative and solution-focused techniques to help people reframe difficult stories and build small, realistic steps forward.
Sandra holds PACFA credentialing. Sessions are offered in English and take place online in a variety of formats. The focus is on creating clear goals, steady progress and a working plan that fits each person’s life.
Sandra lists 4 ways of working on the entry:
What Sandra works with
The areas below are the ones Sandra selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Coping with life changes
- HIV / AIDS
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
Training and background
| Register | PACFA |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 8 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Australia |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Therapeutic approaches and online counselling options
Client-centred therapy focuses on following the client’s lead, listening carefully and building goals that matter to the person. It helps when someone needs a calm space to talk and decide what they want to change.Motivational interviewing helps people find and strengthen their own motivation to make changes. It is useful for shifting habits, making career moves, or taking small steps during life transitions.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Sandra will collaborate with each client to identify which methods fit their goals and preferences, and adjust the plan as they progress. The choice of approach is reviewed together as the relationship develops.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging, which gives flexibility for different days and routines. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited, live chat is handy for shorter check-ins, and messaging supports ongoing reflection between sessions. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving or health challenges.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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