
Daniel Demellis
Master of Social Work (MSW), Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW)
Hello, my name is Daniel (he/his). I am an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and therapist, and I support people to make sense of overwhelming experiences, foster greater wellbeing, and to improve relationships with themselves and others.
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The majority of my practice focuses on:
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the legacy of traumatic experiences, including complex PTSD and developmental trauma
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regulating difficult emotions and nervous system states
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understanding and improving psychological and relational patterns
My clients often come to therapy feeling confused, overwhelmed, and isolated. After working together, they typically develop a greater sense of understanding, acceptance and connection to life.
More about my work
I am a queer-identifying Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and bring seven years of experience providing clinical mental health support to adults from all walks of life. I partner with people to navigate a range of challenges within their mental wellbeing, internal experiences and relationship to others. I place a high regard towards the therapeutic relationship and aim to promote safety and collaboration - so that together, we can work towards what matters most to you.
I approach therapy with a frame of curiosity, warmth and transparency. Within sessions, I invite us to develop a shared understanding of experiences, then together build a tailored support plan, drawing from a range of integrated approaches. I often work with people who are disproportionately subject to negative mental health outcomes, including victims of abuse or neglect as well as people from marginalised cultural and identity groups. When formulating a narrative, I aim to consider the broader systemic and structural contributors at play, and not solely locate the “problem” within the individual. I continuously strive to be LGBTIQA+ aware, neuro-affirming, trauma-informed and anti-oppressive in my approach.
Outside of the private setting, my experience is primarily located within the public mental health sector, where I work within a specialist service for people with a lived experience of complex trauma and personality vulnerabilities. Part of my role here is within a comprehensive Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) treatment team, providing individual and group therapy. Within my practice, I do not provide clinical diagnosis, however I am experienced in supporting people with a range of diagnoses - including mood and anxiety disorders, trauma-related disorders, personality disorders and experiences of psychosis.

Even more about my work
For those who love to nerd out on therapy
I take an integrative approach to therapy and tailor interventions to each unique individual, often drawing from the following evidence-based modalities:
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)​​
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Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)​ principles
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Strengths-Based and Solutions-Focused Therapy
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Motivational Interviewing
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I am trauma-informed, gender-affirming, and neuro-affirming.​
“No recovery from trauma is possible without attending to issues of safety, care for the self, reparative connections to other human beings, and a renewed faith in the universe.”
- Janina Fisher