Anna van Zyl

MSocSc (Counselling), Grad. Dip. (SocWk) B.A.D.A (Hons)

Anna van Zyl is a South African who has lived in Singapore for over eleven years.  Anna is a member of the Singaporean Association of Social Workers, and has more than 10 years experience in social work and counselling in Singapore. She did her undergraduate studies in South Africa, her Graduate Studies in Social Work at the National University of Singapore, and obtained her Masters in Counselling from the University of South Australia. She therefore brings a mix of cultural knowledge and theories to her work with all her clients, no matter what their nationality.

Anna provides counselling to individuals, couples, adolescents and children and has a particular interest in family dynamics.

She approaches the counselling relationship from the social work paradigm that frequently a client’s challenges stem from both internal and external struggles. Addressing internal issues may involve an in-depth look at the client’s childhood and family- of- origin to better understand how and why the current unhappiness began.  External forces on a client can be more tangible and may be more along the lines of job stress, financial concerns, and family dynamics. Anna will help clients to deconstruct their particular problem to see what each force is doing to contribute to the situation, and how to resolve it.

Anna’s main theoretical framework is that of a person-centred counsellor - she believes that the client has all the answers within him/herself, and she will provide the safe, non-judgmental space, support and tools for the client to return to his/her state of well being.