Founder and director
Phil Onasu
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW)
Clinical Mental Health Therapist
CEABA Health Service
More than 15 years counselling people through mental health, family violence and alcohol and drugs, including complex cases where they overlap.
- Studied
- Master of Social Work and an MBA in managing and leading people at Southern Cross University. Bachelor of Human Services at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
- Draws on
- Dialectical behaviour therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, mindfulness and the biopsychosocial model.
- Supervises
- Complex case managers, social work students on placement, Accredited Mental Health Social Workers, youth workers, NDIS workers, and probation and parole officers.
Where Phil has worked
Much of Phil’s work has been alongside the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Court, Queensland Corrective Services and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. He has counselled veterans of the Australian Defence Force, Australian Federal Police officers, young people in youth justice and families in child safety.
He has also given employee assistance counselling to health professionals, educators, miners, managers and corporate teams.
Why he does it
“If you have pulled yourself out of a bad situation, teach others how you did it, so they too can pull themselves out of their own.”
What Phil’s dad always told him
Phil believes care is something people grow, not something they give or get. You can only care for others as much as you care for yourself. That’s why he helps people take control of their health and rebuild a sense of purpose.
Change, for Phil, is only possible when you believe you can grow, and want something different from the way things are.
Anutucare
Outside the counselling room, Phil founded Anutucare, which helps get hospital equipment to Papua New Guinea and Fiji, working with charities, NGOs and church organisations. For hospital supplies, visit anutucare.org.