Hi, I'm Chriestiena, a PACFA registered counsellor, mother of three, and founder of Align Wellness and Therapy.

I specialise in online counselling for expats, third-culture individuals, and globally mobile individuals. People who are building lives across borders, managing shifting identities, and dealing with the kind of transitions that don't come with a roadmap.

I know what it means to belong to more than one world.

I was born in Surabaya, spent fifteen years in Melbourne, and lived a decade in Singapore before returning to Indonesia. I've built a life across cultures, and I know the particular exhaustion of it. The constant adjusting. The grief of leaving places and people behind. The strange work of figuring out who you are when the context keeps changing. I've done this while raising three children far from extended family, and I've had to find my way back to myself more than once.

That experience shapes everything about how I work.

If you've ever felt like you're from everywhere and nowhere, if you're an expat in Southeast Asia, a third-culture adult, or someone in the middle of a major life shift and not sure who you are on the other side of it, you're in the right place. I get it from the inside, not just from a textbook.

I came to counselling because of my lived experience, not in spite of it. After years of holding space for others in family and volunteer roles, I chose to step into the healing space professionally. I hold a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Counselling from Monash University, Melbourne. I am a registered member of PACFA, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, recognised by Allied Health Professions Australia.

My approach draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-based practices. It is also informed by my personal grounding in contemplative and spiritual practice. I bring steadiness to the work. I don't rush it.

I work with people dealing with anxiety, grief, depression, major life transitions, relationship breakdown, and loneliness. Particularly those whose experiences cross cultural lines and don't fit the standard Western therapy mould.

As an English-speaking counsellor based in Surabaya, Indonesia, I offer professional support to expats and locals across Asia and beyond. Sessions are available in English and Indonesian.

I don't believe healing has to happen in a clinical room with a box of tissues and a clock on the wall. Sometimes it happens in a quiet conversation, on a walk, or simply in finally feeling like someone understands where you're coming from.

This space is for you. Come as you are.

Email_Chriestiena for more info.