ABOUT
Get to Know Me
and My Philosophy
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MEET YOUR THERAPIST
Dora Barta
Counsellor & Psychotherapist, founder of Coast Counselling
About Me
I am the founder of Coast Counselling, a private practice offering individual and couples counselling for adults and adolescents in Singapore.
I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Psychology, as well as an M.Sc. in Sociology and Cross-Cultural Communication. I am a registered counsellor with the Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC). Before becoming a counsellor, I worked in the healthcare system in the UK and later ran my own company in Singapore, where, as a mother of two children myself, I designed and delivered workshops for parents.
Originally from Hungary, I have lived in four countries across two continents and have called Singapore home for over 12 years. This has shaped my understanding of identity, belonging, transition, and the complexity of building a life across cultures. It also helps me understand some of the challenges that can come with expat life in Singapore, while offering a thoughtful outside perspective to local clients exploring their own experiences and relationships.
Outside of my counselling work, I enjoy creating elaborate fondant cakes and organising community events.
MY APPROACH
Compassionate, evidence-based therapy, shaped around you.
I believe therapy should be a space where you can feel properly heard, understood, and met without judgment. Many people come to counselling because something in life feels difficult, overwhelming, or hard to make sense of.
My role is to help you explore what may be happening beneath the surface, understand the patterns that may be shaping how you feel and relate to others, and support you in moving towards change.
I work with adults and adolescents experiencing a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, worry and feeling overwhelmed, work-related stress and burnout, low self-esteem and self-criticism, relationship and family difficulties, grief and loss, traumatic or distressing experiences, loneliness, and difficulty feeling connected.
Therapy can also offer support during relocation and cross-cultural adjustment, parenthood, career changes and other major life transitions, as well as when you find yourself repeating emotional or relationship patterns or questioning your identity, direction or sense of meaning.
I see counselling as a collaborative process. I do not see my role as giving advice or telling people how they should live their lives. I work alongside my clients, helping them understand themselves more deeply and bringing attention to patterns, themes, and emotional undercurrents that may not yet be fully clear to them.
Clients often describe me as warm, non-judgemental, and easy to talk to. Alongside empathy and careful listening, I also believe therapy needs honesty and, at times, gentle challenge: not only feeling understood, but also creating meaningful change.
My approach is integrative and shaped around the person in front of me. I work with evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Existential Therapy, and Family Systems Therapy. I am also trained in Psychodynamic Therapy, Person-Centred Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and I continue to develop my practice through further study of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Schema Therapy.
In my work with couples, I incorporate principles from the Gottman Method and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), helping partners better understand recurring patterns, communicate more effectively, and strengthen emotional connection.
You can also find short VIDEOS explaining some of the therapeutic approaches I use.
I also believe humour and compassion, especially towards ourselves, can be an important part of coping, healing, and change.
