Team

Stephanie is passionate about making a difference in the lives of children. She takes a great interest in each individual family and in choosing a therapy approach that targets the goals of the child while meeting each family’s needs. She loves seeing the joy in each child as they develop skills and achieve their goals. Steph has experience working with children with a range of differing disabilities within a paediatric setting. Her areas of interest include, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down syndrome, genetic conditions (including chromosomal abnormalities), global developmental delay, learning difficulties, handwriting, toileting, sensory processing, self-regulation and functional fine-motor skills. In her spare time, Steph enjoys spending time with her family, water-skiing, travelling, and working in her garden.

Fiona loves working with children and seeing them grow and develop, both in skills and confidence. Fiona is trained in the areas of Autism, sensory processing, aquatic therapy, feeding therapy, wheelchair and home modification prescription, handwriting, self-regulation and physical movement difficulties including DCD; cerebral palsy, down syndrome and chromosomal deletions. As a mother of 3, Fiona understands the challenges that come with raising children and is practical in her therapy delivery as well as being loads of fun!

Lauren has a Masters in Occupational Therapy Practice and a Bachelor of Physiotherapy. She began working at The Therapy Place in 2018 and is passionate about working collaboratively with children, young people and their families, to reach their full potential. She aims to empower her clients to increase their confidence and abilities in order to engage in meaningful occupations. She has a particular interest in working with children and adolescents on social skills and life skills.

Bettina is an Occupational Therapist who joined the Therapy Place team in early 2021. She has worked previously with older adults but has loved her recent transition to working with children of all ages and abilities. She has key interests in handwriting and fine motor skill development. She prides herself on working to make therapy fun and engaging and is passionate about helping each child develop their confidence and independence whilst achieving their goals. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her boys, being outdoors, reading and baking.

Jacqui has had a passion for paediatrics her whole life, and has been working as an Occupational Therapist for 2 years prior to joining The Therapy Place in 2021. She has completed continuing education in Food Therapy, Reflex Integration and Handwriting. She enjoys working with a range of ages and abilities to help them to function as independently as possible in their daily lives. In her spare time Jacqui loves reading, spending time at the beach, and dancing.

Rebecca completed her Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Occupational Therapy Practice degrees at La Trobe University, before joining the Therapy Place in 2020. After teaching children’s music classes, Rebecca found her passion in the field of paediatrics. Rebecca recognises the strengths in each young person she works with, supporting them to build their skills and confidence to achieve their goals. She is experienced in supporting children and adolescents across a diverse range of areas, including fine and gross motor skills, play, self-care, participation in home and school routines, mental wellbeing, and emotional regulation. Additionally, Rebecca enjoys being active and is excited to be a part of our aquatic therapy, basketball and bike riding school holiday programs.

Chi is passionate about supporting children to grow, develop, and build the skills they need to participate confidently in their everyday activities. She enjoys working with children of all ages and abilities, partnering closely with families to help each child achieve their individual goals and reach their full potential. Chi values strong relationships with families, colleagues, and the wider community, recognising that collaborative teamwork is essential to achieving the best outcomes for children. Outside of work, she enjoys baking, photography, spending time at the beach, and hiking with friends.

Matthew completed a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Australian Catholic University and is a registered member of Occupational Therapy Australia. He has a passion for working with children, youth and their families following many years of experience running games and programs at a youth group and coaching basketball teams. Matthew is passionate about helping young people with achieving their goals in a holistic and friendly way with the aim of developing independence. When Matthew is not working at The Therapy Place, he is playing basketball, watching movies, or playing board games with friends.

Laura has been working as a paediatric occupational therapist since graduating with a Master of Occupational Therapy Practice in 2023. She is passionate about supporting children and their families to develop functional skills so they can flourish and thrive. Laura loves bringing fun and whimsy into therapy and values working collaboratively with each child’s support network to help achieve meaningful goals. Outside of work, you'll almost always find Laura with her head in a book, spending time with her partner and their dog, or at Calisthenics. She is an active member of a Calisthenics club, where she both performs and coaches.

Elisa is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who has been working with children and their families since 1998.She brings extensive paediatric nutrition skills to The Therapy Place, having worked for many years at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and Monash Health Community. Her areas of interest include picky feeding, fussy eating, faltering growth, allergy and intolerance (including FODMAP’S), weight management, infant feeding, and general childhood nutrition. She is passionate about helping families establish happy mealtimes and healthy relationships with food. As a Mum of two Elisa understands the challenges of feeding a family whilst maintaining your sense of humour!

Emma is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who has completed her Master of Nutrition and Dietetics and is a Credentialled Eating Disorder Dietitian with Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED). She is passionate about supporting families to navigate fussy eating and disordered eating patterns, with a strong focus on helping clients build a positive, sustainable relationship with food by encouraging eating without rules or restriction. Emma’s clinical interests include eating disorders, selective eating, diabetes, gut issues, allergies and intolerances as well as general nutrition. Outside of work, she enjoys curling up with a good book or unwinding with a light-hearted sitcom.

Samantha graduated in 1998. She has worked in a variety of settings including schools, early intervention and private practice. Her special areas of interest are Early Intervention, Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) systems, Dyspraxia, language learning as well as social learning and thinking. Samantha is passionate about working with AAC and has experience with PODD, Proloquo2 Go and LAMP. She supports families from the introduction of AAC to clients with more advanced skills. Outside of work she enjoys gardening, learning languages and watching movies.

Lily completed her Bachelor of Speech Pathology at Australian Catholic University and is a registered member of Speech Pathology Australia. Prior to starting at The Therapy Place, she spent time working in the community disability setting, where she gained experience working with a diverse range of clients with varying conditions. Lily believes in creating client centred, functional goals that incorporate the clients’ interests to ensure that therapy is engaging and fun. She is passionate about helping her clients to reach their full potential. In her spare time Lily enjoy Pilates, going to the beach, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Bethany graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Speech Pathology. Bethany was born and raised in Malaysia, giving her an understanding of different cultures and backgrounds. She is also bilingual as she speaks both English and Mandarin. As a speech pathologist, Bethany understands that communication comes in different shapes and sizes. Hence, her passion lies in providing fun and functional therapy tailored for children. On the weekends, Bethany likes spending her time building mechanical keyboards, going on walks and playing badminton with her family.

Julia is a dedicated speech therapist who completed a Masters of Speech Pathology degree at the University of Melbourne. She has experience working in the paediatric disability sector, where she worked with children in clinic and outreach services. She is passionate about supporting young people to reach their communication goals and believes in empowering every child to attain their potential by equipping them with the necessary tools to effectively communicate. Julia practices with a family-centred approach, ensuring that families are involved in the entire therapeutic process. She ensures that communication goals set are holistic, functional and tailored to each young person’s specific needs and circumstances. Her specific areas of interest include speech, early language, and literacy.

Archie graduated from Flinders University in 2014 and is a dedicated Speech Therapist with experience working across a variety of settings. Born in India and raised in Singapore, Archie values cultural diversity and brings a culturally responsive approach to supporting children and families. Archie is passionate about ensuring that everyone has a voice and advocates for every individual's right to communicate. Taking a holistic, family-centred approach, Archie works collaboratively with families and other professionals to help children reach their full potential. Areas of special interest include early intervention, paediatric feeding, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Archie has experience implementing a range of AAC systems, including Proloquo2Go, LAMP, and WordPower, and enjoys supporting families to find communication solutions that best meet their child's needs. Outside of work, Archie enjoys relaxing with a good book and a cup of coffee.

Susan is a member of the administration team and is one of the friendly faces you will see when arriving at The Therapy Place. She has previously worked as an integration aide. Susan, along with the others in the admin team look after invoicing, receipting payments, answering the phones and any queries people may have. She loves getting to know all the families who come to the clinic. At home she enjoys bike riding, reading and watching too much TV.

Katrina is one of the administration staff at The Therapy Place. Katrina is married with four children. Given her family situation, she is very engaged with and interested in the types of therapies provided at the clinic, and has loved seeing the dedication and care of all our therapists and how well the team works together.

Emily is typically the person happily greeting you at The Therapy Place. She's a fan of slow evenings doing puzzles with her tabby cat Basil, music on her record player, and at least one oat flat white coffee per day. You'll often find her working on a NYT Sunday crossword, trying out a random arts and crafts project, or doing home DIY's at a questionable hour of the night. She's a big lover of all animals, so do share any stories or pictures with her!

Marice is a dedicated member of our administration team who works remotely from her home in the country. Marice has been with The Therapy Place since it’s beginning and has remained a dedicated part of the team since. Marice's responsibilities include marking off payments and invoices so you may get a message from her if there are any payment queries. In her spare time, Marice enjoys reading, watching TV and looking after the farm animals!