Occupational Therapist - Courtney Blair | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Courtney is an Occupational Therapist who enjoys helping her clients develop or improve the skills needed for daily living and work. She graduated from James Cook University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. She has a special interest in paediatrics and neurological conditions. Courtney is passionate about helping children to overcome learning and physical difficulties, develop gross and fine motor skills and gain confidence in their abilities. She also has a special interest in helping people with neurological conditions, such as brain injuries and strokes, to regain function and independence. Courtney has a strong commitment to helping people reach their goals and achieve a sense of accomplishment and independence. It is important to her that the services she provides are client-centred and based around achieving the client’s goals. She is driven by the desire to have her clients feel as though she has made a difference in their life, whether it is big or small. When working with children, she likes parents to have peace of mind, knowing that their children are receiving high quality education and support, and are well cared for when attending their appointments. Originally from New Zealand, Courtney has called Australia home since 2012.
Occupational Therapist - Cathrine Smith | Townsville Expand Cathrine is an Occupational Therapist who is passionate about supporting people to be independent at all stages of life. Cathrine has a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from James Cook University. She has a strong focus on evidence based practice with quality and measurable outcomes for clients. She has a special interest in paediatrics, especially supporting school aged children through their education journey. She also enjoys working with people with neurological conditions to support independence and re-integration into activities of daily living. Cathrine is passionate about understanding the goals that are meaningful to each client and providing practical and accessible solutions. She promotes independence at all stages of life and feels it is important to work with the whole family unit to understand concerns and address barriers effectively. When working with clients, Cathrine wants them to feel as though they have had improvement towards their goals and have been given the education to make informed choices moving forward. She wants each and every one of her clients to feel empowered after each session and parents and families to see positive changes in their loved one.
Occupational Therapist - Julie Bowthorpe | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Julie is an accredited Occupational Therapist with a passion for supporting people to improve their quality of life. Julie has a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from James Cook University. Her areas of special interest are in equipment prescription and home modifications. Julie gets the most job satisfaction from improving a person’s quality of life through modifying their environment, teaching them new skills or providing equipment that assists them to engage more successfully in the world around them. She has a strong commitment to developing a good rapport and working relationship with a client, their families and support coordinators. Listening to and respecting a client and their goals is at the core of her values, and her practice is centred around providing caring and compassionate service that meets her client’s goals and expectations. Julie says she is passionate about making sure clients feel like they are in the driver’s seat when it comes to decisions about their health, function and wellbeing. Wherever possible, she ensures clients are given choices and are well educated about the relevant pros and cons of her recommendations and how these relate to their current and future functional capacity.
Occupational Therapist - Tenneal Fabris | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Tenneal is an accredited Occupational Therapist with a passion for supporting people of all ages to reach and keep their independence. Tenneal graduated from James Cook University with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. She has a special interest in paediatrics, disability, equipment prescription, complex seating, home modifications and mental health. Tenneal is passionate about person-centred practice and wants her clients to feel heard and confident that they have a personalised plan to achieve the outcomes they desire. She has a strong commitment to completing comprehensive assessments, ensuring clients drive decision making and taking a long-term view to ensure clients are prepared with equipment, modifications and supports for now and the future. Tenneal’s practice takes into consideration her client’s unique situation and desires, which enables her to recommend practices and outcomes that her clients may not have thought of or thought possible.
Speech Pathologist - Tamara Bosnjak | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Tamara is an accredited Speech Pathologist who is passionate about helping children and their families build skills and confidence in speech. Tamara graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology with Distinction from James Cook University. She has 13 years of experience working with children in childcare, school and social environments, which fuelled her passion in early intervention to provide children with the best possible plan and opportunity to gain skills and knowledge in preparation for life. The mother of one says she gets great satisfaction out of helping children to get the most out of school, childcare and social life. Tamara understands the importance of developing a strong therapeutic relationship with her clients and their families. She says if there is trust and fun, then the client will feel comfortable and want to come back. Her motto is “Therapy shouldn’t be a chore.” Tamara’s practice works from the basis that the small wins and gains make a difference and add up to the bigger goals. She is passionate about connecting with people and helping them to communicate what is important to them and their families.
Dietitian - Alyce Rees | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Alyce is an accredited Dietitian who is passionate about educating people how to nourish their body through fun group fitness and delicious and nutritious food. Alyce graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science from Deakin University, with a Masters in Dietetics. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education from Curtin University and Certificates III and IV in Fitness from the Australian Institute of Personal Trainers (AIPT). Request an appointment time with Alyce or ask a question She is a common-sense dietitian who translates the evidence into practical strategies to reach your goals. Alyce’s areas of special interest include dietetics for bariatric surgery, low carbohydrate diets for metabolic conditions and food allergies and intolerances. Alyce has a strong commitment to ensuring clients feel listened to; understand their condition or what is occurring in their body; and empowered to make necessary changes without feeling overwhelmed. She feels it is especially important that her clients understand the treatment management plan she has provided, why she has made her recommendations, and how to implement the change. Alyce’s mantra is “Eat well, move well and feel amazing”. In her spare time, she teaches group fitness classes in Cairns.
Dietitian - Carla Sommers | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Carla is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who is passionate about helping people make simple diet and lifestyle changes for their long-term health. Carla has a Bachelor of Human Nutrition majoring in Food Science, with a Masters in Dietetics from Deakin University. She is a Monash FODMAP trained dietitian. Her areas of special interest include dietetics for bariatric surgery and chronic disease management. Carla says it is important that her patients feel as though they are in a safe environment to enable growth and learning around the impact of their food and nutrition on their health and wellbeing. She is passionate about teaching clients how they can make simple changes to their diet and lifestyle which can have large positive effects on their health. She has a strong commitment to ensuring that her clients feel they have been heard and that their treatment has been developed in collaboration with them to achieve their goals. Carla’s practice involves taking the complexity out of nutrition and breaking down recommendations into achievable stages to support her clients to achieve long term success. She finds it rewarding helping people improve their nutrition to assist with the management of health conditions and observing the ongoing positive impacts this has on their overall health and wellbeing.
Dietitian - Julia Gabrielli | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Julia is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who is passionate about educating people of all ages about food and nutrition. Julia has a Bachelor of Dietetics from the University of the Sunshine Coast. She has a special interest in chronic disease management, paediatrics and food allergies and intolerances. Julia is passionate about helping people to develop a healthy relationship with food to support their health and wellbeing. She acknowledges that no ‘one size fits all’, and has a strong commitment to work with clients to make positive changes that can be maintained for life. Julia wants her clients to leave their appointment feeling empowered and confident in their ability to make diet and lifestyle changes.
Dietitian - Teri Ho | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Sao Chan (Teri) Ho is an accredited Dietitian with a passion for supporting people to achieve optimal health through nutrition. Teri has a Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) from QUT and a Masters in Public Health from Macau University of Science and Technology. She has clinical experience in China and Australia. Teri has a special interest in sports nutrition, diabetes management, renal and women’s health, including pregnancy nutrition and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Teri follows a vegan diet and has a passion for helping people achieve optimal nutrition while following a plant-based lifestyle. Having lived in China for most of her life, Teri is also experienced with dietetics for Asian cultures and speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. Teri’s services take into consideration that everybody is unique, including their body composition, physical abilities, culture and eating habits. She has a strong belief that there is no one size fits all solution for people’s health issues. This drives her passion for helping people gain insight into the relationship between their health and their habits and providing individualised dietary strategies. Teri says life is all about balance and this balance is different for everyone and it changes at different life stages. Teri built a passion for food and nutrition when she realised that there were so many confusing nutrition messages and inappropriate food manufacturing and labelling. She has a strong commitment to walking with clients through their journey of improving health outcomes and quality of life.
Psychologist - Corrina Horan | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Corrina is a mental health professional with a passion for supporting people to overcome mental challenges that are holding them back. Corrina graduated from James Cook University with Honours and is completing her Associate Fellowship in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy Training (REBT). She has a special interest in supporting people with high prevalence mental health conditions, particularly anxiety and panic disorder. She also has an interest in disordered eating and eating disorders. Corrina works from evidence-based practice and has a strong commitment to client choice, control and unconditional respect. She is passionate about helping clients to meet their needs in ways that are most helpful for them. It is important to Corrina that her clients feel lighter, more relaxed and, as therapy progresses, more confident about facing challenges.
Psychologist - Gillian Lunn | Townsville Expand Gillian is a Clinical Psychologist who is passionate about supporting people and their families to overcome challenges and implement changes to their lives. Gillian has a Masters of Psychology (Clinical) and a Bachelor of Science from James Cook University. She has a special interest and experience working with young people in the areas of social and separation anxiety, self-esteem, behavioural concerns and neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD, ASD and Intellectual Impairment. Gillian believes it is important to have a good understanding of the ‘why’ behind symptoms and behaviours and spend time with clients and their families developing this understanding and providing information that helps them to make sense of what they are experiencing. She enjoys empowering young people to be able to implement the changes to their lives and take control of their circumstances using the strategies they have been taught. She also believes good engagement in therapy is vital to making positive change and enjoys using elements of fun and creativity in this process, such as storytelling, drawing, colour and games to meet the individual needs of clients. Gillian believes family involvement is fundamental when working with children. As children look to their parents for guidance and support, she feels it is important to not only empower her child clients but their parents too in continuing to support their child’s growth and resilience. Gillian wants children and their parents to walk away from appointments feeling capable of going forward in their lives with a good understanding of themselves, what’s happening around them and how they can manage difficult times. She acknowledges that childhood development brings with it ever-changing circumstances and challenges that families may need support with. She hopes they leave knowing that we are still there for them in the future and feel comfortable returning should they need this support. Gillian is also the proud owner of Therapy Dog, Ollie. Ollie is a four-year-old Spoodle (Cocker Spaniel x Poodle) who has undergone training to be a Therapy dog. Ollie works closely with Gillian a couple of times per week to provide additional support to clients.
Therapy Dog - Ollie | Townsville Expand Ollie is a certified Therapy Dog who works with Clinical Psychologist Gillian Lunn to provide additional support to clients. Ollie completed Foundation Animal-Assisted Intervention and Therapy Dog Certification in 2017 through Lead the Way, completing his recertification in 2018. He is a Spoodle (Cocker Spaniel x Poodle) born in September 2015 who knows a range of tricks including shaking, rolling over, pushing objects and weaving through legs. Ollie’s favourite treats are chicken and doggy chocolates. He dislikes baths and going to bed.
Mental Health Social Worker - Andrea Boyd | Townsville Expand Andrea is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with a passion for helping people find solutions to their difficulties through fun, non-judgemental and collaborative approaches. Andrea has a Bachelor of Social Work from James Cook University. She has experience working with children and families in non-government, private practice and school settings for a wide range of presentations, including family breakdown, specific phobias, trauma, anger, anxiety, depression, grief and loss and interpersonal difficulties. Andrea has a sound understanding of neurodevelopmental difficulties, including ADHD and ASD, and is passionate about supporting parents in understanding and supporting their children. She is passionate about building confidence and skills for parents in understanding and co-regulating their children. Andrea says she enjoys teaching parents emotion coaching techniques and feels she provides a non-judgemental and collaborative approach to behaviour change. She enjoys creating a flexible and creative work environment with clients and their families where they feel safe to engage in the therapeutic process. Andrea prides herself on building a strong therapeutic alliance with clients and enjoys helping them find solutions to their difficulties in a fun and client centred way. She wants clients to feel empowered to independently self-manage their emotions and behaviours and be confident in implementing the strategies they have practiced in sessions. She strives to promote help seeking behaviour across the lifespan. Andrea is the proud owner a Therapy Dog in Training who she says brings a new sense of excitement into the therapy space and assists clients to better engage in sessions and meet their goals. Frankie is a Cavoodle and will be completing her Therapy Dog accreditation in the near future.
Mental Health Social Worker - Michelle Bell | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Michelle is a Mental Health Accredited Social Worker who is passionate about helping people overcome challenges in their personal and professional lives. Michelle is registered with the AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers) and is also a registered nurse. She is a trained neurofeedback practitioner, YMHFA and BRiTA futures facilitator and Butterfly Foundation group facilitator. Michelle has a special interest in perinatal mental health services and pain management. Michelle has experience and skills in a wide range of mental health and emotional issues, including depression; anxiety and stress; perinatal anxiety and depression; anger, trauma and PTSD; pain; interpersonal relationships and communication difficulties; eating disorders; grief and loss, including grief and loss associated with chronic illness; substance misuse; indigenous emotional health and wellbeing; chronic and enduring mental illness and assisting people with job readiness skills. Michelle is trained and experienced in a number of therapies including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IP), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Brief Solution Focussed Therapy and Cognitive Analytical Therapy Formulation (CAT). Michelle’s practice takes into consideration the uniqueness of every person and situation. She applies a social work theory base to her practice that is founded on social justice ideals, and that acknowledges the inherent strengths of each individual. Michelle has a strong commitment to holistic health, health literacy and preventative and early intervention health strategies. Michelle has worked in a range of primary and secondary mental health settings including a specialist mental health employment agency, Queensland Health Mental Health Services (TCCU and ABI), TAIHS and rural areas.
Mental Health Social Worker - Michael Harman | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Michael is a Psychosocial Therapist and Recovery Specialist with a passion for strengthening individuals, families and communities. He is an accredited Mental Health Social Worker with over 20 years experience delivering health and wellbeing programs and services. Michael has a Bachelor of Community Welfare and a Bachelor of Social Work from James Cook University, as well as being a qualified Community Mediator through the Department of Justice and Attorney General. Being a Townsville local raised in a defence family and witnessing the behaviours attributed to PTSD has been a primary motivator for Michael working in the mental health sector. He is the father of a child who has a disability which has motivated his ongoing commitment to assist all people to be valued in society. Michael says he enjoys working with people from various backgrounds and finds that people who have a disability or mental health concerns are some of the most sensitive, nicest and most talented people. He has over 25 years experience working within the mental health and disability sector and is a leader and advocate for people who have been marginalised. He has a firm belief that people who have a mental illness or disability can make a valuable contribution to the community. Michael works with people in the areas of anxiety and depression management, anger management, bipolar disorder, relationship issues, intellectual disabilities, positive behavioural supports and pain disorders. He also provides training to support workers in managing specific challenging behaviours and outcomes. Michael is passionate about helping clients feel a sense of empowerment and mastery over thoughts, feeling and behaviours. He gets great satisfaction from supporting clients to identify their strengths, values and resources and then demonstrate this with positive life choices and goals for now and the future.
Mental Health Social Worker - Anna Jackman | Cairns Expand Location: Cairns Anna is an accredited Mental Health Social Worker with a passion for helping individuals and families address mental health issues and overcome challenges and crises. Anna has a Masters of Social Work, a Bachelor of International Studies and Developmental Anthropology and an Associate Degree in Applied Clinical Health Sciences. She is also an accredited Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapist, an Acceptance Commitment Therapy practitioner and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy practitioner. She has over a decade of Social Work practise experience. Anna is a passionate practitioner who believes her therapeutic relationship with clients is a partnership. She provides psychoeducation and clinical expertise in a safe space where clients can address their mental health issues in tangible, effective and empowering ways. Anna is aware that the external practical and material stressors of everyday life are of key relevance to well mental health as well as the psychological lived-experience of the client. As a clinician who has worked with clients across the lifespan in both remote and regional locations, Anna has extensive experience working with individuals, families, children and young people with a variety of therapeutic needs, including suicide assessment and prevention, anxiety, depression, substance misuse, family and domestic violence and sexual abuse. Anna provides individual and family therapeutic sessions, and can provide risk assessments, intervention treatment plans, safety plans and ongoing counselling. She also provides training, feedback, and intervention crisis management plans for parents or carers of clients across the lifespan with complex volatile behavioural and emotional mental health risks.
Exercise Physiologist - Aric Visentin | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Aric is an accredited Exercise Physiologist with a passion for helping people improve their health and wellbeing through exercise. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY SERVICES Aric graduated from James Cook University with a Bachelor of Exercise Physiology (Clinical). He has specialist training in Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Other areas of interest include chronic disease management; musculoskeletal rehabilitation including falls prevention; pain management; spinal assessments; ergonomic assessments; return to work rehabilitation; metabolic rehabilitation including weight loss and diabetes; and mental health. Request an appointment time with Aric or ask a question Aric assumes a holistic approach with his clients to understand all aspects of their life to be able to provide the best service possible. He is passionate about providing a service that his clients enjoy and finding each person’s drive and motivation to change. His passion is fuelled by a desire to make a difference in his client’s lives, no matter how big or small. Aric challenges himself by competing in running events and participating in adventure and leisure sports. Book an appointment with Aric Refer a patient to Aric
Physiotherapist - Michael McGovern | Townsville Expand Location: Townsville Michael is an accredited Physiotherapist with a passion for health education and helping people overcome pain and move easier. Michael graduated from James Cook University with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy and has clinical experience in both Australia and the UK. He has a special interest in chronic disease management, particularly respiratory disease and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Michael has a strong commitment to understanding the needs and goals of his clients. He says by understanding who they are and what brought them to him in the first place, he is better able to develop personalised plans and goals that suit each individual client. He gets great satisfaction from educating clients about their condition and what can be done to achieve their goals. Michael describes himself as a patient person by nature and says he wants clients to feel that they have been heard and understood, and to walk away with at least one clear, achievable goal to move towards.
Nurse Practitioner and Diabetes Educator - Karen Carcary | Townsville Expand Karen is a Nurse Practitioner and Credentialed Diabetes Educator with a passion for helping people achieve their health improvement goals. Karen is a Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife. She has a Bachelor of Health Sciences from Central Queensland University, a Masters of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University, a Graduate Certificate in Teaching / Communication from University of New England, a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education and Management from University of Technology Sydney and a Masters of Nursing from Charles Darwin University. Karen works collaboratively with clients to achieve their health improvement goals. She is passionate about enabling clients to understand their condition and be able to choose the management options best suited to them. She has a special interest in promoting individualised self-management strategies. Karen says she wants clients to leave their appointment feeling that their concerns have been listened to and addressed, and that they have the tools and confidence to self-manage.