Meet Our Team

Narelle Rigby, Psychotherapist; Mental Health Endorsed Senior Occupational Therapist

Qualifications: Bachelor OT (1998), Masters Clinical Family Therapy (2005) LaTrobe University.

Service Locations and Hours:

• Seaford Clinic and telehealth – Wednesdays weekly and Friday fortnightly
• Parkdale Clinic and telehealth – other days.

Narelle is an Occupational Therapist and Psychotherapist with extensive experience (25 years) working with adults and families, who are experiencing a range of difficulties relating to: C-PTSD, PTSD, personality disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, psychosis, and difficulties adjusting to life events.

Narelle draws from a wide range of evidence based therapeutic modalities to support and assist the people she works with:

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) Therapy
• Sensory Modulation
• Family Therapy
• Task analysis and development of personalised interventions
• Environment modification to optimise performance
• Motivational Interviewing
• ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy)
• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
• Narrative Therapy
• Functional and Sensory Assessments

Narelle has a particular interest and skill set in working with people who have experienced trauma. She is passionate about helping to reduce and minimise the impact of this past trauma on current day to day functioning.

Julia Dixon, Mental Health Endorsed Senior Occupational Therapist

Qualifications: MOTPrac (2008), BHSc (2003). LaTrobe University.

Service Locations and Hours:

• Seaford, Melbourne – Onsite at Clinic and Telehealth
• Monday and Tuesday 9am to 3pm; Thursday 9am to 5pm

Julia is an Occupational Therapist with extensive experience (15 years) working with children, adolescents, adults and families, who are experiencing a range of difficulties relating to: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, C-PTSD, PTSD, anxiety and mood disorders, and difficulties adjusting to life events.

Julia draws from a wide range of evidence based therapeutic modalities to support and assist the people she works with:

• Child-Focused Parent Therapy (or Parent Coaching)
• Sensory Modulation
• Routine establishment and maintenance
• Task analysis and development of personalised interventions
• Environment modification to optimise performance
• Motivational Interviewing
• Person-Environment-Occupation exploration, review and interventions to promote and support (building) independence
• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
• Narrative Therapy
• Functional and Sensory Assessments

Julia has a particular interest and skill set in working with people who are neurodivergent and supporting them and their families. She is passionate about collaborating with people to help them to live their best lives, with meaning and purpose.

Britt Watson, Mental Health Endorsed Senior Occupational Therapist; Psychotherapist

Qualifications: B.OccThy, JCU, (2002); Diploma of Life Coaching (2010)

Service Locations and Hours:

• Mobile services across Brisbane Metro South
• Telehealth Australia-wide
• Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4pm

Britt is a Senior Occupational Therapist and Psychotherapist with more than 20 years of experience working in mental health. She works primarily with adolescents and adults, including people experiencing mental health difficulties, ADHD, autism, executive functioning difficulties and psychosocial disability.

Britt’s work focuses on how mental health, neurodivergence and disability affect everyday functioning. This may include difficulties starting and completing tasks, planning and organising, maintaining routines, managing household responsibilities, coping with sensory demands, completing self-care, participating in work or study, and sustaining the demands of day-to-day life.

Britt is OTA Mental Health Endorsed and is eligible to provide Focussed Psychological Strategies under the Medicare Better Access initiative.

Focussed Psychological Strategies and therapeutic approaches include:

• Psychoeducation
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• DBT informed skills
• Motivational Interviewing
• Relaxation, regulation and stress management strategies

Additional occupational therapy strategies may include:

• Sensory modulation
• Executive functioning strategies
• Routine development
• Task analysis
• Environmental modification
• Functional assessment and Functional Capacity Assessments

Britt takes a practical, collaborative and trauma informed approach. She works with people to understand what is getting in the way of everyday activities and to identify strategies, supports and environmental changes that can make daily life more manageable and sustainable.

She has a particular interest in the interaction between mental health, neurodivergence, executive functioning and everyday occupational performance.

Britt provides Medicare mental health occupational therapy, private occupational therapy and Functional Capacity Assessments. She provides mobile services across Brisbane Metro South and telehealth services Australia-wide.

Sarah Sladek

Qualifications: Allied Health Assistant

Service Locations:

• Seaford Clinic, Melbourne
• Mobile services
• Telehealth, where appropriate

Sarah works as an Allied Health Assistant within the occupational therapy team, supporting children, adolescents and adults to practise and build everyday skills identified in their occupational therapy plan.

Her role focuses on helping clients put occupational therapy strategies into practice through regular, structured support and repetition.

Support may include:

• Building and maintaining daily routines
• Practising daily living and household skills
• Supporting organisation and task completion
• Developing independence with everyday activities
• Supporting community participation and social engagement
• Reinforcing sensory and regulation strategies developed with the occupational therapist
• Practising skills between occupational therapy sessions
• Supporting graded implementation of strategies in everyday environments

Sarah works under the direction and supervision of an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist remains responsible for assessment, clinical reasoning, goal setting and changes to the therapy plan.

Sarah also brings lived experience as a parent of neurodivergent children, which contributes to her practical understanding of the day to day demands experienced by many children, young people and families.

Her approach is practical, supportive and focused on helping clients build confidence, consistency and independence in everyday activities.