Hi, I’m Laura - otherwise known as 'Mum’ to two young boys aged 5 and 7, as well as wife, daughter, sister, friend, colleague and fellow unique human.

For the past decade, I have worked as a psychologist with families and young children in a range of different environments including homes, schools, kindergartens, childcare, and in clinics for both assessment and therapy.

The majority of my work has been in the field of Early Intervention for children under 10 years, supporting families of children who have developmental differences. As part of a transdisciplinary team, I have learned much from our occupational therapists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, and specialist teachers regarding all the domains of child development, not just psychology.

Educational and Developmental Psychologist

In 2012 I started my PhD at Monash University, exploring children’s personality development and how it is expressed through their pretend play. During this time, I also worked as a research supervisor and associate lecturer. Even prior to becoming a psychologist, I sought work with children and families, including training as a cardiac technologist at the Royal Children’s Hospital, providing out-of-hours school care at a local primary school, and assisting autistic children in accessing holiday programs and residential care.

Nevertheless, perinatal and early childhood psychology has always been my own special interest area, having always believed in the power of attachment and early years parenting to strongly influence individual development. My little brother was born when I was 7 years old, and ever since, I have been in awe of child development and the influential role of parents.

As my experience expanded, so too did my appreciation for the complex systems that intertwine to impact development. These systems not only arise from our external environments and societies, but within our relationships and also within ourselves. They influence development across our life span, and across the generations.

I have a innate drive to seek patterns and explanations. As a result, I frequently find myself deep diving into new topics in order integrate multiple layers of information and discover the underlying factors that contribute to problems. I aim to build this complex understanding within you too, to help you take a compassionate perspective on your unique lived-experience while we problem solve for the struggles you are facing today.

I always aim to be trauma-informed and neurodiversity affirming, and to contribute to inclusive and empowering spaces where individuals feel respected, understood, and valued for their unique experiences and identities. I have long been known by family and friends as a perpetual student and I will forever be learning from the lived experience of each person I meet (as well as my rapidly-expanding psychology book collection!).

And while I do have experience and training in the area of assessment and diagnosis, I prefer to focus on appreciating differences, exploring daily functioning, strengths, needs, and experimenting with accommodations to find what works best for each individual/family. I am happy to collaborate with other professionals, carers or services, while also integrating any accommodations or strategies that best support you or your child into our sessions.

I very much look forward to meeting you and working together to explore and support your unique family life.

If you would like to read more about the theoretical perspectives that influence my work with children and families, click here.

And if you’d actually like to know (a lot) more about me, click here to read through my blog where I let myself babble on and on about my life as a whole, not just as a psychologist, but especially as a parent and as a child of two parents and all the parts and perspectives that brings.