Therapy
Yael provides counselling and intervention to children and adolescents for mild to moderate mental health concerns including anxiety, low self-esteem, friendship or relational issues, neurodivergence, emotion regulation difficulties or learning concerns.
Yael works from a person-centred and strength-based approach. She brings compassion, patience, warmth and fun to her sessions and tailors each session to the emotional and developmental needs of each child. Yael recognises the importance of the therapeutic relationship and encourages collaboration when working through therapeutic goals. Yael implements evidence-based practices such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness and incorporates play into her therapy sessions.
Parents are an integral part of the therapeutic process and Yael values their input and feedback. Yael also frequently consults with teachers, doctors and allied health professionals to ensure that each child receives holistic care and support, and to ensure the benefits of therapy generalise beyond the clinic.
In addition to providing therapy to children, Yael also offers parent guidance and support to assist in tuning in to their child’s emotions and manage concerning behaviours. Yael values the importance of strengthening the relationship with their child as well as helping parents understand the underlying emotion behind their child’s behaviour. Yael implements the Collaborative and Proactive Solution (CPS) model with parents, children and adolescents. She aims to empower parents with the knowledge of this model, so that they feel confident and able to implement this approach independently.
Assessments
Yael offers cognitive, educational, social-emotional and behavioural assessments for children and adolescents. Assessments utilise standardised tests and questionnaires to evaluate a young person’s well-being and development in one or more of the following areas:
· Academic ability
· Adaptive skills
· Cognitive strengths and challenges
· Executive functioning skills
· Neurodivergence
· Social and emotional well-being
Information from the assessments provide insight into a young person’s preferred learning style and guide the development of interventions and accommodations. It also allows for families to make informed decisions about educational placements and subject selections.
Cognitive Assessment
A cognitive assessment involves a comprehensive exploration of a person’s thinking and problem solving ability. This includes their ability to reason, their working memory and their processing speed. Results aid in the identification of intellectual disability, giftedness and other learning and developmental disorders.
Academic/Learning Assessment
A comprehensive academic assessment explores a person’s performance in various academic areas such as maths, reading, oral language and writing. This is usually conducted together with a cognitive assessment to determine the learning profile and to identify whether a young person presents with a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD).
Behavioural Assessments
Behavioural assessments explore various behaviours such as attention, executive functioning, adaptive functioning, oppositional behaviours, anxiety and depression. These are often in the form of questionnaires and are administered to parents. Depending on the young person’s age, they may also complete a questionnaire themselves. This assessment allows for different perspectives to be gathered of the young person in the home and educational setting.
Autism Assessments
An Autism assessment involves exploring and understanding how a young person experiences their world through various standardised assessment tools, observations and play sessions. These are used to identify whether one meets the criteria for a diagnosis and to provide support in accessing appropriate intervention services.
Assessment Process
Initial Client Session
All clients will have an initial client session. This will be for parents of children who are having the assessment.
After the initial client consultation, the assessments are confirmed and you will be provided with the full fee and appointments to be made.
Observation
Prior to commencing the assessment, Yael will organise to conduct an observation in the education setting and/or organise a phone call with the child’s educator.
Assessment
The duration and number of appointments depend on the assessment type. The total fee also includes report writing.
Feedback Session
The results from the assessment is talked through to the client in this feedback session. This will generally be to the parents of a child who has had the assessment.
“Kids do well if they can”
- Dr. Ross Greene