Psychology
The psychology team at the Gabrielle Centre for Children provide evidence-based assessments and interventions to support the healthy development and functioning of children and their families.
Staff
Rosemary Andison is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist who is passionate about working therapeutically in a way that matches the developmental needs of her clients, often making adaptations for language, social-communication, and cognitive delays in the clinic room. She has fifteen years of experience working therapeutically with clients across the lifespan including many neurodiverse clients.
Individual consultations
Individual consultations flow from a comprehensive assessment of the child’s presentation and are based around goals that are meaningful to the child and family. Topics may include:
Treatment for a range of childhood emotional disorders including anxiety and depression
Development of social skills and emotional regulation in young people
Therapeutic support for grief and loss in young people
Communication support for children with disabilities on puberty and sexuality
Therapy services are conducted using developmentally-appropriate, child-friendly techniques. Services may be provided to the child or their parents directly, or comprise of a mixture of child/ parent sessions
Assessments
Our evidence-based, child-friendly assessments explore the nature of a child’s presentation with input from the child, their caregivers, and relevant third-party professionals (eg. teachers, paediatricians). Assessments often include a report with recommendations for next steps for the child.
Read more about the assessments offered here
Assessment for Autism Spectrum Disorder
This gold-standard, multidisciplinary assessment is conducted with a Speech Pathologist and Educational & Developmental Psychologist. This assessment is in line with the National Guideline for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders in Australia published in October 2018 by Autism CRC.
It includes:
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Developmental Interview with the child’s parents [Autism Diagnostic Schedule- Revised (ADI-R)]
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Autism Spectrum Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) with the child
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Observation of the child
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Contact with third-party contacts (eg. teacher)
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Comprehensive report and recommendations
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Feedback session with the family