Our Practitioner Community
The consultants at Harris House are independent practitioners, with individual experience and areas of special interest.
Melanie Backwell
Melanie is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker currently working with people of all ages through her business, BeWell Counselling and Wellbeing. She specialises with children, adolescents, parents and families, being familiar with the complexities that can come with the adolescent cohort, and can tailor her practice to meet the needs of the client and their family.
Melanie is committed to her clients and enjoys connecting with people to build a trusting, therapeutic relationship. She strives to meet the needs of the individual through various techniques, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and play therapy. Melanie's services include individual therapy, parent consults, and family therapy.
Melanie holds a Master of Social Work from Deakin University, a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) also from Deakin University, and is an accredited member of the Australian Association of Social Workers.
Services Available
Melanie's specialty areas include Adolescent and Child Psychotherapy, anxiety, emotion regulation, depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder, relationships, social skills development, grief and loss, anger management, LGBTIQI+, trauma, and clinical supervision.
Melanie has been providing professional services in Geelong for over 10 years. She has extensive experience working with children and individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and is confident in her skills to support them and their families. Melanie has the capacity to provide support to individuals and families in a face-to-face or telehealth capacity, in the client's home, or in the community.
Clients are able to access mental health care plans through their GP or Paediatrician, which allows up to ten sessions per calendar year that are claimable through Medicare.
Clients are able to utilise NDIS plans (self-managed or plan-managed).
Clients are able to access Melanie's services privately without a referral and without a Medicare rebate. These sessions are unlimited.
Contact Details
Email melanieebackwell@gmail.com
Phone 0424 240 486
Sophie Buckle
Sophie is a skilled therapist specialising in supporting children, adolescents, and parents facing a variety of social and emotional challenges. She provides a range of services, including parenting consultations, child and adolescent psychotherapy, and family therapy. Sophie's therapeutic approach is tailored to each individual, integrating techniques from Psychodynamic Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Family Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Play Therapy, and Mindfulness. With experience in both short-term and long-term therapy models, Sophie adapts her methods to best meet the unique needs of her clients.
Sophie is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and holds a Master of Social Work from LaTrobe University, a Master of Mental Health Science and Child Psychotherapy from Monash University and is a member of the Child Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Association of Australia. Sophie has over 10 years experience working in both the public and private sector.
Services Available
Clients are able to access sessions for psychological therapy via their GP or Paediatrician for a referral for a Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plan for up to ten sessions per calendar year, or they are able to access services privately (without a referral and without a Medicare rebate). Sophie also accepts clients with NDIS plans or self-managed referrals.
Contact Details
Email sophierbuckle@gmail.com
Call 0448 286 667
Website https://www.halaxy.com/profile/sophie-buckle/psychotherapist/524991?clinic=483511
Tiffany Heritage
Tiffany is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with over 14 years of experience working therapeutically with children and families. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work, a Postgraduate Diploma of Mental Health Science in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, and a Postgraduate Certificate of Play and Art Therapy. Tiffany is a current serving Board Member of the Australian Play Therapists Association (APTA). Additionally, she is a certified Autplay® Therapy provider and trained in Theraplay® and Synergetic Play Therapy®.
Services Available
Playful Minds Therapy is a mental health and developmental therapy service for children aged 2–10 years. Services are offered in both Child Play Therapy and Parent–Child Play Therapy. Play therapy is extensively researched and evidence based. It is shown to help children facing a variety of challenges, including developmental concerns, mental health difficulties, trauma, behavioural difficulties, emotional regulation issues, self-esteem struggles, family changes, and social-relational difficulties.
Services can be accessed using self-managed or plan-managed NDIS funding. Medicare rebates are available for psychological therapies provided by an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (GP referral is required). Some private health insurance funds may also offer rebates, as well as funding from third parties such as Child Protection or the Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme. For more information about fees and rebates, please contact Playful Minds Therapy or visit:
https://playfulmindstherapy.com.au/fees
Contact Details
Email admin@playfulmindstherapy.com.au
Call 0489 239 397
Website playfulmindstherapy.com.au
Kelly Seignior
Kelly is a Speech Pathologist and the Director of Kelly Seignior Speech Pathology. She graduated in 2006 in Leeds, England, working at the Department of Education in England and the NHS across 3 NHS Trusts. Here she worked in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, MND clinics, community clinics, a Specialist Language Unit, Mainstream and Specialist Schools as well as being the lead Speech Pathologist for 3 brand new Child and Family Centres. Alongside this, in 2008, Kelly set up her own private practice working as an Independent Speech Pathologist in the UK. Upon arriving in Australia in 2010, Kelly worked in an Early Intervention Team, originally only planning to stay for 6 months before staying for almost 7 years. This formed her clinical progression into ASD assessments. Kelly then continued in her own private practice role that had been set up in 2012 and now specialises in autism assessments, as well as holding a small caseload.
Kelly has been fortunate to work under the supervision of Helen Rippon, Speech Pathologist and Illustrator of the popular Black Sheep Press worksheets, undergo training at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering and complete training in Hanen, Social Thinking, Talkability, Floortime DIR and administering the ADOS and Orofacial Myofunctional Assessment and Therapy.
Services Available
Kelly’s passion lies in supporting babies and children with orofacial myofunctional disorders and assessing/supporting children with speech/language and ASD assessments, guiding them on their next pathway.
Clients are able to utilise NDIS plans (self-managed or plan-managed) and also access services privately without referral.
Contact Details
Email kellyspeechie@gmail.com
Phone 0433 462 565
Cate Teague
Cate is a credentialled Adult and Infant Mental Health Nurse with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses www.acmhn.org
She has recently completed her Masters in Health (Perinatal & Infant Mental Health) at Federation University. She also brings with her over 30 years experience of Midwifery and Maternal & Child Health Nursing, ensuring a depth of knowledge in all things perinatal.
Having worked in Inpatient Mother and Baby setting for the last 10 years, she is highly experienced in mother-infant therapeutic interventions, perinatal adjustment and infants who may be unsettled.
Services Available
Cate is presently offering a variety of programs tailored to newborn infants (0-3 months) that includes infant massage, developmental play and ways to understand your individual infant while holistically supporting parents in their transition to parenting.
For infants over 4 months of age, she can also offer the Watch, Wait and Wonder program which is a gentle intervention for parent-infant dyads to enhance bonding, improve infant sleep, tantrums, and developmental difficulties. To learn more: www.watchwaitwonderdownunder.com
For clinicians, Cate has completed Clinical Supervision training with Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice (CPNRP) and is available as a provider for any clinicians working in the perinatal and infant mental health space.
Clients can access sessions directly via email to discuss packages and medicare options.
Contact Details
Email catethenurse@outlook.com