Emma Langham
Founding Director and Principal Clinical Psychologist
BA (Psych) Hons, M Psych (Clin), GradDip (Dev Trauma) | Member APS, Fellow CCLP
Emma has 20 years of experience as a Psychologist throughout a range of services in the Hunter region, working with families and children alongside Paediatricians, Nurses, Social Workers, Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists. Emma is dedicated to working with children and their families for almost any issue that is preventing them living a full and happy life. This passion led Emma to establish an accessible family friendly centre with a team of dedicated, warm and engaging therapists for the provision of timely and high quality interventions for which she is immensely grateful.
Emma enjoys providing assessment and intervention for children where the cause of challenging behaviour is unclear and complex, and where differential diagnoses (other explanations for the problem) need clarifying. This is particularly relevant regarding children who have suffered family based trauma or neglect and are experiencing developmental, behavioural or emotional concerns such as anxiety, hyperactivity, oppositional behaviours, or obsessive concerns. Emma welcomes referrals for children in Out of Home Care where it is unclear whether the child may have a developmental/ behavioural disorder, (such as ADHD, ODD, Autism Spectrum) and/or trauma. Emma is accredited to use the Griffiths (developmental assessment), Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule and Autism Diagnostic Interview in her assessments, and uses a wide range of other evidence based assessments in her work.
Emma also has particular expertise and interest in working therapeutically with children who are in Out of Home Care and their carers. Emma works from an attachment model (considering key relationships between children and their carers) and is trained in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (Family Focused Psychotherapy), having undertaken training with American Psychologist Dan Hughes in his first ever Australian based training in 2014. Emma also utilises Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Narrative and other Family Therapy frameworks in her work. Emma is also accredited in Triple P parenting coaching, Tuning Into Kids parenting, the parent-child Exploring Together program, is a Fun Friends facilitator and is Circle of Security trained.
Emma also provides assessment and consultation regarding problem eaters with limited diets and for children with food aversion utilising the Sequential Oral Sensory model, with limited therapy appointments.
Adding further to Emma’s extensive knowledge base she completed a Graduate Certificate in Developmental Trauma through the Australian Childhood Foundation in 2016.
Emma is a Psychology Board Approved Supervisor of psychologists in training at all levels, including for Clinical endorsement and higher degree students. Emma also does some casual lecturing to Masters and PhD candidates at the University of Newcastle.
Outside of work, Emma spends time with her young family bike riding and exploring the outdoors.
Hillary Milton
Consultant Senior Psychologist
BSc (Psych) (Hons), Masters of Family Therapy
Hillary Milton is a registered psychologist who has over 10 years of experience working in a variety of public health positions (Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Mobile Outreach Therapy Teams, Child and Family) and in private sector working with children and families experiencing a range of issues including complex trauma, out-of-home-care transitions, challenging behaviours, anxiety and depression.
Hillary has completed a Masters in Family Therapy from the NSW Institute of Psychiatry and enjoys working from a family perspective in order to support children and carers to achieve positive goals. Every child is different and Hillary’s experience with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Circle of Security, Attachment Theory and Strengths Based Therapy enables her to tailor her approach to the needs of the child and family. She works hard to ensure that therapy sessions provide children and families with a safe, consistent space to develop positive relationships and make effective change. She has experience facilitating group programs such as Positive Parenting Program, Get Lost Mr Scary, and the Cool Kids Anxiety Program.
Hillary has 3 young children and a dog, with the ultimate goal being to wear them out before they wear her out!
Katie Blaxland
Consultant Psychologist
BPsych (Hons) | Associate Member APS
Katie is a registered psychologist with experience working in the disabilities sector and supporting individuals with a range of presentations, including autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, complex trauma, challenging behaviour, anxiety and depression.
Katie has a strong interest in supporting children and their families; she understands the importance of taking a holistic approach to treatment, working collaboratively with the child’s support network and providing a safe therapeutic space. She also acknowledges that there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to supporting her clients and that it can be necessary to think outside of the box. Katie will often use visuals in her practice to cater to the development needs of her clients and engage them in the therapeutic process.
Katie has been trained in a range of evidence-based therapeutic approaches, such as cognitive behaviour therapy, motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy and positive behaviour support. She is skilled in delivering therapies specific to the treatment of anxiety and emotional dysregulation in children and adolescents, such as the ‘Cool Little Kids’ and ‘Cool Kids Programs’ (including the ASD adaptation) and the Zones of Regulation program.
Katie also provides a range of cognitive (IQ), behavioural, personality, developmental and memory-based assessments and has been trained in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Outside of work, Katie likes to spend time with her family, travel and perform in theatre productions.
Rose Cousins
Provisional Psychologist
B Psychological Science (Honours)
A born and bred Novocastrian, Rose appreciates the importance of a person’s community and network, and sees value in assisting young people to identify their strengths and their support systems. Rose has a strong passion for mental health, disability, and education. Rose has gained experience assisting people from all walks of life through her previous roles as a Team Leader, and as a disability and mental health support worker within the NDIS sector. This professional experience has afforded Rose the opportunity to pursue her passion for working closely with clients and their support systems to assist them in achieving outcomes that are meaningful to the client’s cultural and emotional background. Rose also has experience in planning and achieving positive outcomes through her previous work at the University of Newcastle as a Specialist Peer Mentor for students on the spectrum, and through her work as a student cadet within the Vice Chancellor’s Office at the University of Newcastle. Rose also feels passionately about her current volunteer role as Sexual Education Coordinator for What Were You Wearing Australia.
Rose has always loved working with young people and their families, and has many years’ experience providing violin tutoring to students aged 4 and up. As a passionate musician herself, Rose is creative in her engagement with others.
Outside of work, Rose feels most at home when she is exercising, travelling, and above all, enjoying the company of those she loves.
Dr Suzanne Stevens
Consultant Senior Clinical Psychologist
BAPsych (Hons), DPsych Clin | Member APS
Suzanne is a fully registered Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years of experience across a broad range of clinical teams in both Australia and the UK. She has worked in both the public and private sectors and has extensive knowledge and skills, having worked with clients of all ages. Suzanne is committed to helping children and their families presenting with a variety of difficulties including anxiety, low mood, ADHD, ASD, ODD, and other emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Suzanne has expertise and training in evidence-based interventions including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
Suzanne has as a special interest in applying Ross Greene’s Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) model as an accredited therapist. CPS is an evidence-based, trauma-informed, neurodiversity affirming model of care that helps caregivers focus on identifying the problems that are causing concerning behaviours in children and solving those problems collaboratively and proactively.
Suzanne provides a range of cognitive (IQ), memory, behavioural and personality assessments and is able to provide development assessment for children in early childhood utilising the Griffiths 3 assessment.
Suzanne is dedicated to supporting others on their Psychology career journey and is a Psychology Board Approved Supervisor of psychologists in training at all levels, including for Clinical endorsement and higher degrees.
Jessica Beckerleg
Consultant Senior Psychologist
BPsych (Hons) | Member APS
Jessica has 15 years of experience working as a Psychologist in the public sector across various child and adolescent and child protection services (child and adolescent mental health services, early intervention services, complex family teams and child protection services).
Jessica has a passion for providing therapeutic interventions to children and families who are having difficulties in the areas of anxiety, depression, ADHD, grief, school refusal and has a particular interest in working with children who have complex trauma and behavioural difficulties. Jessica has experience running group programs for parents and children including exploring together, tuning into kids, Circle of Security, Parents under pressure and Triple P.
Jessica’s interventions are child and parent led, knowing that every family is on a different journey. Jessica puts emphasis on working on child-parent relationships and encouraging families to develop skills together to promote and support the wellbeing of their children. Social and emotional learning is key to building resilience in our children and adolescents and providing education and information to children, parents, schools and the community is a passion of Jessica’s. Using individual and dyad based therapies such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Theraplay, and attachment based therapy Jessica aims to meet the needs of your child and family.