Growing up can be tough, and not just for the young person. Teenage years can bring a lot at once – more expectations at school and home, shifting friendships and social pressures, big emotions, and the slow work of figuring out who they are. From the outside it’s often not obvious how to help, or what actually helps. And you don’t have to work it out alone.

MindFlip Wellness is an occupational therapy practice for young people roughly 11 to 25, and the families around them. I have a particular interest in ADHD and complex trauma, and I work with autistic and AuDHD young people, along with the emotional dysregulation and rejection sensitivity that often come with it.

I’ve spent more than 16 years in youth and adolescent mental health, including with young people who find it hard to engage or who are navigating higher levels of risk. Most of that work has been across public and community services, and it’s taught me that young people are often more resilient than they feel. What tends to help is having someone they trust alongside them while they find their footing and start to explore life on their own terms. I work with the family too, not to take over or tell you how to parent, but to help share the load and find ways to be there for one another, even as your young person is working out who they are and how to stand on their own.

The way I work is grounded in real-world complexity, respectful of each young person’s context, and focused on practical change that carries into everyday life. Occupational therapy pays attention to what makes life flow, the routines, roles and activities that hold meaning, and I draw on evidence-informed approaches including ACT, EMDR, MBT and sensory work, with a particular interest in executive functioning and building practical, strength-based skills.

Sessions run at the clinic in Birtinya on the Sunshine Coast and out in nature, using movement, the outdoors and adventure as part of the work. A lot of young people open up more when they’re moving and doing something rather than sitting still, so adventure is part of the approach whether we’re indoors, outdoors, or somewhere in between. Groups currently run Wednesdays, Fridays and alternating Saturdays.

MindFlip Wellness accepts Medicare (Better Access) and NDIS referrals, and I’m happy to hear from families still working out whether it’s the right fit for their young person.