Mental Health Speech Pathology · Adolescents & Families · Townsville
Sometimes you just need someone to talk it through with. Someone who knows enough about how young people and families work to help you make sense of what's going on without turning it into something bigger than it needs to be.
Get in touch"The person isn't the problem — the problem is the problem."Narrative therapy · at the heart of how I work
About my practice
I'm a speech pathologist and I don't work on communication in isolation. I look at how a young person communicates with the people around them, and what might be making things tricky.
I'm Heidi, a mental health trained speech pathologist with post-graduate qualifications and experience in systemic and family therapy. I worked for years in child and adolescent mental health which is where my clinical thinking was formed, and is what makes my practice different from a standard speech pathology service.
I don't only work on language as an isolated skill. I look at communication as something that happens between people — shaped by relationships, by family patterns, by how a young person has learned to be understood, or not understood, over time. My approach is non-blaming and collaborative. Sometimes that means assessment to understand a young person's language profile in a way that helps everyone around them think about how they respond. Sometimes it means sitting with a family and thinking together about what's actually going on. Often it's both. Either way, the goal is the same: to leave with more understanding than you arrived with, and a clearer sense of what, if anything, you want to do next.
I see individuals, parents, and families. The first appointment is always 90 minutes and follows a clear structure — so you know what to expect and you leave with a way forward.
Areas of focus
There is often identifiable language or communication differences underneath the difficulty and once it's been named, it stops being about the person and starts being something everyone can work with.
Conversations that go in circles. A teenager who shuts down or blows up. Parents who are trying everything and nothing is landing. These communication stuck points often look very different once you can see what's really driving it.
A thorough assessment of a young person's language and communication skills. We explore what they find easy, what's hard, and why. The goal is a clearer picture and families leave understanding what the results mean and what to do with them.
For young people
If you're a teenager who feels like everyone around you is trying to figure out what's wrong with you — this is not that. This is a space to talk about what's actually hard, what you're good at, and what you'd like to be different. You don't have to have it figured out before you come. That's kind of the point.
You can come on your own, or with your family. Either way, your voice matters here.
How I work
Every first appointment has the same structure. You'll know what to expect before you arrive. You'll leave with a clear sense of what we think is going on and what, if anything, makes sense to do next.
In your words, at your pace. I'm listening for the patterns and the context, not just the presenting problem.
Together we look at what the difficulty is and where it's coming from — communication, language, family patterns, or a mix of all of it.
Before you leave, we take stock. What do we think is happening? What makes sense to do about it? This part always happens.
Maybe one session is enough. Maybe assessment makes sense, or a few sessions to work on something specific. You decide — nothing is assumed.
You don't need to commit to anything beyond the first appointment. If you want to come back, great. If that one session was what you needed, that's fine too.
Who I work with
Parents who know their child has a neurodevelopmental difference or an identified communication or language difficulty and want to understand what that means practically, for school, for home, for their relationship with their young person.
Families where things keep escalating and nobody is quite sure why. Where everyone is trying but something keeps getting in the way.
Teenagers who want somewhere to talk things through — on their own terms.
People referred by a GP, paediatrician or psychiatrist who aren't sure what to expect from a speech pathologist. That's okay — it's usually clearer once you're here.
No referral needed. You can book directly.
Sometimes naming a communication difference is a relief. It shifts the story from "something is wrong with my young person" to "this is how they're built and here's what we can all do differently."
For families seeking diagnostic assessment, Medicare rebates may be available - we encourage you to speak to your GP or specialist about whether the the Chronic Disease Management Plan and the Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorder pathway applies to you. Some health funds provide rebates for eligible members for speech pathology services. Please check with your health fund directly and advise us when booking. NDIS participants are welcome to use their funding if Inner Circle Therapy feels like the right fit (intervention is typically brief not long-term).
Not sure what applies to your situation? Get in touch and we'll work it out together.
About Heidi
I'm a mental health trained speech pathologist based in Townsville. I have post-graduate qualifications and experience in systemic and family therapy and spent a number of years working in child and adolescent mental health services before moving into private practice.
I see adolescents individually, parents on their own, and families together. My clinical background means I think about communication in the context of relationships and family systems — not just as a skill to be trained in isolation.
I see people in person in Townsville and via telehealth across Australia.
Blackwood House
312/302–314 Sturt Street
Townsville City QLD 4810
Available Australia-wide via Zoom Workplace.
Monday – Wednesday
9am – 5pm
Thursday & Friday by appointment
Get in touch to ask a question or make an appointment. No referral needed.
Townsville · Telehealth Australia-wide