Kat is an Infant, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, who specialises in working with pre-school and primary school aged children. Kat has a strong passion for supporting young people and their families in navigating life’s challenges through a playful, collaborative, and child-centred approach.
For infants and toddlers, common presentations may include feeding and sleeping difficulties, attachment concerns, or challenging behaviours. For older children referrals may include for anxiety and mood disorders, eating difficulties or ARFID-type presentations, medical or other trauma symptoms, functional neurological disorder, emotional dysregulation, aggression, OCD, hearing voices, and neurodevelopmental issues. Kat a strong background of experience in working with complex presentations, such as the overlap of autism and ADHD with trauma or other mental health presentations.
Kat has previously worked across a variety of public mental health services including The Royal Children’s Hospital, Austin Health and Monash Health. Kat’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Science (MBBS) Honours, and Masters of Psychiatry through Monash University. She has achieved her Fellowship with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry (FRANZCP) and Certificate in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAPC). In line with her interests, she has also completed further studies to inform her practice, including in the Newborn Behavioural Observations (NBO), ADOS-2 Fundamentals, Circle of Security, Tuning in to Kids, Watch, Wait and Wonder Introductory Training, and Level One Theraplay & MIM.
Psychiatric assessment of an infant or child is commonly conducted over several sessions, including meeting the young person and caregivers together, separately with the caregivers, and where developmentally appropriate, individual review with the child. In completing her assessment, Kat will consider all aspects of a child’s life, including their experiences at home, at school, their cultural background and broader community, and across their lifespan. Kat takes a formulation-based approach to understand the many factors in a child’s life which may have contributed to their current challenges, as well as the strengths that have helped them. This allows for a more tailored and comprehensive management plan.
Kat also provides ongoing care for young people and their families. This may include oversight of the treatment plan and medication management where pre-existing supports are in place. It may also include therapeutic intervention via child-focused parent sessions, dyadic therapy (parent and child), individual play therapy, or family therapy.
Kat is currently accepting referrals for children aged 0-10 years old.
