I provide a variety of mental health services to children, including scholastic assessment, counselling, and parental guidance for a variety of concerns and challenges. I provide classroom observation services at schools to assist with intervention strategies as well as teacher training talks.
I am registered with the HPCSA and have been practicing since 2009, having 17 years of experience in the field.
I have a special interest in working with gifted children whose development are often times asynchronous.
YAssess
Why assess? Assessment and evaluation is important to help identify challenges children might be facing, hindering them from reaching their potential at school. Results allow for targeted intervention, appropriate referrals to relevant health professionals if necessary and enable parents and teachers to provide the right support at home and school.
Includes assessing various scholastic skills and abilities such as reading, spelling, writing, and maths. Factors like attention, memory function, perseverance, and motivation will be taken into account. Necessary referrals are made when there is a need for intervention from other/relevant professionals.
Aims to measure a child’s readiness to enter the formal schooling environment. The evaluation is based on the conclusion that mental aptitude and the level of its development are the main determining factors of progress at school. The ultimate goal is to ensure all learners are well-equipped with all the skills needed to make a success of their Grade 1 year.
YCounsel
Why counselling? Through evidence-based techniques it can help your child
navigate through daily challenges and transitions.
Child counselling supports children by helping them express their feelings, develop coping skills, and build confidence, all in a safe space. It addresses challenges such as anxiety, behavioural difficulties, emotional regulation challenges, or emotional stress, enabling children to manage problems more effectively and thrive at home and school.
Children, too, each have a story to tell - a story that matters. I can help children with a variety of challenges stemming from emotional, social, or scholastic difficulties (e.g., emotional regulation challenges, self-esteem, bullying, and coping with divorce, grief, anxiety, and relationship struggles among others).
DBT is a type of talk therapy programme designed for people who experience intense emotions, focusing on balancing acceptance with change to build a life worth living.
It teaches practical skills in four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness, helping individuals manage difficult feelings, improve relationships, and reduce self-destructive behaviours. It is an effective modality to use with adolescents.
I have a special interest in gifted children, providing support for children and their parents. Gifted children are often overlooked in the education system in South Africa. Even though these children often show advanced thinking and intense curiosity, they also have unique social and emotional needs.
Their development is frequently asynchronous, with many gifted children experiencing overexcitabilities – heightened emotional, sensory, or intellectual intensity that supports creativity and empathy but may increase vulnerability to overwhelm or anxiety. Recognising these patterns allows adults to better support gifted children’s overall well-being and development.
YSkills
Why Skills? Psycho-education through mental health skills workshops helps children understand their emotions, build resilience, and learn practical coping strategies in a supportive, safe environment. These workshops promote self-awareness, emotional regulation, and positive problem-solving skills - empowering children to manage daily stress, improve relationships, and support their overall well-being. Children usually love these workshops as all skills are learnt in a fun and creative manner.
Study skills are crucial for children as they directly improve academic performance, boost confidence, and foster independent, lifelong learning. Efficient time management, organisation, and information retention techniques are not inherent.
The Study Toolbox workshop focuses on:
* Self-reflection, encouraging students to take ownership of their studies and help find areas where improvement can be made (such as being more organised and managing time more efficiently);
* Specific study techniques (such as the SQRSTR method, the how/why of summaries, and various mnemonic techniques).
The Study Skills workshops are usually facilitated in small groups of 6 students or fewer, on Saturday mornings from 8:00 to 12:30 and/or during school holidays.
Please get in touch with me for upcoming dates, or follow YPsych on Facebook for upcoming workshops.
I facilitate a variety of workshops for children, including (but not limited to):
* Worry Monsters (Coping with "big" feelings and anxiety)
* Mindful Me (Emotional regulation)
* You & Me (Healthy relationships)
* New Year, New Me (Goal setting)
* Protective Behaviours (a preventative personal safety programme for kids/teens using the Protective Behaviours South Africa programme)
Skills workshops are usually facilitated in small groups of 6 students or fewer and are usually presented on weekends and/or during school holidays.
Please get in touch with me for upcoming dates, or follow YPsych on Facebook for upcoming workshops.
Other services:
Child observation in the classroom can be quite beneficial when assessing a student's behavior, social skills, and academic performance in their natural environment. It adds context and enables the identification of specific needs, triggers for challenging behavior, and environmental factors like distractions. This firsthand, objective data helps develop tailored intervention plans, supports teacher strategies, and enhances emotional well-being. Schools/teachers or parents can request this service if they require assistance with regard to classroom intervention strategies.
Key benefits include:
* Contextual Understanding:
Allows the observer to see how a child interacts with peers, engages with the curriculum, and manages classroom tasks.
* Individualized Support:
Helps create, update, and refine treatment plans and/or behavioral interventions that are practical for the classroom setting.
* Behavioral Assessment:
Identifies patterns in behavior, including triggers for outbursts or withdrawal, in real-time.
* Environmental Analysis:
Helps identify how factors such as seating location, noise, or visual distractions affect the child’s focus.
This observation often bridges the gap between parental and educational concerns and offers practical and social application in the school setting. If needed, appropriate referrals to relevant health professionals can be made to ensure targeted intervention.
Please contact me if you wish to discuss the benefits or fees related to classroom observations.
the Reflective Classroom (Staff Development for Teachers)
I offer research-informed and psychologically grounded professional staff development workshops designed specifically for primary school environments. I believe counselling and professional development are inherently collaborative processes: every child, teacher and school has the innate desire, hope and resources to grow.
My approach is grounded in the belief that classrooms are not only academic spaces - they are psychological ecosystems. Rather than focusing only on standard behaviour management techniques, my workshops/talks aim to explore the deeper, often hidden dynamics that shape classroom climate, discipline patterns, learner confidence and long-term mental health of staff and learners.
Each workshop is thoughtfully tailored to the culture and values of the school. The aim is not simply to provide strategies, but to cultivate reflective, emotionally intelligent practice within high-performing environments. When educators deepen their self-awareness and understanding of the children in front of them, classrooms become spaces where both excellence and humanity are protected. Benefits include emotionally safer classrooms, reflective discipline culture as well as stronger teacher identity
I would be delighted to discuss how these Reflective Classroom staff development presentations might
align with your school’s pastoral care and staff development goals, or to
explore specific topics of interest.
Find a list of presentations below. Please do not hesitate to reach out.
Between the Gifted (Parent Support Group)
In an effort to provide continuous support for the gifted families whose stories have intertwined with mine through the years, I have established a parent support group, Between the Gifted.
The name implies a space shared by gifted people (in this case, parents of gifted children): a community formed in this shared space of giftedness. It also relates to the space of “in between” which our gifted children often inhabit – between age peers & intellectual peers; between high ability & high sensitivity; between thriving & overwhelm. The spaces of “in between” where parents often find themselves, between advocating & guiding, protecting & empowering.
Ultimately, it is the understanding & support, connection & navigation that exist in these spaces we share.
The purpose of the group is to offer support & belonging to parents of children who have been identified as gifted (based on intelligence testing). I aim to provide a safe space for parents to connect, ask & share their experience relating to the unique challenges our gifted children face.
Please reach out if you wish to join the support group (as a parent of a gifted child). There is no cost involved.