Assessments

Functional capacity assessment

Functional assessments include details surrounding:

- The history of illness and or disability and treatment summary

- Progress and barriers towards life goals

- The current support system and environment

- Functional capacity

- Risks

- Recommendations

When assessing functional capacity, I am looking at the individual’s ability to participate in daily living skills and the community. The areas of communication and social-interaction, self-management, self-care, learning and mobility, are assessed.

Functional assessments are frequently requested by people wishing to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for psychosocial disability, as well as NDIS participants and their support persons.

Sensory assessment

Sensory assessments are conducted to gather information on sensory patterns and preferences of a person and in doing so, inform recommendations of practical techniques and interventions to enhance functioning and improve quality of life. I utilise a combination of informal and standardised screening tools which include, self-rating tools, checklists, safety plans, and observations.

These assessments inform sensory modulation which can change how a person feels in several ways, including:

Calming/grounding
Helping to focus or wakeup
Providing an alternative to self-harm or addictive substances
Increasing feelings of pleasure or thrill
Coping with illness, injury, symptoms, and pain
Distracting from or controlling urges

Risk and personal safety assessment

Risk assessment is an essential part of working in mental health and involves gathering information on the potential for harmful behaviours. This includes identifying risk factors for an individual and implementing interventions that may reduce harm associated with the risks identified.

A risk assessment is reviewed throughout a client’s therapeutic care. Key times that a risk assessment is reviewed include:

Initial appointment
When a client’s presentation or circumstances change
If concerns are raised by family / other stakeholders
Discharge from therapy

Cognitive assessment

Cognition refers to the way we think and process information from our environment. Concentration, memory, perception, motivation, skilled movements, and language are elements of cognition.

Challenges with cognition are both primary and secondary symptoms of acute and chronic mental illness.

Cognitive impairment typically affects someone’s ability to engage in activities of daily living such as:

Getting to places on time
Grocery shopping
Meal preparation and cooking
Housework
Laundry
Taking medication
Money management

A cognitive assessment involves clinical interview, observation of a functional task and a standardised assessment.

Cognitive assessments can inform a functional capacity assessment (listed above) and are integral to the design and development of an individual’s therapy and support system.

Counselling.

I take a collaborative approach with clients using shared decision making ‘we make health decisions about interventions together.'

We develop goals (which are unique and personal to the client) which set the focus for the therapeutic intervention.

Intervention plans provide the context for therapy, that is negotiated with the client and/or support persons. This includes:

The focus of therapy
How many sessions
How the goals will be met
How the therapist and client know when the goals have been met.

My work is recovery orientated, which is where a person’s life goals are considered as opposed to symptom reduction/elimination.

Therapy is concluded when there is a mutual understanding between all parties. A report is offered to clients documenting referral information, goals, assessment findings progress, limitations and recommendations for the future.

Education & coaching.

Psychoeducation is providing specific education and information to individuals with a mental health condition, their families and support people so they can understand and cope with it better. It is often completed alongside other psychological strategies.

Psychoeducation can empower individuals and strengthen the relationships between clients, their family/support people, and the therapist.

Occupational performance coaching (OPC) enables a problem-solving approach. The aim is to support clients to learn new ways of interacting with the world in order to achieve personally valued goals. Occupational performance and participation are priority outcomes for many people living with psychosocial disability or mental health problems and their care givers.

OPC was originally developed for and is often used with (parents, support workers, spouses, teachers) of people with psychosocial disabilities or mental health conditions to support an individual’s participation in daily life.

Get to know Me

I graduated with a bachelor of occupational therapy (OT) in 2012, and am a current member of Occupational Therapy Australia. I have been endorsed as a mental health OT following further training in focussed psychological strategies. Alongside my work in private practice I work in a women's only acute psychiatric unit with special interest in eating disorders and perinatal mental health.

Personally, I spent my adolescent years and early adulthood experiencing the challenges of enduring mental illness.

I have learnt through my own journey that the therapeutic relationship you can have with someone can be life changing and I have dedicated my work to serving individuals and families who are experiencing their own challenges as a result of mental illness.

When I am not working I enjoy spending time with my young family, painting, and tending to my vegetable garden.

Contact

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Assessments

Functional capacity assessment

Functional assessments include details surrounding:

The history of disability/illness and treatment summary
Progress and barriers towards goals
The current support system and environment
Functional capacity
Risks
Recommendations

When assessing functional capacity, I am reviewing the individual’s ability to participate in daily living skills and the community. The areas of communication and social-interaction, self-management, self-care, learning and mobility, are assessed.

Functional assessments are frequently requested by people wishing to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for psychosocial disability, those who are wishing to appeal decisions with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), as well as NDIS participants and their support persons.

Sensory assessment

Sensory assessments are conducted to gather information on sensory patterns and preferences of a person and in doing so, inform recommendations of practical techniques and interventions to enhance functioning and improve quality of life.

I utilise a combination of informal and standardised screening tools which include, self-rating tools, checklists, safety plans, and observations.

These assessments inform sensory modulation which can change how a person feels in several ways, including:

Calming/grounding
Helping to focus or wakeup.
Providing an alternative to self-harm or addictive substances
Increasing feelings of pleasure or thrill
Coping with illness, injury, symptoms, and pain
Distracting from or controlling urges

Risk and personal safety assessment

Risk assessment is an essential part of working in mental health and involves gathering information on the potential for harmful behaviours. This includes identifying risk factors for an individual and implementing interventions that may reduce harm associated with the risks identified.

A risk assessment is reviewed throughout a client’s therapeutic care. Key times that a risk assessment is reviewed include:

Initial appointment
When a client’s presentation or circumstances change
If concerns are raised by family / other stakeholders
Discharge from therapy

Cognitive assessment

Cognition refers to the way we think and process information from our environment. Concentration, memory, perception, motivation, skilled movements, and language are elements of cognition.

Challenges with cognition are both primary and secondary symptoms of acute and chronic mental illness.

Cognitive impairment typically affects someone’s ability to engage in activities of daily living such as:

Getting to places on time
Grocery shopping
Meal preparation and cooking
Housework
Laundry
Taking medication
Money management

A cognitive assessment involves clinical interview, observation of a functional task and a standardised assessment.

Cognitive assessments can inform a functional capacity assessment (listed above) and are integral to the design and development of an individual’s therapy and support system.

LETS WORK TOGETHER

REFERRAL FORM

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Contact

Email: kelsey@readytorise.au
Phone: 0487677954

Address: 72A Lincoln Rd Essendon VIC 3040

I acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of this land on which we live, work and play. We recognise their connection to land, water and community and we pay respect to their Elders - past, present and emerging.

What I offer