Teen and Child Psychologist Brisbane
Where therapy meets play
Active Eight’s psychologists aim to help your child or teen to achieve their goals by building on their individual strengths.
Psychology at Active Eight
Active Eight is a hub for therapy, community and fun. We are staffed by professional Psychologists with an interest in paediatrics who enjoy inspiring and encouraging young people and their families.
We aim to provide a warm welcome at our Brisbane Hub, a bright, colourful space that encourages fun and community.
What techniques do we use?
Active Eight’s psychologists employ a wide range of practical strategies and knowledge that aim to help kids and teens reach their goals.
1:1 Psychology sessions
Active Eight’s approach to supporting kids and teens includes:
An initial informal assessment and goal setting.
Intervention tailored to your child’s needs.
Measuring progress and reviewing goals.
Setting new goals and interventions to reflect increased capacity.
Therapy sessions take place in our Hub in Toowong or through telehealth.
Assessments
Where possible and when appropriate, we provide recognised assessments including:
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth edition (WISC-IV IQ) is an intelligence test that measures a child’s intellectual ability and five cognitive domains that impact performance.
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III, achievement) is an individually administered achievement test. This assessment can be used to analyse academic achievement, support diagnosis of specific learning disabilities, academic program placement, intervention planning and dyslexia screening and evaluation.
The Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT-2, nonverbal IQ tests) provides a multidimensional assessment of intelligence in a completely nonverbal format.
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) assists in the diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder across age, developmental level and language skills.
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) is a semi structured, standardised observational assessment of:
Communication
Social interaction
Play
Restricted and repetitive behaviours
The assessment presents various activities that elicit behaviours directly related to diagnosis of ASD. By observing and coding these behaviours you can obtain information that informs diagnosis, planning and educational placement.
Additional information can be collected through consultation, interview, questionnaires and observations. Assessments and reports are often done in association with a paediatrician to support you in exploring a possible diagnosis of ASD.
Other assessments, including a range of supportive questionnaires, may be available upon request. Please contact our administration team to discuss further.
Involving your child’s circle of support
Active Eight aims to provide a holistic and family-centered approach to intervention. We may talk to you about whether we think it would be helpful to correspond or collaborate with your child’s school or with others in their life. Depending on the situation, we can also arrange a school or home visit (additional fees apply). Your child’s circle of support may share a common goal, which is to provide practical advice, contribute to the wellbeing of your child and generate ideas to contribute positively to the young person’s life.
This is a collaborative effort involving the family, school, other health professionals and Active Eight. Families, teachers, support workers and other professionals play a vital role in advocating for your child.
How can Psychology services support my child?
Growing up involves the process of learning how to relate to others, express our own needs and feelings, overcome adversity and develop a healthy mindset.
Children and teenagers may have to:
Navigate friendships, improve relationships and build capacity to problem solve social situations.
Deal with the pressures of school.
Handle grief and loss after a death or parental divorce.
Adjust to new situations, like a new school or new living arrangements.
Cope with the disruption and distress caused by growing up in a challenging world.
Manage ongoing mental or physical health issues or disabilities.
Develop a healthy body image and resilient, flexible and positive mind.
Active Eight’s psychologists aim to help your child find solutions for immediate problems. They also strive to help your child or teen to build resilience and skills that will serve them well throughout their development.
We also try to encourage them to build upon a loving family, exercise, hobbies and good friends, which can help to ease stress and improve mood.
Psychology may help your child or teen in a number of ways.
Anxiety management
Anger management
Depression
Building social skills
Coping with loss and trauma
Sleep routines
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Self-regulation
Building resilience
Counseling
Building flexibility
Parent education
Educational planning and support
Mealtime strategies
Organisational supports and decision making
Meet our psychologists
Luke, principal psychologist
Luke aims to teach people how to understand their thoughts and feelings that influence their decision-making.
Luke loves helping people make sense of the world, to build skills and learn how to use their strengths to contribute to their community.
Bachelor of Psychology (Hons), Southern Cross University
Member of the Australian Psychological Society
Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists
Jayne, psychologist
Jayne is a registered psychologist who particularly loves working with children and young adults with ASD.
Jayne incorporates a lot of sports and games into her therapy sessions, ensuring that there’s plenty of movement and fun as part of your child’s psychology treatment.
Bachelor of Psychological Science (Hons), UQ
Member of the Australian Psychological Society
Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists
Psychology services in Brisbane
If you’re looking for a psychologist for your child or teenager in Brisbane, then we’d love you to join the Active Eight community. To us, therapy is about building motivation, skills, confidence and community so your child can enjoy all that life has to offer.
