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The Connecting Health Team provides therapy and consultations, working in teams to coordinate best practice outcomes. We work directly with Ability Options participants in accommodation, on community and lifestyles programs and with transition to work students.

We also offer skills development, training and psycho-educational sessions. With programs designed based on your organisation’s needs, we can conduct training at your location or at our offices, in group or individual sessions.

We are allied health practitioners made up of the following professions. Allied health professionals can work in schools, homes, kindergartens, community, private practice, rehabilitation services, mental health community settings, hospitals, defence forces, prisons, government and many other places.

The end point of seeing any Connecting Health Team member should be about a happier, healthier you.

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Who else do the Connecting Health Team work with?

We often work with Doctors, Psychiatrists and Specialists to assist people in reaching their goals. Sometimes people who see us want to work with someone closer, already have someone they have been seeing or need to see other people for different reasons in their life. We have a great network of people to refer to in different locations, plus a strong track record of working with other allied health professionals and in the community.

Transdisciplinary or multidisciplinary?

You may have seen some discussion about these 2 approaches. Ability Options work in the Transdisciplinary methodology. Read more about what that means and how it works in practice.

Meet our Team

  • Jessica Brunskill

    Speech Pathologist

    Jessica is a Speech Pathologist with experience in both paediatric and adult service delivery across community health, educational, acute, and rehabilitative settings. She is committed to ongoing professional development, and endeavours to use evidence-based practice to inform clinical decision making. Specific areas of interest include early intervention, adult dysphagia, and complex communication needs. Jessica enjoys contributing to the greater clinical team at Ability Options.

  • Lily Smolinski

    Behavioural Specialist

    Lily is a vocational counsellor and a Behavioural Specialist working with teenagers and adults. She has experience working with people searching for employment who have barriers that make finding work difficult such as anxiety, low self-esteem, depression or unclear career goals. Lily also works with clients through the NDIS by developing Behaviour Support Plans and therapy to develop individual skills. Lily has an interest in forensic mental health and researching mental health and its relation to behaviour.

  • Natasha Drozdoff

    Manger of Therapy Services (Sydney) and Registered Psychologist

    Natasha is a Registered Psychologist with over 9 years of experience working in a variety of areas including; vocational rehabilitation, employment services, transition to work, mental health, supported accommodation and delivery of psychometric assessments. Natasha has worked in both corporate and not for profit organisations. Natasha specialises in working with those requiring; behaviour intervention support, vocational counselling and targeted anxiety/depression counselling. Natasha is a certified trainer as well as a WorkCover and Comcare accredited practitioner. Natasha has a passion for helping others to build their skills and abilities in order to lead a more meaningful life.

  • Peter Le

    Occupational Therapist

    Peter is an Occupational Therapist who has a keen interest in mental health, and mobility equipment prescription. Peter is of Vietnamese background and is extremely passionate in advocating for families from a culturally-diverse background. Peter aims to keep up to date with latest in evidence-based practice and assistive technology. Peter strives to support people of all ages and ability to live life with maximum independence.

  • Winnie Chong

    Registered Psychologist

    Winnie is a registered psychologist with over 9 years of experience in clinical environments, disability employment, rehabilitation, mental health and disability services in both outreach and residential settings. She has worked in a variety of settings including telephone and face to face counselling, practical support and case management, group facilitating and training, as well as in consultancy roles. Winnie specialises in areas including chronic mental health issues, behaviour intervention support, perinatal counselling, vocational counselling, and relationship issues, to name a few. Winnie is a certified trainer as well as a registered Circle of Security Parenting educator.

  • Fernanda Murialdo

    Registered Psychologist

    Fernanda Murialdo has extensive experience working with people across their lifespan. Being a Registered Psychologist with extensive experience working with adults, youth and children; Fernanda offers group, one on one therapy, medicare funded services, NDIS behaviour support, complex case coordination and specialist therapy. Further, Fernanda is trained in providing parenting support (in youth and adult populations), pregnancy support, Autism support and specialises in developmental difficulties and disabilities within both 0-8 age range as well as in adult populations. Being a certified trainer, Fernanda provides workshops on; development, positive programming and sensory integration, parenting, attachment theory and practices as well as conducted training for client based groups such as Walk the Talk (WTT) and sensory groups to help emotional regulation in ageing populations, parenting and play groups. Fernanda is also an APS board approved supervisor and offers supervision and support to provisional psychologists. Fernanda was a part of the NDIS roll out and pilot program run in the Hunter region, and is able to offer support in navigating the NDIS system.

  • Maria Hamidi

    Registered Psychologist

    Maria is a Registered Psychologist who has diverse experience working with children, adolescents and adults presenting with a range of emotional and behavioural problems. She is passionate about providing informed therapy and interventions that promote practical skills building and flexibility in thinking that resonates long after a session is completed. Maria is also skilled in administering and reporting on a range of cognitive, academic and diagnostic assessments. She updates her knowledge and skills regularly through relevant professional development training to ensure up to date evidence-based care.

  • Marina Zhu

    Registered Psychologist

    Marina is a Registered Psychologist and Vocational Counsellor working across the employment division, NDIS and WorkReady program in the Northern Sydney region. She has vocational experience from previous roles as a rehabilitation counsellor in an occupational rehabilitation setting. Marina has also worked with families and children with disabilities and has a special interest in researching the link between mental health and functional symptoms. Marina enjoys combining evidence based therapies with psychometric assessments to provide clients with individualised and solution focused treatment.

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