Our Team
Lydia Elsworthy
Director & Senior Psychologist
As Director of Woodside Centre, Lydia Elsworthy has a strong belief in a holistic approach to psychology which underpins her practice. Lydia specialises in the conducting of psychometric and diagnostic/educational assessments with children, adolescents and adults for both clinical and educational purposes.
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These assessments provide an in depth overview of functioning and can assist with queries related to issues such as Specific Learning Disorders, attention/concentration/ executive functioning difficulties and giftedness.
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Lydia has also worked closely with the Gifted and Talented community and her evaluations provide particular assistance with how to support the needs of giftedness and twice exceptional children/adolescents
Rachael Chalmers
Director & Senior Psychologist
Rachael emphasises a warm, holistic, and client-centred approach to psychology with a special interest in neurodiversity and mood disorders. She happily strives to provide neuro-affirming and gender-affirming care aligned with her philosophy to use her skills and knowledge to support individuals in developing clarity, purpose, and strength in their identity. She is currently practising in the area of gold standard assessment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism for children, teens, and adults. She is also trained in a range of other psychosocial and developmental assessments.
Rachael's qualifications include a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Hons) from The University of Queensland, a Master of Clinical Psychology from The University of Southern Queensland, and a Master of Educational and Developmental Psychology from Queensland University of Technology. She is a Member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPI).
Rachael has over a decade of experience as a Psychologist, and she has practised locally and internationally in various settings, including specialist clinics, hospitals, schools, and private practice. She has extensive experience in assessment, diagnosis, and intervention for a range of presentations across the lifespan, including ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety Related Disorders (including OCD, Social Anxiety, Health Anxiety, Panic Attacks, PTSD, Selective Mutism, and Depression).
Adela Kiveric
Senior Psychologist
Adela is a registered psychologist who offers therapy and assessment services to children, teenagers and adults. She has worked in various settings including private practice, educational spaces, government, and not-for-profit organisations.
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She has an interest in working across the lifespan with the philosophy that people continue to evolve and grow across each developmental stage. A tailored evidence-based approach is used with each individual client to ensure best possible outcomes. She is able to offer support with: cognitive, neuropsychological, and psycho-social assessments; depression and improving meaning and purpose; adjustment and life transitions; anxiety, stress and trauma related challenges; ADHD intervention; complex behaviour management; parenting coaching; confidence, social skill and interpersonal skill building.
As a board-approved supervisor, she can offer supervision and training to individuals and groups.
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In her free time, she enjoys practicing pilates and yoga, as well as cooking and eating great food.
Brooke Ploughman
Senior Speech Pathologist
Brooke is interested in working with individuals who present with diagnoses of neurodiversity (such as Autism and ADHD), language disorders, early intervention, paediatric feeding, dysphagia and social communication. Brooke is passionate about providing a holistic relationships-based approach to achieve optimal client outcomes for her clients and their families. She also combines her speech pathology knowledge with the latest mental health and neuroscience research to support individuals with co-occurring mental health difficulties to support and guide their social-emotional well-being and development.
Brooke obtained her Bachelor of Speech Pathology (honours) at the University of Queensland and has completed a Diploma of Mental Health and Neuroscience at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is a registered certified practising member of Speech Pathology Australia.
Brooke has specialist training and qualifications in the use of the following approaches/programs:
SOS Approach to Feeding
Sounds Writes
Story Grammar Marker (SGM)
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Jason Walker
Psychologist
Jason is a registered psychologist and is currently completing his Master of Clinical Psychology. Jason is a highly motivated individual, having served in the Australian Army for 14 years and operating in the private security industry in Kabul, Afghanistan for 4 years prior to training to become a psychologist. As an ex-serviceman, Jason has a particular interest in supporting veterans, their families, and emergency services personnel. Moreover, he is specialising in adolescent and young adult development and believes that every young male has the potential to thrive given the right support and guidance.
Jason manages wide, diverse, and complex caseloads, whilst delivering tailored, evidence-based psychological interventions to adults and adolescents. He is committed to providing compassionate and effective therapy that empowers his clients to overcome obstacles, build resilience, and lead fulfilling lives. He values collaboration with clients, families, and other professionals to ensure holistic care and positive outcomes.
Jason has extensive experience conducting individual and group therapy sessions with veterans, their families, emergency services personnel, and adolescent and young males dealing with a range of issues, including identity development, substance abuse, trauma, adjustment and transition difficulties, anger management, academic struggles, relationship difficulties, and mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Jason’s breadth of life experience allows him to intimately build rapport with his clients’, work colleagues, and other health professionals. As a parent, Jason understands the unique challenges of raising children and balancing work and family commitments. Jason has an open and playful nature, which is advantageous when working with children, adolescents, and young adults. He is well-travelled and has lived aboard for a few years and believes these trans-cultural experiences are invaluable when working with diverse groups.
Jason uses the following treatment approaches:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Mindfulness
Telehealth