Impact, Innovations, & Achievements

Awards

Lord Mayor's Women in Business Award (2024).
Brisbane Lord Mayor Women in Business Grant (2024).
QUT Teaching Award (2012).
PhD Thesis Award – Received the QUT Dean’s Commendation in 2010 for outstanding potential contribution to the discipline, contribution to knowledge, and demonstration of quality in research practice.

Validated Assessment Tool: Authored the only validated measure of global functioning for Auslan users, published as The Validation of an Australian Sign Language Instrument for Outcome Measurement for Adults in Mental Health Settings (2009).
Academic Leadership: Held the position of Course Coordinator Master of Counselling QUT from 2018 onwards (or 2018–2020 in one source) and served as a Lecturer and Clinical Supervisor in the Master of Counselling at QUT since 2012.
Professional Leadership: Served as Chair of the APS Psychology and Deafness Interest Group from 2009–2013.
Systemic Advocacy: Contributed to the Australian Healthcare Associates (AHA) consultation on Auslan use in primary care settings in 2024. Also contributed to a CALD (Cultural and Linguistic Diversity) strategy alignment document for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) via Macro Impact Consulting.
Clinical Experience: Brings more than 25 years of clinical experience (as a registered nurse and psychologist) to her work at Macro Impact Consulting.
International Training Expertise: Became a Trainer and Associate with the International Centre for Clinical Excellence (ICCE) after attending training in Client Directed Outcome Informed (CDOI) practice in 2007.

Co-founding Macro Impact Consulting (MIC): Co-founded MIC with Sigrid Macdonald (Deaf lived experience consultant) in 2022. MIC is a socially-impact focused training organisation providing online education for culturally affirmative practices with Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.
Bilingual/Bicultural Training Model: Macro Impact Consulting developed a training model that is truly bilingual/bicultural, with modules delivered simultaneously in Auslan and English (with captions), addressing deep systemic and cultural issues like identity, language, and systemic barriers.
Service Establishment: Assisted in the establishment of Australia’s only dedicated mental-health centre for Deaf communities—the Centre for Excellence in Deafness and Mental Health at the Princess Alexandra Hospital—during her role as Project Officer (2006–2008).
Therapeutic Model Adaptation: Pioneered a “reflecting team” model of therapy adapted for Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients, which aims to target language deprivation and social cognition.
Counselling Model Development: Completed a PhD thesis on The Development and Evaluation of a Culturally Affirmative Counselling Model for Deaf Clients in Australia (2010).
Digital Therapeutic Innovation: Co-presented on “Reflecting Team Supervision: From the Mirrored Room to the Digital Zoom” at the IFTA World Family Therapy Congress (2024), detailing an innovative transition to online reflecting team work.

India (2017): Conducted intern supervision of placement for 12 postgraduate students and registered professionals, involving workshop development, co-facilitation, and program development and evaluation for the psychology, counselling, and mental health sectors.
Bosnia (2019): Facilitated intern supervision of placement for 18 postgraduate and undergraduate students, including workshop development and co-facilitation, and program development and evaluation for tertiary education, psychology, counselling, and the mental health sector.
Recovere.org (2024 - ongoing): Serves as a Board member for Recovere (Not For Profit), which is launching a global donation management platform in 2025 to address the critical needs of communities affected by disasters, poverty, and crises.
Malaysia (2025) (MACRO-Malaysia Deaf Capacity Building Project): This project involved designing and delivering a series of workshops with Herbert Klein (President of the British Society Mental Health and Deafness) for over 100 professionals in medicine, psychology, psychiatry, audiology, counselling, and family therapy. Mental health first aid workshops and mental health literacy programs were also delivered at four local community hubs for members of the Malaysian Deaf community.

Signs of Good Therapy (2007): Presented at the 15th World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf in Madrid, Spain.
Bridging the Cultural Gap: The Education of Australian Mental Health Workers (2008): Presented at the 7th European Congress on Mental Health and Deafness in Haarlem, Netherlands.
Following the Signs: Developing a Framework for an Emerging Service (2006): Presented at the VicDEAF Signs of Change Workshop in Melbourne, Victoria.
Understanding deafness in families and the challenges of counselling (2017): Presented at the Mental Health Super Summit (Online International Conference).
Exploring reflecting team interventions to enrich theory of mind skills for deaf adults (2024): Co-presented with Sigrid Macdonald at the IFTA World Family Therapy Congress in Toyama, Japan.
Allyship presentation (2024): Presented with Sigrid Macdonald for the Mental Health Professional Network.
Exploring the Roles and Supports For Kids, Families and Workers in Deaf Educational Settings (2017): A presentation on supervision for Education Queensland Staff.
Educational webinar on Neurodivergence and deafness intersections (2025): Scheduled for AAPi.
National webinar titled “Mental Health, Deafness and Hearing Loss” (October 2025): Collaboration with Deafness Forum Australia.

1985: Completion of a Preparatory music program at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.
1986–1989: Completion of a General Nursing Certificate at Royal Brisbane Hospital.
1993–1995: Completion of a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
1997: Completion of a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) (Psychology) at QUT. The Honours research focused on the impact of social support on stress.
2005: Completion of STAP supervisor training, required for accreditation with the Psychology Board.
2006: Completed Certificate II in Auslan Southbank Tafe Brisbane
2007: Attended Chicago Training in Outcome Assessment and Practice with Scott Miller and Barry Duncan (Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and Session Rating Scale (SRS)).
2010: Completion of PhD Thesis at QUT. The thesis was titled: The Development and Evaluation of a Culturally Affirmative Counselling Model for Deaf Clients in Australia.
2013: Completion of CELTA (Cambridge University Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults).

Registered Psychologist
- Registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
- Medicare approved provider of focused psychological practice.
Registered Nurse
- First registered with AHPRA in 1989.
- Worked as a Registered Nurse from 1986–2000
- Currently holds non-practising Nurse Registration

Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPi)
- Holds Full Member status, dating from 2020–ongoing.
Australian Psychological Society (APS)
- Held Full Member status from 2000–2020.
- Served as Chair of the APS Psychology and Deafness Interest Group from 2009–2013.
Australian Counselling Association (ACA)
- Holds Academic Membership (from 2018)

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