First Steps Psychology

21/10/2026

🌿 Occupational Therapy – Appointments Available in Hastings!

Our Occupational Therapy team at First Steps Psychology is welcoming new clients!

Set amongst beautiful established trees and expansive outdoor spaces, our Hastings clinic offers a unique environment where therapy can extend beyond the traditional consulting room.

Our OTs provide neuroaffirming, play-based support, incorporating movement, sensory experiences, nature and outdoor exploration to support children's motor skills, emotional regulation, sensory needs and everyday functioning.

With plenty of room to move, explore and play, sessions can be tailored to each child's individual interests, strengths and needs.

Head to our website for more information and to get in contact.

www.firststepspsychology.com.au

09/10/2026

09/10/2026

Picture perfect day here at First Steps Psychology

26/09/2026

🌿 Our new home is ready! 💚

We’re so excited to officially welcome you to our beautiful new space in Hastings from Monday!

Our new home brings together psychology, occupational therapy and speech pathology in a welcoming, neuroaffirming environment, surrounded by nature and our much-loved animals.

We can’t wait to share this next chapter with our wonderful clients and families.

https://canva.link/hia6mt5p1xtgdhd

See you Monday! 🐐🌿

14/09/2026

We’re excited to welcome Alicia to the First Steps Psychology team!

Alicia brings around 10 years of experience working across community mental health and the NDIS. She is passionate about creating a space where clients feel genuinely heard, understood and accepted.

Alicia enjoys working with neurodivergent children, adolescents and adults, as well as supporting anxiety, emotional regulation and complex mental health. She has a particular interest in supporting late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults, including parents who begin exploring their own neurodivergence through their child’s diagnostic journey.

Her approach is neuroaffirming, trauma-informed and strengths-based, drawing on CBT, ACT and DBT.

Alicia also has a longstanding interest in the connection between people, animals and wellbeing — making her a lovely fit for our unique animal- and nature-based environment.

She is currently completing her Master of Professional Psychology and will be joining our growing team at First Steps Psychology.

08/09/2026

Car park is going in!! We are excited to be getting closer to being able to welcome everyone to our new location in Hastings.

08/09/2026

Car park has begun, we are excited to be getting closer to welcoming everyone to our new location in Hastings.

01/09/2026

🌿 Meet Tiby, our Occupational Therapist!

We’re very excited to welcome Tiby to the First Steps Psychology team — and she currently has some availability for new clients.

Tiby loves working with preschool and primary-aged children and their families, helping children build confidence, independence and participation in the everyday activities that are meaningful to them.

She particularly enjoys supporting children with:

🌱 Fine and gross motor skills
✏️ Handwriting
🌿 Sensory processing and sensory needs
🧠 Building self-awareness and understanding what helps them feel comfortable and regulated
🤍 Parent coaching and practical strategies for everyday life

Tiby brings a warm, child-centred and neuroaffirming approach, taking the time to understand each child’s individual strengths, interests and preferences.

Outside of work, Tiby enjoys reading, travelling and staying active.

Tiby currently has some capacity for new OT clients. If you think she might be a good fit for your child, please get in touch with our team to find out more. 🌿

26/08/2026

We’re incredibly proud to share the work of Kintara Phillips, one of our provisional psychologists at First Steps Psychology, who will be presenting her research for the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc. 💜

Kintara’s research explores "why ADHD in girls continues to be missed", drawing on the lived experiences of female teachers who were diagnosed with ADHD after the age of 30.

Her research highlights how ADHD can be masked by things like "compliance, high achievement and a strong desire to meet expectations" meaning girls can appear to be coping well while experiencing significant challenges internally.

Kintara brings a particularly valuable perspective to this work. Before becoming a psychologist, she spent more than 25 years as a secondary teacher, and her work now combines her experience in education with her passion for neuroaffirming psychological practice.

We love seeing important research like this contributing to a better understanding of the many different ways ADHD can present and hopefully helping more girls (and boys) to be recognised and supported earlier.

Congratulations Kintara! We’re very proud to have you as part of the First Steps team. 💜

"Why ADHD in Girls Is Still Missed"
📅 Wednesday 16 September 2026
⏰ 7–8pm AEST
💻 Online

https://www.facebook.com/100063791460426/posts/1641334411336259/?rdid=mSOTbx0z9Qw6Z3Hu #

ADHD in girls continues to be under-identified, with many women receiving a diagnosis only in adulthood; raising critical questions about what is being missed, and why.

This presentation explores lived experiences of women diagnosed after age 30, including the role of masking, high achievement and overlooked internal challenges - and what this means for earlier, more accurate recognition.

Register here: https://ow.ly/8zGf50Zoayo

23/08/2026

🌿 We’re growing at First Steps Psychology!

We’re very excited to share that we are now offering Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology alongside our psychology services, and to welcome two new practitioners to the First Steps team — Tiby, Occupational Therapist, and Annaleise, Speech Pathologist.

💬 Meet Annaleise – Speech Pathologist

Annaleise has experience supporting children and adolescents across private practice and educational settings. She takes a neuroaffirming, holistic approach and is passionate about helping children build confidence, communication and connection at home, school and beyond.

She has a special interest in language development, early intervention and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and values working collaboratively with children and their families to achieve meaningful outcomes.

Annaleise holds a Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Speech Pathology and is registered with Speech Pathology Australia.

Outside of work, Annaleise enjoys keeping active and exploring with her two young children and her pup, Pip. 🐶

🌱 Meet Tiby – Occupational Therapist

We’re also very excited to welcome Tiby to the team! We’ll be introducing Tiby properly very soon once we have her photo and bio to share.

Appointments for Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy are now available from Mid-September.