Our Process

Every child that comes to us is unique and every one of them deserves to be understood and treated as an individual.

Every child that comes to us is unique and every one of them deserves to be understood and treated as an individual. Therefore, since no two children are the same, we tailor our approach to meet the unique needs of your child.

As psychologists we also take a holistic approach to our work – we want to understand the bigger picture of how your child behaves at home and at school or daycare.

At times we may need to work with your other family members. Sometimes we may also be required to work in conjunction with other professionals caring for your child or their school or daycare.

Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that every child that comes into our care reaches their full potential.

How the process works

The process that you can expect from us includes:

Initial Consultation
The first step is to come along and meet us for a consultation where the psychologist will ask questions to gain a detailed understanding of the nature of the problem.
We value to information that a parent gives us in order for us to obtain as complete a picture as possible

Subsequent Consultations
After we have spoken with the parent our next step is to have between two and five follow up appointments with the child or adolescent (usually without the parents) in order to gain a thorough understanding of the problem from their perspective and to diagnose the problem.
During these sessions we use a variety of methods and we try to make them as fun and enjoyable as possible to put your child at ease.

Reporting
Once we have made our assessment we meet the parents to talk through our diagnosis and ways to manage it. It is particularly important for all adults involved to fully understand all aspects of the presenting problem in order to help the child going forward.
Written reports are available should you wish to have one and in this meeting we also discuss further ways in which we may be able to assist you.

Therapy/on-going support
We provide both one-on-one therapy and group workshops using Evidence Based resources depending on what the best way to manage going forward.
As a practice we are also qualified to use Neurofeedback, the latest cutting edge techniques that that allow us to ‘retrain’ the brain. Click here to find out more.

Our Staff

Jutta Dempsey

Bachelor of Education (Uni)
Graduate Diploma of Psychology

Jutta is a Registered Psychologist and Registered Teacher with over 40 years experience. As a teacher and guidance counsellor and child therapist, Jutta established Directions, the first child directed practise in Townsville, over 30 years ago because she became acutely aware of the lack of services available in for children with learning and behavioural difficulties.

Chelsea Corbett

Bachelor of Psychology

Chelsea Corbett is a is a Registered Psychologist, with over 9 years of experience working with challenging young people. From a cattle family, she brings a unique understanding and genuine authenticity to her therapy with children and adolescents, together with a determination to improve their wellbeing within the home, school and community.

Anna Quenault

Bachelor of Science
Graduate Diploma of Psychology

Anna Quenault is a Registered Psychologist with over 5 years experience with Directions having previous experience in various counselling and mentoring roles. Anna is passionate about psychoeducational education for children and adolescents, and parental management.

Shane Davison

is a Psychology Graduate from rural Queensland who has worked in Education and Disability Support roles both in Australia and overseas. He is excited to complete his provisional internship from the experienced staff at Directions. He has a passion for understanding early childhood development and interventions for Oppositional Defiance Disorder and anger management.

Kelly Bell

is a Psychology (Honours) Graduate from James Cook University who has experience working with children, adolescents and adults. She is a thoughtful and empathetic psychologist determined to completed her provisional internship at Directions. Kelly has a passion for helping children and their families achieve their best by providing evidence based strategies to navigate a wide range of neurodevelopmental and mood disorders including Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Specific Learning Disorder & ADHD.

Leena Coutts

Office Manager

Leena Coutts has extensive experience in Reception and Administration and considers her role to make the children, adolescents and families to feel welcome and their wellbeing a priority whilst accessing our Psychological Practice. She is an experienced mother and grandmother in her private life and this enables her to provide a practical and considered approach to organising the daily functioning at Directions.