Inclusion at Heart

Inclusion at Heart We support people with injury illness and disability to improve their lives by facilitating inclusion

We provide tailored evidence-based services to children, young people or adults (and carers) who have physical and / or mental health conditions and disabilities. We provide support in relation to the following:

Vocational support:
Supporting people with disability, illness or injury to access work, volunteer, or education environments by undertaking and offering services including:
- Career exploration and assessments
- Job placement and development services
- Employer education and guidance
- Skills development

Psychosocial support:
Coordination of needs to address barriers to participation and identify goals through assessments and interventions.
- Support to adjust to the impact of a disability including independent living, life care planning and counselling. Medical management support:
Work collaboratively with you and your treatment providers to develop a plan to help you achieve your health and work goals. Advocacy support:
Assist the person with disability to exercise choice and control and to have their voice heard in matters that affect them. Services include:
- advocating for access to the NDIS
- advocating for adjustments or accommodations within the workplace / educational institution including schools
- advocating for gifted students (including twice-exceptional student i.e. gifted person who also has a disability)


We address a broad range of issues including:
- Mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, suicide, stress and more.
- Physical disabilities including traumatic brain injury (TBI), acquired brain injury (ABI), stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), epilepsy and more.
- Intellectual disabilities
- Twice-exceptional (gifted with a disability)
- Chronic / persistent pain
- Autism (ASD) plus comorbid conditions including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ehlers-danlos syndromes, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), epilepsy and dysautonomia

Acknowledgement of Country:
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land where we work and live, the Gubbi Gubbi people and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land. Acknowledgement of Diversity:
We acknowledge and respect the diversity of bodies, genders and relationships as well as each person's each person’s culture, sexual orientation and abilities. Acknowledgement of Lived Experience:
We would like to recognise those with lived experience of mental health conditions and recovery. We acknowledge that we can only provide quality services through valuing, respecting, and drawing upon the lived experience and expert knowledge of the individual, their families, carers, friends, staff and the local community. Qualifications:
- Master of Rehabilitation Counselling from Griffith University
- Standard Mental Health First Aider
- Youth Mental Health First Aider
- Graduate Certificate of Financial Planning
- Bachelor of Economics from University of Queensland
- Bachelor of Business (Management) from University of Queensland

Counselling approaches:
- Evidence based
- Strengths focused approach
- Lifespan approach
- Trauma informed care
- Positive psychology
- Narrative therapy
- Motivational interviewing
- Mindfulness based approach

Professional Membership:
Full Member of Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors Ltd (ASORC)

31/12/2025
If you’re after a gentle, low-key way to relax and ease into the year, tune into SBS Chillest 100 from midday.Watch it, ...
29/12/2025

If you’re after a gentle, low-key way to relax and ease into the year, tune into SBS Chillest 100 from midday.

Watch it, listen to it, or just let it play in the background and enjoy the vibe 🎶

MCAS research that’s worth reading and understanding
28/12/2025

MCAS research that’s worth reading and understanding

A recent paper revealed the shocking prevalence of neuropsychiatric conditions in patients with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). Here are the numbers...

Dr. Leonard Weinstock, in collaboration with a group of other prominent researchers, found that females with MCAS had ⬆️ odds of (*=significant change):
Migraines or severe headaches: 4.6-fold increased odds*
Insomnia (severe and chronic): 3.8-fold increased odds*
Non-epileptic seizure activity: 14.3-fold increased odds*
Restless legs syndrome: 3.4-fold increased odds*
Cognitive dysfunction: 22.5-fold increased odds*
Sound hypersensitivity: 5.9-fold increased odds*
Odor hypersensitivity: 12.8-fold increased odds*
Light hypersensitivity: 11.5-fold increased odds*
Fainting or near faint: 10.0-fold increased odds*
Pain hypersensitivity: 6.2-fold increased odds*
Muscle weakness: 8.4-fold increased odds*
Chronic fatigue: 21.3-fold increased odds*
Acoustic startle: 4.5-fold increased odds*
Tremors at rest: 8.9-fold increased odds*
Sleep attacks: 9.0-fold increased odds*
Neuropathy: 11.1-fold increased odds*
Myalgia: 12.2-fold increased odds*
Tinnitus: 6.4-fold increased odds*

They also found that males with MCAS had ⬆️ odds of (*=significant change):
Migraines or severe headaches: 6.2-fold increased odds*
Insomnia (severe and chronic): 6.7-fold increased odds*
Cognitive dysfunction: 10.7-fold increased odds*
Sound hypersensitivity: 5.5-fold increased odds*
Odor hypersensitivity: 27.0-fold increased odds*
Light hypersensitivity: 22.4-fold increased odds*
Fainting or near faint: 5.8-fold increased odds*
Pain hypersensitivity: 7.8-fold increased odds*
Muscle weakness: 9.9-fold increased odds*
Acoustic startle: 3.1-fold increased odds*
Tremors at rest: 6.7-fold increased odds*
Sleep attacks: 5.1-fold increased odds*
Neuropathy: 9.0-fold increased odds*
Myalgia: 11.0-fold increased odds*
Fatigue: 17.6-fold increased odds*
Tinnitus: 3.7-fold increased odds*

\ What Is Driving This Link?
The authors propose that dysregulated mast cells (MCs) release chemicals that disrupt the nervous system. This is predicted to drive neuropsychiatric disorders via direct and indirect effects. For instance, mutations in MCs can cause the inappropriate release of mediators (i.e., histamine, cytokines), leading to local inflammation.

Inappropriate MC activation can make the blood-brain barrier (BBB) leaky. The BBB describes the barrier-like properties of blood vessels in the brain. This could allow pro-inflammatory cytokines and antibodies into the brain.

Too much histamine can affect peripheral neurons and also interact with immune and glial cells in the CNS. This could indirectly drive a wide array of issues categorized as:
- neurologic
- psychiatric
- dysautonomic

Mast cell-derived cytokines like IL-12 can mediate neuroinflammation. IL-12 can do this by altering neurotransmitter systems and activating microglia (the primary immune cells of the CNS).



Read the full study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354625001061?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=9b08f70f4ae4dd91

How did I never know about this TV channel? 😌I’ve been wanting to find something like this for a long time. SBS Chill ha...
26/12/2025

How did I never know about this TV channel? 😌

I’ve been wanting to find something like this for a long time. SBS Chill has its own TV channel on SBS On Demand, and it’s exactly what my nervous system didn’t know it needed.

Great for background viewing, winding down, or simply having something on that doesn’t demand your attention. Definitely worth checking out.

SBS Chill is available to stream on SBS On Demand. What is it and how do I tune in?

Rehabilitation counsellors core theoretical frameworks
23/12/2025

Rehabilitation counsellors core theoretical frameworks

Rehabilitation counsellors scope of practice
22/12/2025

Rehabilitation counsellors scope of practice

21/12/2025

Would you like a qualified professional — or someone trained to replace them?

Would you like a qualified teacher…
or someone trained to deliver lesson plans?

Would you like a lawyer…
or someone trained to interpret legislation using a template?

Would you like an engineer…
or someone trained to follow engineering guidelines?

Would you like a pilot…
or someone trained to follow the flight checklist?

Because this is effectively what the NDIS is doing.

Through the new APS6 Technical Advisory (Professional Stream) roles and the revised Support Needs Assessment process, the scheme is training staff to perform functions traditionally undertaken by qualified allied health professionals — all based on a single ~3-hour interview with the participant, supported by a computer algorithm.

These roles were released quietly over the Christmas–New Year period — when businesses are closed and practitioners are on leave.

This isn’t reform.
It’s substitution.

And it raises serious questions about:
• independence
• professional standards
• assessment quality
• participant outcomes

We wouldn’t accept this in education, law, engineering, or aviation.

So why is it acceptable in disability?

20/12/2025

Address

Sunshine Coast, QLD

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4pm
Friday 8:30am - 4pm

Telephone

+61493281331

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