Our Team

All of our team have special interest and experience in neurodevelopmental and behavioural disorders in children and adolescents.

​Dr Berlinda Yeoh
Developmental Paediatrician
MBBS (Hons 1) USyd FRACP MPH

Dr Berlinda Yeoh is a specialist developmental and behavioural paediatrician who is passionate about supporting children and adolescents reach their fullest potential. She has extensive experience and specialises in managing learning, developmental and mental health disorders, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disorders, Anxiety and Depression in children and adolescents. She graduated from medicine at University of Sydney in 2000 (1st class honours) and did her Paediatric specialist training at both the Children's Hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick. She is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, member of the RACP Chapter of Community Child Health and the Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatrician Society of Australasia. She has a completed a Master of Public Health at the University of NSW.
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​Dr Yeoh previously worked for over a decade at Royal Far West, Manly, leading a multidisciplinary team supporting children from remote and rural NSW communities with complex developmental, behavioural and mental health disorders in the context of complex social circumstances and trauma exposure. She has now worked in private practice for over 10 years, previously working at the Sydney Developmental Clinic specialising in learning, ADHD, behavioural and emotional disorders prior to establishing the Child Development Clinic in 2018.

Dr Pooja Kashyap
Paediatrician
MBBS MD FRACP

Dr Pooja is a paediatrician committed to working with families to maintain the health and wellbeing of children. She has over 14 years of experience and is an academic gold medallist trained in General paediatrics with special interest in developmental and behavioural paediatrics, focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorder, intellectual disability, anxiety and Specific Learning Disorders. During her paediatric training, she worked across different paediatric centres across NSW including the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Royal North Shore Hospital. She also spent time gaining experience in the department of psychological medicine working with children and adolescents with complex behavioural, developmental, mental health and specific learning disorders. Her research includes “Developmental Disabilities in Indigenous Children in rural NSW’. She is currently appointed at Gosford Hospital as a Paediatrician.

​She continues to be actively involved in medical student teaching and holds a conjoint lecturer position at UNSW, Rural Clinical School. She has previously served as an examiner for medical students at University of Newcastle. 
Outside of work, Pooja enjoys reading, classical music and spending time with family.

Dr Conni Knebel
Developmental Paediatrician
MD FRACP

​Dr Knebel is a specialist in Developmental and Behavioural Paediatrics with an interest in, neurodevelopment disorders, cognitive profiling, learning difficulties, attachment and parenting, developmental delay, FASD, Autism, ADHD and anxiety.
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Conni is a Staff Specialist Developmental Paediatrician at the Westmead Children’s Hospital. She completed her paediatric training at the Sydney Children’s Hospital after graduating in Germany. There, she also commenced her training in paediatrics and neonatology at the University Children’s Hospital in Munich. Conni has worked in many countries around the world and many services in the greater Sydney area. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience working with patients, families and services in the community.  

She is undertaking research in the field of developmental surveillance and children affected by substance use. Dr Knebel is a member of the Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatric Society of Australasia. She is trained in formal Autism assessment tools as well as developmental assessment tools and diverse parenting programs such as Circle of Security. Her approach is comprehensive, thorough and strengths based.

Dr Geoff Crawford
Paediatrician
MBBS FRACP GradDipArts

​Dr Crawford is a consultant Paediatrician who has specialised in the assessment of children and adolescents with learning and behaviour concerns. He is a graduate from the UNSW, a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians and a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has a Graduate Diploma in Arts from the University of Wollongong.
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He worked for 10 years at the multidisciplinary Serfontein Clinic, the first of its kind specialising in the assessment of children with ADHD. Since 2002 he has worked in his private practice in Sydney CBD and does outreach clinics in the Hunter district and in Wollongong. He looks after his patients into early adult life.

​Dr Nicky Edmunds
Paediatrician
BMedSc MBBS MMed(Paed) FRACP

​Dr Nichola Edmunds is a Paediatrician who has a special interest in neurodevelopmental and behavioural conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and comorbid mental health conditions.

Nicky graduated from the University of Sydney School of Medicine in 2009. She completed her paediatric specialist training at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a member of the Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatrician Society of Australasia. Nicky has also completed a Master of Medicine (Paediatric Medicine) at the University of Sydney. She is trained in developmental and autism assessment standardised tools. She is involved in a number of research projects and is an Honorary Research Fellow for the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Nicky has always loved working with children and their families. She offers a warm, empathetic, family and child-centred approach to care.

​Dr Komal Kumar
Developmental Paediatrician
BSc. MBBS FRACP

​Dr Komal Kumar is a specialist developmental and behavioural paediatrician with special interests in learning difficulties, Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She graduated from University of Queensland Medical school in 2011 and trained in paediatrics at Princess Margaret Hospital, Perth and Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She further specialised in child development at South Western Sydney Community Paediatrics Department where she now holds a staff specialist position. Her role focuses on vulnerable child populations including refugee children and adolescents in South Western Sydney.
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Dr Kumar’s special interest is reframing developmental difficulties in a strengths based framework for both the home and school settings. She achieves this by prioritising a collaborative framework with her patients’ therapists and school. She is currently pursuing research projects in neurodevelopmental genetics and intersectional neurodiversity in medical models of care.

​Dr James Wickramasuriya (Wick)
Psychiatrist
MBBS (Syd.) FRANZCP Cert Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

​Dr James Wickramasuriya (Wick) is a specialist Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatrist with 20 years’ experience in treating emotional and behavioural difficulties, including by telepsychiatry.  He graduated from the USyd in 1999 and trained at the St Mary’s Hospital, London and in Sydney at the Institute of Psychiatry at Redbank House, Rivendell Adolescent Unit and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Dr Wick is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and a member of the Faculty of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr Wick worked for over 16 years as Senior Staff Specialist at Redbank House in-patient Child, Adolescent and Family Service and was Clinical Director of Adolescent Services. Currently he also works at Royal Far West, Manly; as Senior Consultan at Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District; and the Black Dog Institute Randwick, where he is furthering his interest in difficult-to-diagnose and manage complex mood disorders.
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Dr Wick’s specialist interests includes behavioural & complex anxiety/mood disorders and management of complex childhood trauma. He utilises treatment modalities informed by medical, family systems, attachment, behavioural, cognitive, psycho-dynamic and trauma-informed theory. He works with family members together and individually and collaborates with other professionals.

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​Psychology Team

Suzanne Davies
Psychologist (Clinical)
​BA Psych, GDIP App Psych, M Clin Psych, MAPS

​Suzanne has had over 14 years’ experience working with children and families presenting with a range of developmental, learning, behavioural, and emotional difficulties. 
Suzanne worked at a specialist diagnostic and assessment service for children suspected to be presenting with global developmental delay, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorder.

Suzanne also worked in a multi-disciplinary team at Royal Far West for 10 years. Here she held the positions of clinical psychology team leader, and senior clinical psychologist. She was involved in a research project in partnership with the University of Sydney. The project explored the role of telehealth in the delivery of a parenting intervention for children with behavioural difficulties. 

Suzanne is a registered psychologist with endorsement in clinical psychology, and a board approved supervisor. She is a member of the Australian Psychological Society.
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Suzanne utilises evidence based interventions including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Parent Management Training. She is passionate about working in partnership with families to help them achieve their goals. ​

Jaclyn Heinrich
Psychologist (Provisional)
BSc, BSc-Psych(Hons)

Jaclyn is a Provisional Psychologist who completed her Bachelor of Psychology Degree at Adelaide University, graduating with first class honours. She has continued her studies at University of New South Wales, currently completing a Masters Degree in Forensic Psychology. Jaclyn is also a fully qualified solicitor and has chosen to focus on the area of child and adolescent Psychology as a career. 

Jaclyn is conscientious, hard working and passionate about improving awareness of mental health. She is committed to working with young people and their families to assist them to reach their full potential, with a strength-based approach personalised for each client and reinforcing support networks. 

Jaclyn is interested in supporting children with diagnoses of ADHD, ODD, anxiety and mood disorders. She is experienced in conducting a range of psychological assessments which lead to providing evidence-based interventions. Jaclyn likes to take a fun approach to learning, therapy and assessment. She likes to contribute to a happy work environment and keeps up to date with trends to ensure she can connect with her clientele. Jaclyn believes we each learn differently and to be able to reach our full potential, we need to know how we learn best. Most importantly, Jaclyn believes in lifelong learning and focusing on the positive.

Petar Vuceta
Psychologist (Provisional)
BA(Psych), GDIP(Psych)

​​Petar is an enthusiastic and engaging provisional psychologist with more than 15 years of experience working with children. He specialised in the area of personality and problematic smartphone use, in which he has written his thesis. Previously he has worked as a social support worker for people with Autism. He has worked in a collaborative environment with family, employment and disability agencies, speech pathologist, and healthcare workers to enhance and provide goal attainment to people living with ASD.
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Petar is also a former tennis professional, and has represented New South Wales and Australia in national and international competition. He is a proud supporter of the Eels NRL club and his hobbies include horseback riding, rock climbing, skydiving, and fishing. He plays the saxophone
and enjoys Karaoke. His future ambitions are to combine his interests in psychology and sport.

Kate Wilson-Woolley
Psychologist (Provisional)
​BArts/BSci (Psychology)(Hons)

Kate is a friendly and warm provisional psychologist who is passionate about supporting children and their families to reach their potential. Kate has been working with children and families for the last 10 years.
 
Kate completed her 4 year psychology undergraduate degree at the Australian National University, focusing on developmental and social psychology. She has done further training in Attachment-focused intervention, and supporting families in the postnatal period. Kate is currently working towards general registration as a psychologist, working at the Child Development Clinic and for a not-for-profit organisation that supports children with learning difficulties. 

Lauren Ehrenfeld
Psychologist (Provisional)
BPsych (Hons)

Lauren is a Provisional Psychologist who completed her Bachelor of Psychology at Macquarie University. She is currently undertaking her PhD and Master of Clinical Neuropsychology at Macquarie University. Her research examines the relationship between mood, cognition, and inflammatory mechanisms, with a particular focus on depression and suicidality.

​Lauren also conducts research at Neuroscience Research Australia where she has examined sex differences in cognition and changes in cognition across the lifespan. 
Clinically, she has extensive experience in neuropsychological assessment, with a particular focus in the impacts of mood, Post-traumatic Stress, and Traumatic Brain Injuries on cognition, and the differential diagnosis of Specific Learning Disorders, Intellectual Disability, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Lauren is competent in delivering Cognitive Remediation Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.  

Michelle Chow
Psychologist (Provisional)
BPsych (Hons)

Michelle is a warm and engaging provisional psychologist who is completing a Masters in Forensic Psychology at the University of New South Wales. She holds a Bachelor degree of Psychology with honours from the same university. She has previously undertaken research on maladaptive attentional patterns and eating disorders. Michelle is passionate about de-stigmatising mental health disorders and has a particular interest in their early intervention and management.

Michelle believes in a positive, collaborative, and strengths based approach in working with children and their families to fulfil the child’s full potential. She is also trained in the evidence-based Friends Resilience program. Michelle enjoys working within the multi-disciplinary team at the Child Development Clinic, and finds that it both offers an easier access to services and gives her more holistic insights on how to better care for and engage the client.

Claire Barkhuizen  
Psychologist (Provisional)
BPsych (Hons) MProf Psych

Claire is a provisional psychologist, currently undertaking her internship at the Child Development Clinic. She completed her Bachelor of Psychology with Honours (Clinical) at the University of New England and also completed a Master of Professional Psychology at Macquarie University. Claire is grateful for the opportunity to work with children in support of their neurodevelopmental, academic and mental health development. Claire utilises evidence-based interventions including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and has a particular interest in family therapy.
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Claire is passionate about promoting and supporting human flourishing and is motivated by making a meaningful contribution and positive impact within her community. She believes a growth mindset, a humanistic approach, and rigorous scientific thinking are pillars to her approach to the practice of psychology.

Katie Merriel
Psychologist (Provisional)
B Psych (Hons), MProf Psych

Katie is a calm and bubbly provisional psychologist who is passionate about understanding childhood, adolescent and family needs. She completed a Bachelor of Psychological Science and completed her Graduate Diploma in Psychological Science at Bond University, QLD. Katie has a special interest in ADHD, anxiety disorders, perfectionism and body image issues.

When Katie is away from our clinic she also volunteers for Lifeline Crisis Service. Through this service she supports predominantly young people in various crises and distress through counselling.

In her spare time Katie loves being outdoors by the beach, either going for a swim or walking along the coast line. She also loves to be around family and friends as well as her pets as she adores animals.

Kerry Critchlow
Psychologist (Provisional)
GDIP(Psych) Assoc MAPS

Kerry is a provisional psychologist completing a Master of Psychology (Clinical) at Australian Catholic University. She holds Graduate Diplomas in Psychology from the University of Sydney (undergraduate) and Western Sydney University, with Distinction (4th year psychology). She is also currently undertaking research in the area of attachment and emotion recognition. 

Kerry is familiar with child assessment for a variety of developmental, learning, and mental health presentations including ADHD, autism, learning difficulties, and anxiety. She has delivered school-based Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy and facilitated school-based resilience workshops. She also conducts evidence-based treatments including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
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Kerry enjoys creating warm and supportive relationships with children, adolescents, and their families and is committed to helping children and adolescents manage their challenges and make the most of their strengths, to reach their full potential.

Rachel Clark
Psychologist (Provisional)
MProfPsych BPsychSc (Hons)

Rachel is a warm and friendly provisional psychologist working towards her full registration. Rachel holds a first class Honours degree in psychology from Southern Cross University, a Masters of Professional Psychology from University of Wollongong, and has supported children, adolescents and families for close to 10 years.

Having worked across early learning centres, schools, private practice, and non-for-profit organisations, Rachel is extremely passionate about helping young people and their families to flourish. She has a special interest in the psychological and wellbeing impacts of social media use among young people, and she facilitates school programs to help students bring more awareness and agency to their social media use.
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With a warm, compassionate, strengths-based approach, Rachel is committed to facilitating a positive environment and providing high quality, evidence based assessment and intervention to clients and families.
When not in the therapy room, you’ll find Rachel in a dance class or by the beach with a good book.

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​Administration Team

Laura Boswell
Practice Manager​

​Laura is our highly experienced, friendly and approachable practice manager who is dedicated to supporting our patients and their families with dedication, efficiency and sensitivity. She works behind the scenes to continue to improve our processes to ensure our patients and their families’ experience at our practice is positive and well supported.

She has a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning from Canterbury University, New Zealand and has worked as a manager in the early childhood and education industry in New Zealand for 6 years prior to joining us. She is passionate about child development and is committed to supporting our families and clinic team.
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Laura loves spending time at the beach with her family and taking advantage of Sydney's beautiful parks and cafes.

Rochelle Thompson
Receptionist​​

Rochelle is one of our welcoming receptionists, who is understanding and respectful.  Being confident, calm and capable, she is dedicated to producing positive patient outcomes and delivering exceptional customer service.

Before joining us, Rochelle spent 25 years working as a national manager in magazine publishing, including parenting magazines and children's titles. She is passionate about using all resources available to support our clients and our team.

Rochelle is a movie buff, loves good food and enjoys skiing, camping and holidaying with her family and friends.
  

Sarah Sullivan
Receptionist​​

Sarah is one of our warm and welcoming receptionists. Sarah is dedicated to ensuring clients feel supported and cared for during their time at the clinic. 

Sarah has come from a customer service background as a long haul flight attendant based in New Zealand. She is passionate about caring for children. 

Sarah enjoys cooking healthy food, spending time at the beach and being with family and friends.  

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Steph Grego
Receptionist​​

Steph is one of our receptionists. Steph prides herself on creating a warm environment to ensure our clients feel welcomed and nourished.
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She is currently studying medical science and has come from a background in customer service. Steph is passionate about mindfulness and the benefits it brings to everyday life. She loves reading, hanging out at the beach, running and having a laugh with friends. 

Natalie Schembri
Receptionist​​

Natalie is one of our welcoming receptionists. She is friendly, calm, and nurturing. She cares about the clinic's patients and looks after each individual with care and respect.

Before starting at the clinic Natalie worked in the Travel industry for 18 years. This has given her great communication and listening skills. She is passionate about the wellbeing of our children and creating a comfortable space where they feel safe and welcome. As a mother of two children she has a great understanding of the challenges of everyday life.

In her spare time, Natalie enjoys the company of her family and friends, going on hikes, travelling, the theatre, good music and great food.

Director - ​Paul Therkelsen
​MBA (exec), BEHons (Electrical), BSc(Com Sci), GDAppFin