About Us
Step by Step Psychology promotes collaboration and support among our team and with our community, enabling us to maximise positive outcomes for our clients and their families.
Visit Careers at SBSP to find out more about joining our team.
At Step by Step Psychology, our mission is to:
- Empower families to achieve greater happiness and build resilience through education, guidance and support
- Provide strategies to improve emotional health and wellbeing.
- Support parents and families to enhance their children’s mental health.
We achieve this through:
- Individual counselling and skill development
- Family counselling and support
- Assessments to provide accurate diagnoses and subsequent treatment plans
Our Team
Hayley Jennings
Director
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Hayley is the founder of Step by Step Psychology, establishing the Blackburn Clinic in 2015 after having worked with young people and their families in psychology settings since 2008. Hayley has a passion for helping families take steps toward a brighter future. She utilises a neuro-affirming approach with clients and tailors her work to suit each individual client. Hayley particularly enjoys working holistically to ensure that external factors such as diet and lifestyle are conducive to positive well-being.
While not currently seeing clients, Hayley works closely with the Step by Step Psychology team to support them to provide excellent care for their clients, as well as developing knowledge and a career in psychology. Outside of work, Hayley is kept busy raising her three young girls and loves to set time aside to exercise and try new hobbies, such as learning pottery.
Cara Small
Clinical Leader/Psychologist
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Cara has been at Step by Step Psychology since 2016. She has worked in both private
practice and school settings and has worked with the neurodiverse community since 2005.
Cara loves taking a client-centred and collaborative approach to working with her clients
and engaging with their families, teachers and other allied health professionals to achieve
greater outcomes.
Cara tales a neuro-affirming approach to supporting clients (and their families) to achieve
greater quality of life. Alongside her work with clients, Cara also supports the Step by Step
team to develop their skills and knowledge in a supervisory role.
Outside of work, Cara loves playing sports such as tennis and netball and spending time with
her three dogs Audrey, Polly and Tippi.
Emma Trifiletti
Team Leader/Psychologist
(maternity leave for 2024)
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Emma has been a Psychologist since 2015 and has been working at Step by Step Psychology
since 2017. She is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist and is a Board Approved
Supervisor. Emma enjoys working with a variety of ages; from preschoolers to young adults
and parents. Emma has a passion for supporting and advocating for her neurodivergent
clients, but also enjoys supporting all children and young people with managing their
emotions and stress, and developing adaptive and helpful coping strategies. Emma is also
experienced at administering comprehensive assessments.
Emma utilises strengths-based approaches and works in a holistic way with her clients and
their allied health teams. She aims to work with her clients to achieve their goals and
improve their overall wellbeing.
Emma is a warm and caring therapist. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her
son and husband, doing pilates, and enjoying a good cup of coffee at a café.
Olivia Burton
Psychologist/Clinical Psychology Registrar
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Olivia is a Psychologist and Clinical Psychology registrar who has been working in different
capacities at Step by Step Psychology since 2017.
Olivia has experience working with older children adolescents and adults to provide person-
centred, evidence-based mental health treatment and support. Olivia conducts thorough
psychological assessments and uses this information to inform appropriate treatment
approaches.
Olivia has a particular interest in working with adolescents and young adults who are at risk.
Olivia has experience in conducting risk assessments and developing action plans and
working to improve the overall quality of life of her clients.
Dr Kate Horner
Psychologist
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Kate is a Psychologist who has been working at Step by Step Psychology since August 2021. Kate has a particular interest in working with adolescents experiencing a range of mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, adjustment difficulties and trauma. Kate takes a client-centred approach and focuses on building a strong therapeutic alliance with each client to address their unique needs. Outside of work, Kate enjoys staying physically active and loves running.
Daina Krasts
Psychologist/Educational and Developmental Psychology Registrar
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Daina is a Registered Psychologist who completed a Master of Psychology (Educational and Developmental) at Australian Catholic University. Daina has experience working with children and adolescents in private practice and primary and secondary school settings.
Daina is passionate about working with children and adolescents and their families to support mental health and wellbeing. Daina has a special interest in emotional regulation difficulties such as anxiety, social skills and parental support. She also has an interest in the assessment and diagnosis of learning difficulties and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Daina utilises a variety of evidence-based treatment methods to support children and adolescents including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy and play-based strategies. Daina takes a strength-based and client-centered approach by working collaboratively with clients and their families to identify their unique needs and goals and tailoring interventions to their individual needs. Daina also administers comprehensive psychological assessments including for Specific Learning Disorders (SLD).
Laura Payne
Psychologist/Educational and Developmental Psychology Registrar
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Laura began working as a Psychologist at Step by Step Psychology at the beginning of 2023, following the completion of her Master of Educational and Developmental Psychology. Laura is experienced in working therapeutically both in primary and secondary school settings as well as private practice. Laura has a special interest in working with children and adolescents who have learning difficulties, emotional regulation challenges and anxiety. Laura enjoys taking a client-centred, strengths based approach to help families achieve their goals. She is passionate about collaborating with families to deliver neuro-affirming care. In sessions, Laura enjoys using creative approaches and bibliotherapy. On the weekends, Laura enjoys playing music and checking out different coffee spots!
Jessie Fa
Provisional Psychologist
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Jessie is a Provisional Psychologist undertaking her 5+1 internship at Step by Step Psychology. She completed a 'Master of Professional Psychology' degree at the University of Melbourne in 2022. Her previous role as a Student Counsellor at a selective entry high school developed her skills in supporting adolescents struggling with anxiety, depression, stress, interpersonal challenges, perfectionism and adjustment difficulties. Jessie is passionate about early intervention and prevention of psychopathology and helping equip children and adolescents with lifelong skills. Her therapeutic approach prioritises creating a warm and nurturing environment to deliver holistic and person-centred care. Jessie values working collaboratively with clients and their support network.
Maeven Law
Psychologist
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Maeven is a registered educational psychologist in Australia, New Zealand
and Hong Kong with more than 15 years of experience working with clients spanning from toddler to young adults. She is also a locally registered social worker and teacher in Hong Kong. She has been working in different
educational institutions, NGOs and clinics to provide psycho-educational
assessment, intervention, consultation and training services to a variety of
clients speaking English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Hence, she brings an
amalgamation of experiences and education to her current practice.
Maeven has worked closely with children and families from diverse
backgrounds, including those with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, learning difficulties, and childhood emotional and behavioural problems. She loves child-centred approaches, and she is very experienced in collaborating with parents and teachers in adopting SCERTS® model to support children with autism spectrum disorder.
Maeven is also a certified trainer of Positive Parenting™ Program (Triple-P,
University of Queensland), The Circle of Security Parenting™ (COSP, The Circle
of Security International) and Happy Parenting Program (Heep Hong Society).
Her expertise in parenting and attachment had successfully helped many families to strengthen parent-child relationship, improve communication as well as enhance parenting skills. She emphasizes the importance of early intervention to address developmental concerns and thereby achieving psychological well-being and healthier outcomes.
Client Support Team
Abbi Cameron
Business Manager
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Abbi has been working at Step by Step Psychology since 2016 when she started as the first administration assistant. Her role has developed and she now co-ordinates the overall running of the two clinics as the Business Manager. Part of her current role is to provide support to the Clinic Managers at each clinic to enable them to provide a helpful and streamlined client experience from an administration perspective.
On the weekend, you’ll find Abbi watching her kids play basketball or socialising with friends over a few cocktails.
Laura Nugent
Nunawading Clinic Manager
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Laura currently works full-time as part of the Client Support Team at the Nunawading clinic. Laura holds a Bachelor of Business (Sport Management) and spent 2 years living in Toronto, Canada, before returning to Australia in 2019. Whilst she has a passion for sport, her reception and administration experience at home and abroad brings a diverse skill set to the team. She thoroughly enjoys interacting with children and their families on a daily basis.
Georgia Mahoney
Blackburn Clinic Manager
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Georgia currently works full-time as part of the Client Support Team at the Blackburn clinic. Georgia holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science, and has recently travelled Europe in order to expand her experiences. What Georgia loves most about working at Step by Step, is the chance to support people, and create a warm and inviting environment for clients. Georgia has a passion for people, and in her spare time loves going on walks, and spending time with her pets.
