2023 in Reflection – Wow, what a year this has been
I would like to thank all the staff and families for making My Therapy House the amazing community it has become! The words that come to mind when I think of My Therapy House are love, compassion, support, loyalty, commitment and fun!
So what happened this year?
We started off 2023 with our Admin Assistant, Brooke, leaving due to health reasons. Carolynne came on board for a few months, leaving when Isabela, our Community Worker, started. We decided that a Community Worker was imperative in a workplace which is all about community. Isabela took on the reception role and looking after our clients’ needs, while Christie moved to a support role, keeping things ticking behind the scenes.
We had many university students complete placements with us. Three Occupational Therapy students and one Speech Pathology student finished their Degrees at My Therapy House. We had two Speech Pathology students start and complete their research project about co-therapy with generous contributions from staff and many of our families.
Charlotte, our Therapy Assistant worked hard to organise and declutter our inventory so our resources are easier to access for staff, then got married, all while continuing to study towards her Speech Pathology degree.
We had big projects in our backyard – the plumbing needed to be fixed, Andrew, Kerry’s partner tidied up around the sandpit and Clem, our gardener, continued to maintain our beautiful garden for the clients and staff to enjoy.
As a practice, we transitioned to focusing our expertise and resources on supporting young children up to 6 years of age at intake and changed our website and policies to reflect this.
We passed our NDIS and ASES Audits being noted for best practice in the area of family support, and were nominated for Allied Health Paediatric Team of the Year in the annual HICAPS Allied Health Awards!
Nikita completed her DIR Training, Judy is to complete hers in March 2024, and Maria is about to start the next stage of her DIR Training.
Craig and I finally finalised the My Therapy House Succession Plan with the lawyers to ensure that, should anything happen to us, there is no interruption to services for families and staff employment.
We had some staff changes. Georgina left us earlier in the year due to family commitments and Alyssa will be working with us as a contractor in 2024. Rose joined our team as a play therapist which means there will be not so much pressure on Kerry, and Pahul will be joining the team as a qualified Occupational Therapist at the start of February 2024.
All in all it has been an extremely productive year.
I wish all our wonderful staff and families a special Christmas break and New Year. We look forward to working with your wonderful children in 2024.
Peace, love, happiness, gratitude and joy!
Dana and the My Therapy House Team