Barefoot Therapists provide therapy to children, and support for their families.
We offer a skilled team of Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, a Provisional Psychologist, a Dietitian and Animal & Equine-Assisted Therapists who are available to work with you offering a considerate team approach to your therapy journey from birth right through the teens and transitioning to adulthood.
We provide services in beautiful surroundings at our Main Ridge headquarters, in a range of community settings, and at our Boneo Hobby Farm where we provide experienced clinical therapy while enjoying the naturally therapeutic benefits of being outside on the farm. Indoor programs suit most children and outdoor sessions particularly suit children where the clinical environment has not been effective or motivating for them to achieve goals. We work with you to find the programs which best meet your child’s requirements.
What We Provide
You are invited to join our programs which start with a therapy assessment. From there you are welcome to consider indoor and outdoor, social and vocational style programs and clinical appointments for OT, Speech Pathology, Provisional Psychology, Counselling, Functional & Social Skills Groups. We have registered therapists who provide groups and individual sessions including a dedicated mental health team, parent and teen coaching, an eating service and home modifications & equipment service. We also have experienced clinicians working with horses and farm animals providing Barefoot’s Animal & Equine-Assisted Therapy. Other outdoor services include Sport, Bike Riding, Wellbeing, Social, Farm & Nature programs. (We do not provide our well regarded Equine-Assisted Therapy programs for any other organisations, although we can link you with charities who have funded equine therapy for Barefoot families).
You can choose our regular sessions in term time and join in the fabulous activities on the school holiday program (limited spaces available, with your consent and a referral from your therapist). You can expect quality therapeutic approaches offered to the children using a variety of activities and programs they will naturally enjoy and engage with.
We provide telehealth opportunities and operate in line with government health guidelines e.g. for COVID-19.
Schools
We have Therapy partnerships with a number of schools. If your child attends one of the following schools call us about consideration for school-based sessions following the initial assessment process. Woodleigh - Minnimbah - Penbank, Balcombe, Boneo, Wallaroo, Crib Point.
If you are a school, contact us directly to organise regular OT and speech pathology visits. We will provide a therapist who will fit in with your school culture and assist you with inclusive therapeutic planning. We can work on assessments and funding reports, individual and group sessions and professional development for staff. We can include your NDIS and Medicare funded children on the same regular visits by planning together.
Funding
We are registered for NDIS, Medicare, Better Access To Mental Health, DSS. Charities such as Anglicare and Ozchild and other not for profit organisations have funded packages for eligible clients.
Your Therapy Journey
From your first contact we will be there to help you secure effective therapy sessions with professionals who can best meet your needs. Initial appointments and assessment sessions will inform choices for future therapy. Therapists use their clinical reasoning to work with you in deciding which individual and group services will help achieve goals and be motivating for your child. We like to help you navigate these options based on therapeutic reasoning and the child’s interests following assessment.
As part of your assessment process we can also offer you some extra choices such as, visiting your home, community venues and school environments across the Peninsula. We can schedule standardised assessments and write reports required for NDIS and education funding. This holistic process supports us in getting to know your child’s current strengths, interests and future needs. This equips us with information which can help you make the best decisions about therapy requirements. If you have already had a complex assessment at a different service and have a report, your assessing therapist at Barefoot may be able to use this information to speed up your assessment process and move you more quickly into therapy sessions.
Our Barefoot Philosophy
Our philosophy is to offer effective clinical therapy but with a ‘non clinical’ feel which means the kids are motivated and engaged in a wide variety of activities in helpful everyday settings. Our therapists meanwhile are applying approaches which have been well researched and professionally developed.
