Karla is a highly qualified social worker / psychotherapist with over 15 years of experience working with children and young people in youth mental health work and school settings. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work from UNSW, a Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy from Deakin University, and is currently completing her Masters of Play Therapy through Deakin University.

Throughout her 15-year career, Karla has amassed extensive experience working with clients across various developmental stages, including early childhood, both early and late adolescence, and young adulthood. She specialises in providing support to individuals facing challenges such as bullying, grief, trauma, and emotional regulation within a safe and engaging environment.

With over 9 years of experience working in schools catering to students with complex behaviours, Karla leverages her diverse skill set to facilitate holistic support. She incorporates a range of therapeutic tools, including puppets, LEGO, and art supplies, to guide and nurture her clients. Additionally, she extends her sessions to assist neurodivergent individuals to explore differences and difficulties they may experience with anxiety, ADHD or aspects of their autistic neurobiology. Driven by a passion for exploring the experiences of young people through play-based psychotherapy, Karla aims to create a supportive environment where every client can thrive and flourish.

Outside of work, she enjoys playing ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ and any board games she can get her hands on, as well as watching movies while cuddling her two cats, ‘Bruce and Diana’.

What is Psychotherapy? Psychotherapy (short for psychological therapy) is a therapeutic model where sessions are led by a qualified mental health professional that collaboratively addresses psychological concerns and enhances overall wellbeing. The benefits of psychotherapy include developing skills in emotional regulation, improving self-awareness, and fostering personal growth and positive identity of self, through evidence based techniques including Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour therapy (DBT). Psychotherapists at Kids Inspired are supervised by Deni Fowle (Principal Psychologist) along with receiving ongoing training in various psychological interventions. Psychotherapists are unable to provide clinical assessments concerning an individual's cognitive, emotional and behavioural functioning, their focus is on providing psychological based support.