Kim Eldridge

Occupational Therapist

(she/her)

Welcome! I'm Kim and I am excited to join the Very Helpful Chats team as a Senior Occupational Therapist.

I am here to let you know that it's okay to be weird, quirky and unique. So while we work on creating new skills and strategies for you in planning, organising, managing sensory sensitivities and managing big feelings, I want you to know that you are amazing exactly as you are right now - and not having skills in these areas does not mean there is something wrong with who you are as a person!

Some of the things that make me 'me':

Other people may describe me as:

Neurodivergent Occupational Therapy

Each person’s journey and experience of being neurodivergent is unique - and I am here for it! I’ve helped clients understand how to un-mask safely and at their own pace, and how to un-knit deeply ingrained beliefs about contorting yourself to try and fit neurotypical norms.

While you may have skills to learn, together, we will work on how we can change your environment, rather than expecting you to be the only one changing. To support you in this, I will help you troubleshoot where you are having difficulties so we can make sure that accommodations and adjustments actually do their job and help you – I do not believe in generic tick-a-box ‘accommodations’ where one-size-fits-all!

My greatest joy is being able to connect with neurodivergent clients – I’d love to learn what you’re passionate about and what brings you joy – and together, we will use these interests to achieve your goals.

By the time we finish working together...

I want you to:

Advocate for your needs! To know what accommodations you need, how to use them, and best of all, you are going to believe that you deserve to have your needs met.
Have weaved a deep understanding of your sensory sensitivities and sensory stressors - and have a tapestry of ideas and strategies to use when needed.
Know how your mind works best and how to hack your brain to
Understand the impact masking has on you and how to safely un-mask.

I offer

I work with

I can see

More about Kim

Home state: NSW

My eye sparkles and SpIns (special interests) include:

I love crafting and my hobbies tend go towards shiny, sparkly and reasonably quick!
At the moment I am hyperfocused on 3d printing…. I have made tonnes of articulated animals as fidgets.
I make things to suit my sensory needs at the time e.g sewing weighted items/ worry pets, chainmaille fidgets, crochet with soft wool.

Fees

The standard consultation fee for a 50-minute appointment with Kim is $200. This applies to all clients, including privately paying clients, clients using Medicare or private health insurance and NDIS clients who are self-managed.
Fees for NDIS plan-managed clients are as per the NDIS price guide for occupational therapists.
If you have a valid referral, Medicare rebates are available for appointments with Kim under a Chronic Disease Management Plan. A rebate means you pay the full fee first and then receive a portion of the fee back from Medicare.
Kim is not able to accept clients under a Medicare Mental Health Care Plan.
Private health insurance rebates are available, depending on your fund and level of cover.
You can read our Fees and Rebates page for more information.

Appointments

Kim works with us on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Kim's wait list is estimated to be around 4 to 6 months. This is only a rough estimate, as our waitlists can be quite fluid, and sometimes there is movement, which means we might have unexpected appointments that pop up earlier than this.
While you are waiting, we encourage you to ask us to put you on Kim's 'cancellation list' so we can contact you if there are any cancelled appointments we need to fill. This can help us get you into the earliest possible appointment.
By booking and attending an appointment with Very Helpful Chats, you agree to our Business Terms and Conditions that can be found on this page of our website.

Join our waitlist!

Please click here to complete our waitlist and matching form. Our waitlist and matching form is designed to gather basic information about your needs to make sure we can offer you the service you need. This form also helps us match you with a clinician with the skills and experience to meet your needs.

Once we can offer you an appointment, we will send you a second intake form. This second intake form includes our full consent form, and we also request your credit card, debit card, or PayPal details. Rest assured that we take card security seriously, and your details are stored securely on our client management system, Halaxy. This security measure helps us prevent theft and fraud. No one at Very Helpful Chats will have access to your card details. If you have any concerns or questions regarding the security of your card details, we encourage you to read more about Halaxy's card security here: Halaxy Card Security FAQs