Emma (she/her) is an Accredited Mental Health Occupational Therapist, living and working on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation in Melbourne, supporting occupational therapy students through a year-long pilot role focused on Work Integrated Learning (WIL) placements and Access and Inclusion at Charles Sturt University. In this role, Emma provides ad hoc placement support and supervision for students navigating disability, neurodivergence, mental health, or other functional support needs, working alongside placement supervisors, the Accessibility and Inclusion team, and the OT WIL team to develop realistic, placement-contextualised strategies, including Study Access Plans and reasonable adjustments.

Emma's approach centres on early identification and responsive, individualised support, helping students build practical strategies for organisation, communication, emotional regulation, and sustainable self-care as they move through placement. She also works alongside supervisors to build confidence and capability in inclusive, neuro-affirming placement practice, contributing to a model that aims to be preventative, scalable, and genuinely student-centred.

Emma brings over a decade of clinical experience across psychosocial, youth, acute, forensic, hospital, and community mental health settings. Her own lived experience of neurodivergence, invisible/dynamic disability, and trauma informs a grounded, compassionate understanding of what it may take for students to navigate placement while managing complex or hidden challenges, and shapes her commitment to inclusive, strengths-based support.

Emma's current special interest is EMDR and parts-based therapy. Outside of work, she likes to attend music festivals, stim using squishy fidgets, walk her rescue greyhound around the lake and listen to audiobooks.