Nimble, impactful, coordinated, human endurance.
Active-lifestyle Neurological Physiotherapy
supported by trauma-informed care and pain education.
Niche Neuro Therapy VALUES
Quick, light and agile in movement or action. Resourceful.
NIMBLE - Getting things done, or finding others who can efficiently.
Powerful effect, strong, marked impression. Is Influential.
IMPACTFUL - Working on things that matter, and making sure it's effective.
Organised to work together in harmony, sync or balance.
COORDINATED - Working as a team, providing choice, collaboration and transparency.
A human being, a person, an individual.
HUMAN - Individualised and ethical care, with reciprocal bodily and mental respect.
Withstands adversity, or stress. Sustains prolonged effort.
ENDURANCE - Long term goals and pursuits, with resilience to challenges.
Niche Neuro Therapy SERVICES
Active-lifestyle Neurological Physiotherapy involves IMPROVING MOVEMENT & facilitating accessibility
It encompasses improving:
- Transfer skills (turning over, getting onto-off the ground, getting in-out of different chairs or the car, and includes adaptive transfer skill techniques).
- Walking (with or without equipment/aids, e.g. crutches, hiking poles, leg orthoses).
- Running and sports (or any other active-lifestyle leisure activities).
- Arm movement (pressing, pushing, pulling, reaching, grasping, holding and releasing objects).
It also involves facilitating:
- Accessibility by use of equipment, and collaboration with local community private or government services.
Location
- Community sessions are available within inner Melbourne suburbs (serviced suburbs vary depending on funding stream i.e. TAC, NDIS, private); at home, work, the gym, parks, the beach or wherever you leisure.
- Telehealth sessions are available online via Zoom within Australia.
Services
Therapies:
- Education (movement science, pain science, nervous system regulation skills, support worker educational and exercise program training).
- Exercise (task-specific training, interval training, vestibular and balance training, strength and conditioning).
- Dry needling (advanced skill areas, including pecs and thoracic spine).
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (i.e. e-STIM, FES, TENS).
- Small equipment prescription (i.e. crutches, frames, exercise bands, slide-board etc).
Assessment and referrals:
- Spasticity assessment and Botox referrals.
- Gait assessment and Orthosis referrals (e.g. AFO’s [GRAFO, PDE], KAFO’s).
- Allied Health and Specialists referrals. (e.g. respiratory care, OT, Speech Therapy etc).
- Large equipment prescription. (Please note: I am available to collaborate with OT's for wheelchair MAT assessments. However, I do not currently prescribe wheelchairs or large pieces of transfer equipment, but I have referral pathways established for these).
Trauma-Informed Care
Safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment.
Trauma-informed care fosters transparent collaborative communication, creating trust and giving people agency over their therapy options and decisions, so they can make informed choices about how they want to live their lives. [It] is a strength-based service delivery approach "that is grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, that emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both providers and survivors, and that creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment". (Hopper, Bassuk, & Olivet, 2010, p.82).
About ME
Hi! I'm Kate Barraclough, a Neurological Physiotherapist with a decade+ of experience.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy from the University of Melbourne in 2010 (along with a clinicians prize), I began my career at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, where I gained invaluable experience working across neurology, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, orthopaedic and amputee wards. I have since worked primarily in Neurological private practice at major clinics across Melbourne, complemented by work on stroke clinical research trials (AVERT and Task-AT Home), and earlier experience in Musculoskeletal physiotherapy. In 2022, I completed a Professional Certificate in Pain Sciences through the University of South Australia, and since 2023, I have completed ongoing additional training to become trauma-informed through the BlueKnot Foundation, deepening my ability to deliver care that addresses people as a whole, not just their neurological symptoms.
In my active-lifestyle leisure time, I rock-climb, hike, dance, snow-ski, boogie-board in the surf, and I will always attempt anything once - especially the adrenaline filled! I am disability and neuro-affirming, and neurodivergent myself (2eAuDHD+dyslexia), with a lived experience of complex post-traumatic-stress-disorder (CPTSD), persistent post-concussion syndrome (PPCS) and a family member having lived with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).