About UsServices

Meet The Team

The MHSP Team has been supporting the Gold Coast for over 20 years. Our Team is part of your team- therapists, assistants and customer support staff with expertise in all areas of speech pathology practice. We partner with you and your support team. By embracing a coaching model of service delivery & recognising the individual strengths of each client we work with you towards achieving your goals.

Our Team has senior staff with over 35 years of clinical knowledge and skill and new enthusiastic graduate staff, working together to bring you the excellence of the Speech Pathology profession. Many of our team are parents, with a lived experience of accessing allied health services, and will share their knowledge and support with you.

The MHSP Team members have specialist skills and training in assessment and therapy based on current evidenced-based programs, recognising Neurodiverse Affirming Therapy Practices, providing culturally safe practice and supporting best outcomes.

Programs include:

Hanen ( More than Words and It Takes Two to Talk)

Key Word Sign

DIR Floortime

Early Start Denver Model

Social Thinking

Zones of Regulation

Pragmatically Organised Dynamic Displays( PODD)

PROMPT

DTTC

ReST

Lidcombe Therapy for Stuttering

Sounds Write

Read 3

Talk for Writing

SOS Approach to Feeding

Supporting oral feeding in fragile infants: SOFFI fundamentals

Paediatric Feeding Competency

Cervical auscultation

Orofacial myology

...and many others — contact us if you're interested in something specific and not listed.

Mary Hughes

Director and Principal Speech Pathologist

BSpThy (UQ) MSPA CPSP

Leah Torrens-Witherow

Senior Speech Pathologist & Clinical Leader

BPsySc, BCCJ, MSpPath,  MSPA CPSP.

Adam Uchiyama

Senior Speech Pathologist in School-Aged Therapy Supports

MSpPath, MSPA, CPSP

Madeline Haig-Bayles

Speech Pathologist in Early Intervention

BSpPath, CPSP, MSPA

Makaela Field

Senior Speech Pathologist and Clinical Leader in Feeding Therapy

BSpPath, CPSP, MSPA

Louise van Dijk

Senior Speech Pathologist, Clinical Leader in Feeding Therapy and Speech Sound Disorders

BSpThy (UQ 1994)

Olivia Moore

Speech Pathologist

MSpPath , MSPA, CPSP

Michael Forster

Speech Pathologist

MSpPath , MSPA, CPSP

Sarah Brookes

Speech Pathologist

BSpThy, MSPA, CPSP

Lauren Vincent

 

 

Joanne Smith

Manager of Client Services and Receptionist

Certificate IV in Frontline Management

Molly Green

Speech Pathology Student and Allied Health Assistant

Alyssa Townsend

Speech Pathology Student and Allied Health Assistant

Terin Conway

Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance (Speech Pathology)

Join our Team

We invite you to join The MHSP Team and our Community, working with us as a speech pathologist, Allied Health Assistant or Support Staff team member. Be guided and supported by a team of compassionate professionals.

Please contact us and introduce yourself...

Our Address:
UNIT 1, 173 Musgrave Avenue, Labrador QLD 4215

Email: 
contactme@maryhughesspeechpathology.com

Phone:
0756792907

Clinic Hours:

Mon - Fri: 8am - 5pm
Sat: 9am - 12pm

New Client Enquiry:

Please visit the contact us page and get in touch.

© 2022, All Rights Reserved

Mary is a speech pathologist with over 35 years of clinical experience having worked within a complex and varied range of speech pathology settings across Australia providing services across the lifespan: infants to the aged care sector. Mary has provided speech pathology supports and her knowledge within the settings of health, education, early intervention, disability, private practice and the tertiary education sector. 

Mary has a passion to share her 35 years of speech pathology knowledge in the mentoring and tutoring of early career allied health professionals and supporting the University and TAFE sectors in the education of Allied Health students, to ensure that best practices in speech pathology are provided to all clients.

Mary created and established MHSP in 2001 to provide Private Speech Pathology services in a welcoming, safe, collaborative practice, that is inclusive of all. For over 20 years, Mary has built the strong connections with the Gold Coast Community and our network and referring partners to deliver the highest quality of service to our clients.

Mary is a patient, generous leader dedicated to supporting, guiding and mentoring her team to learn, share and work to the highest standards of performance and excellence in their practices, ensuring that everyone is having fun at the same time.

Mary leads her team by the examples of compassion, care and commitment. Mary enjoys time relaxing in nature, walking her dogs, swimming, gardening and reading.

Leah has been a valued member of the MHSP since 2019.  Prior to graduating from Griffith University with a Masters of Speech Pathology, Leah graduated with degrees in Psychology and Criminology and Criminal Justice.  As a Clinical Leader, Leah supports and mentors the early career speech pathologists, in addition to developing the policies and guidelines for MHSP, ensuring the best practices and excellence in all MHSP services.

Leah enjoys working with clients across the lifespan. She is passionate about holistically supporting clients to build communication abilities that allow them to meet their goals, deepen confidence and enjoy fulfilment in everyday life. Leah has recently completed additional learning in Trans and Gender Diverse Voice and Communication and offers speech pathology support for gender affirming communication. Leah values diversity and authentic self-expression and works collaboratively with clients to develop communication skills and strategies that support achievement of goals and are authentic to expression of self. She continues to learn from and for her clients to provide culturally safe practice and support best outcomes.

Leah enjoys travel, exploring nature, walking and taking time to relax in her time away from the clinic.

Adam joined the MHSP Team in 2019 with a Masters of Speech Pathology from Griffith University. Adam is well connected to the Gold Coast, having spent most of his primary, secondary and tertiary education on the Gold Coast. MHSP has been delighted to have Adam in our Team for the past 3 years.

He has gained extensive knowledge and further training in the areas of speech pathology support for clients with literacy (reading, writing) and learning difficulties. Adam leads the supports to school-aged children with speech, language and literacy needs and is part of the diagnostic team for assessing specific learning disorders. Adam is passionate about working with children and will go above and beyond to help them reach their goals.

He enjoys exploring the cuisine of the Gold Coast and guiding the MHSP Team on recommendations for our social events.

Madeline graduated as a Speech Pathologist from Southern Cross University has been part of the MHSP Team and community for more than 10 years, both as a Speech Pathologist and a parent of a child receiving supports from MHSP. Her clinical interest is in the early intervention supports to the MHSP clients and their families.

Madeline says: “I love that my job is diverse and that I can work with clients and their families as part of a supportive and creative team.”

Madeline has supported a diverse caseload of children with complex communication needs and disabilities. Madeline uses and supports the authentic communication options for all her clients, including the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) such as Key Word Sign, PODD and other tools. In addition, Madeline uses her knowledge of PROMPT technique and other programs to support children with speech sound disorders to develop their independence in communication.

Madeline brings her patience and understanding of the clinical needs of her clients to all her sessions and she has a passion for helping each client reach their communication goals.

Outside the MSHP clinic, Madeline enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and pets, a Dachshund and a very spoiled cat.

Makaela has worked for over 15 years as a speech pathologist and a paediatric feeding therapist. Makaela has worked in acute and hospital-based care, including the neonatal ICU and special care nursery, as well as private practice. Makaela’ s passion is working with young children and their families to support them in their feeding journey.  She is committed to ongoing learning and training, having completed an extensive list of evidenced-based training programs in feeding assessment and therapy to ensure that she provides the highest level of support to families of children with feeding challenges.

When not providing feeding therapy, Makaela loves cooking and exploring new foods and spending weekends outdoors with her young family.

Louise joined MHSP in 2021 after nearly 30 years working in a variety of schools and health care settings in Australia and the United Kingdom, including Community Health services, Acute Hospital settings and the Neonatal Intensive Care unit.  Louise has extensive experience working within multidisciplinary team settings.  Louise uses a family centered approach to empower parents to support their children in their communication or feeding journey.  She understands that children have complex needs and that communication and feeding development should be viewed within the context of the whole child and family and with the help of a supportive team.

Louise has experience working with children with language delays, fluency and has special interests in the area of Paediatric Feeding and Speech Sound Disorders.  Louise believes that lifelong learning is integral to delivering optimal services to families and she seeks out professional development to enhance her delivery of evidence based therapy.

Outside of work hours Louise enjoys gardening and hopes one day to have a sustainable vegetable patch.   She also enjoys time with her family, a good book and connecting with nature.

Olivia joined the MHSP Team in 2021 as an AHA  and then as a Graduate Speech Pathologist in 2022, after completing her Masters of Speech Pathology at Griffith University. She is a gentle, warm and friendly speech pathologist, who connects well with all clients and families. Oliva supports the needs of the infant to young adult populations in the areas of AAC, speech sound disorders, Developmental Language Disorders and social interaction skills.

Olivia provides services in a diversity of settings (clinic, kindergartens, schools and homes) to support the needs of her clients with complex communication, social and learning needs and those who have experienced trauma. Olivia supports her clients using a strengths-based approach and shares her knowledge as she partners with clients, their families and support teams coaching through workshops and family meetings.

As an active learner, Olivia is extending her speech pathology practice into paediatric feeding therapy. 
Olivia balances her work with her passions for travel, exploring, exercising and relaxing.

Michael has a background in High School Education and completed his Masters of Speech Pathology at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. He joined MHSP as a graduate clinician and is a valued member of the team.

Michael follows a family-centred approach to therapy and tailors his therapy to suit the functional needs of both the client and family.

Michael provides speech pathology supports to clients across the lifespan. He has an interest in Voice, Acquired Motor Speech Disorders, Dementia, Aphasia and Swallowing Disorders and providing support to adult clients to achieve their goals through personalised therapy that is meaningful to them.

As a lifelong learner, Michael is interested in reading the latest speech pathology research.

When not supporting his clients or reading, Michael loves travelling and camping, and when not working you’ll find him beachside living in his 1979 Kombi.

Sarah is a Gold Coast local and an early career Speech Pathologist who graduated from Southern Cross University in 2021. Sarah possesses a genuine passion for Speech Pathology and implementing strongly developed clinical skills.  

Sarah thrives on challenges while ensuring a holistic approach to client service provision. Sarah is passionate about working with clients across the age-span and strives to help them work to and exceed their goals. Sarah has interests in supporting the communication and social interaction needs of adolescents and adults to engage in the community and achieve independence.

Sarah values lifelong learning and seeks out opportunities to stay current in research. Sarah deeply values the right for everyone to have a voice. 

In her spare time, Sarah likes to go camping, take her dog Ollie out for adventures and drink lots of pots of tea.

Lauren joined MHSP is 2022 as she was completing her Bachelor of Speech Pathology, enjoying the diversity of all areas of Speech Pathology. Lauren is a long-term Gold Coast resident, having attended primary and secondary school on the Gold Coast. She is a parent of 2 children and understands the complexities of parenting, working and supporting the needs of young children. Lauren is a gentle, caring therapist who works collaboratively with parents and carers to coach and guide those supporting her clients to have the confidence to continue the therapy away from the clinic setting.

As a Gold Coast local, Lauren loves to keep fit and healthy on the beach. She particularly enjoys the GC sunsets and sunrises.

Jo has over 22 years of experience working in administration and accounts. She has been a member of the MHSP Team since 2018, as a parent of a child receiving supports from MHSP. Jo takes her lived experiences to guide and support families with the administration of disability supports.

As a kind, caring and understanding Client Services Manager, Jo takes time to ensure that all clients and families are listened to. Jo is a highly valued member of the MHSP Team,  and has talents in identifying solutions to all queries and enjoys learning alongside the MHSP Team.

Jo is a colourful and vibrant personality at our front desk. Her favourite colour is purple. Jo collects action figures and love Sci-Fi, action and horror movies.

Molly is studying  a speech pathology degree at Southern Cross University, and her favourite subject is Linguistics. She joined the MHSP team in 2022 and has been a delightful addition to the Allied Health Assistants team. Molly is a self-directed learner, she is engaging, enthusiastic and full of energy. Molly works under the supervision of the MHSP Speech Pathology team, supporting families to reach their therapy goals and the clinicians in the collation of therapy programs.

Molly’s favourite colour is blue, as it is nature’s colour for the ocean and sky. In her spare time if she is not reading a book, Molly will be at the beach.  Her favourite books are the Hairy Maclary series by Lynley Dodd.

Alyssa is studying a speech pathology degree at Southern Cross University and “loves every minute of it!”. Alyssa has a Bachelor Degree in Audio Engineering and a passion for sound design. Her favourite area of speech is phonetics- the study of speech sounds and their physiological production and acoustic qualities.

Alyssa joined the MHSP Team in 2022 . She works under the supervision of the MHSP Speech Pathology team as an Allied Health Assistant, supporting families and the clinicians in the collation of therapy programs.

Alyssa is energetic and enthusiastic and she loves learning. English is her primary language, but she also is able to communicate in Auslan and is currently learning Korean. Alyssa’s favourite book is “The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.”

Terin joined MHSP as an Allied Health Assistant and is a delightful and enthusiastic team member. Terin holds a Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance (Speech Pathology) and looks forward to studying her Bachelor of Speech Pathology in the future.  As a parent of young children, Terin brings these skills to the supports she provides to clients, under the supervision of the MHSP clinicians. Terin’s favourite areas of speech pathology are speech sound disorders and fluency.

Terin is creative and a life-long learner and uses her creativity to support the MHSP Team in sessions and in the preparation of therapy materials. Terin shines in the MHSP clinic, like the yellow sunflowers that her favourite. When not assisting the MHSP Team, Terin enjoys weekends out in the sunshine exploring our beautiful beaches and parks with her family.