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Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Pivot Wellness

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Australia
Holden Hill, SA
Pivot Wellness

Ensuring an inclusive and empowering approach

At Pivot Wellness, we provide neuro-affirmative psychological services and assessments for children, adolescents, and adults, supporting your unique journey towards mental health and wellbeing.

21/08/2026

Calm often starts in the body.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation, or PMR, is a simple, playful way to help children notice when their body is holding stress and practise letting it soften.

When the nervous system shifts into fight or flight, muscles may become tense and ready for action. By gently tightening and then releasing different muscle groups, PMR can provide calming feedback to the central nervous system and help the body recognise that it may be safe to ease out of that protective state.

It helps children notice the difference between a body that is tense and one that is soft and relaxed. Over time, this can build body awareness and give children another way to respond when they notice stress, restlessness or overwhelm beginning to grow.

PMR can also offer a helpful reminder: you are in charge of your body, not the feeling. A feeling may be strong, but the child can still experiment with moving, squeezing, stretching or softening their muscles in ways that support them.

It may be useful after a demanding day, during the transition home, before bedtime or ahead of a stressful event. Like most regulation strategies, it is usually easier to learn when a child is already relatively regulated rather than in the middle of overwhelm.

Keep it short, playful and optional. The goal is not to make a child calm on demand, but to help them recognise tension and discover another way to support their body.

14/08/2026

As children grow, what they need from the adults around them changes too.

The Govern, Garden, Guide approach offers a flexible way to think about how parenting can evolve across development. In the early years, children often need adults to take the lead by creating safety, predictability and clear boundaries. As their skills grow, parenting may shift towards nurturing confidence, problem-solving and supported independence. During adolescence, the role increasingly becomes one of walking alongside, offering guidance, perspective and connection without taking over.

These stages are not fixed rules or strict age-based categories. Children develop at different rates, and their support needs may vary across situations. Neurodivergence, disability, sensory needs, executive functioning, stress and fluctuating capacity can all influence what is manageable at a particular time.

A child may need greater independence in one area while still relying on substantial support in another. Responsive parenting means noticing the child in front of us and adjusting the balance of leadership, support and autonomy accordingly.

The goal is not to withdraw support as children grow. It is to help them build skills while remaining a safe and dependable person they can return to.

07/08/2026

When a strategy does not lead to an immediate change, it can be tempting to search for something new.

But constantly adding or changing strategies can make support feel confusing, inconsistent and difficult to maintain.

Often, progress comes from choosing a small number of well-matched strategies and using them consistently over time. This gives the individual an opportunity to build familiarity, understand what to expect and develop trust in the support being offered.

Consistency does not mean responding rigidly or expecting the same thing every day. Capacity, sensory needs, communication and context can all change. The aim is to provide a predictable foundation while remaining flexible and responsive to the person in front of us.

Before adding another strategy, consider:

Have we used the current strategy consistently?
Does everyone understand how to use it?
Is it accessible and realistic to maintain?
Have we given it enough time?
Does it genuinely fit this individual?

Sometimes, doing fewer things more consistently can make the biggest difference.

02/08/2026

This Loneliness Awareness Week, we join people and organisations across Australia in raising awareness of loneliness and the importance of meaningful social connection.

Loneliness is not always about being alone. Sometimes, it is about feeling unseen, misunderstood or unable to connect as your authentic self.

For neurodivergent people, meaningful connection may look different. It might grow through shared interests, parallel play, online communities, low-pressure communication, deep one-to-one relationships or simply spending time together without needing to talk.

A person can deeply value their relationships while also needing more recovery time, less frequent contact, clear expectations, lower sensory demands or different ways of communicating. Socialising, masking and navigating unspoken expectations can require significant energy, particularly during periods of stress or burnout.

Connection should not require someone to perform, hide their needs or push beyond their capacity. Supportive relationships make room for honesty, fluctuating energy, boundaries, shared silence and different communication styles.

This week, let’s recognise that there is no single right way to connect and continue creating spaces where people can experience belonging while being fully themselves.

31/07/2026

Pivot Wellness is expanding our multidisciplinary team to include Occupational Therapy alongside psychology and psychotherapy.

Occupational Therapy can support people to participate in the activities that matter to them, including daily routines, self-care, learning and work, play, community access, relationships and social connection.

Our Occupational Therapist considers the whole picture, including sensory needs, motor skills, executive functioning, emotional regulation, energy, environment, routines and expectations.

Working within a multidisciplinary team allows clinicians to bring together different areas of expertise and develop a more complete understanding of a person’s needs. With consent, professionals can collaborate, share relevant insights and coordinate strategies across therapy areas. This can reduce the need for families and clients to repeatedly explain their experiences, support greater consistency, and help ensure recommendations are practical, connected and responsive to the person as a whole.

Occupational Therapy appointments are available from 3 August, and we are now taking bookings.

24/07/2026

Today is International Self-Care Day, a gentle reminder that caring for ourselves is not selfish, indulgent, or something we need to earn. Self-care is part of maintaining our wellbeing, supporting our capacity to cope, and helping us stay connected to ourselves and others.

Self-care can look different for everyone. For some people, it may be rest, movement, time outside, nourishing food, therapy, medication, asking for help, reducing sensory load, setting boundaries, saying no, spending time with safe people, or simply having a quiet moment without pressure.

At Pivot Wellness, we recognise that self-care is not always easy or accessible, especially for parents, carers, children, young people, neurodivergent people, disabled people, and those navigating stress, burnout, anxiety, trauma, or big life changes. Sometimes self-care starts with noticing what you need, giving yourself permission to have needs, and taking one small step towards support.

Self-care does not need to be perfect. It does not need to look like anyone else’s version of wellbeing. It only needs to be meaningful, realistic, and kind to your nervous system.

Today is a reminder to check in with yourself with compassion and ask, “What do I need today?”

20/07/2026

Welcome Cherie Toubia, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist

We are delighted to welcome Cherie Toubia to Pivot Wellness as our Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist.

Cherie is a highly experienced Occupational Therapist with more than a decade of experience across senior clinical practice, clinical supervision and allied health leadership. Her recent professional background includes working as a Senior Occupational Therapist and Clinical Supervisor with Avina, where she supported both clients and clinicians within a multidisciplinary allied health setting.

Across her career, Cherie has gained experience within hospital, community, aged-care, disability and evidence-informed research settings. This broad professional background has given her a strong understanding of how people’s health, environments, daily activities and support systems interact, as well as the importance of practical and individualised occupational therapy support. Cherie completed her Master of Occupational Therapy at the University of South Australia, where she achieved outstanding academic results.

As Clinical Lead, Cherie will lead and further develop occupational therapy services at Pivot Wellness while providing clinical guidance, supervision and support to our growing team. She brings a thoughtful, collaborative and evidence-informed approach, with a strong focus on providing high-quality services that are responsive to each client’s needs, strengths and goals.

We are very pleased to have someone with Cherie’s depth of experience and clinical leadership joining Pivot Wellness.

Occupational therapy enquiries are now open.

Contact our administration team to discuss referrals or appointments:

1300 039 900
[email protected]
pivotwellness.com.au
586 North East Road, Holden Hill SA 5088

17/07/2026

When children are struggling, it can be easy to assume they are choosing not to listen, refusing on purpose, or “should know better”.

But knowing what to do and being able to do it in the moment are not always the same thing.

A child may know the rule, the expectation, or the strategy when they are calm, but not be able to access it when they are overwhelmed, anxious, tired, overloaded, hungry, dysregulated, or feeling unsafe. Skills can also be inconsistent. What a child can manage one day may feel completely out of reach the next.

When we look beneath behaviour, we often find a child who needs more support with regulation, executive functioning, communication, transitions, problem-solving, sensory needs, or emotional safety.

This does not mean there are no boundaries. It means we respond with curiosity first, and then build the skills and supports the child needs to succeed.

At Pivot Wellness, we support children and families to understand what is underneath behaviour and develop strategies that fit the child, not just the behaviour.

Need support? Contact our friendly team.

10/07/2026

Autism often doesn’t travel alone.

Many Autistic people have other conditions and experiences alongside their Autism. These might be neurodevelopmental, learning-based, language-based, sensory, emotional, or physical health related.

Some are developmental and there from birth. Others may be acquired over time through stress, masking, burnout, trauma, chronic overwhelm, or environments that simply do not fit.

And for many people, co-occurring profiles are not rare. They are part of the full picture.

This matters because when we only look at Autism in isolation, we can miss important parts of a person’s needs.

A child who “won’t” write might be navigating dysgraphia, motor planning challenges, anxiety, or pain.

A teen who “shuts down” in class might be experiencing situational mutism, overwhelm, or communication fatigue.

An adult who “can’t keep up” might be managing ADHD, burnout, POTS, chronic pain, or the cumulative cost of masking.

Support works best when we stop asking, “Why can’t they just do this?”
And start asking, “What is making this harder, and what would make it more accessible?”

At Pivot Wellness, we support children, teens, adults, and families to better understand their neurotype, strengths, needs, and support pathways.

Contact our friendly team to learn more.

03/07/2026

Therapy skills are not just built in the therapy room.

They are built in the small, repeated moments that happen across the week:

- labelling emotions
- practising calming strategies
- using visuals and routines
- offering choices
- problem-solving after big feelings
- supporting regulation before expectations

This matters because therapy is usually only one hour out of many. For a fortnightly appointment, that is around 1 hour out of 336.

When children are distressed or overwhelmed, their thinking and learning brain is often not fully online. In those moments, they usually cannot access brand new or unfamiliar strategies.

They are much more likely to reach for the skills that have already been practised when they were calm, safe, and supported.

Home practice does not need to be perfect. It does not need to look like formal “homework.” It can be woven gently into everyday life in ways that fit your child and your family.

Parent coaching can also be a powerful part of therapy. Sometimes supporting the adults around the child is the most effective way to build capacity, especially if a child finds it difficult to engage independently in sessions.

Need support bringing therapy strategies into everyday life?

Contact Pivot Wellness to discuss how therapy or parent coaching could support your family.

Address

586 North East Road, Holden Hill SA
Holden Hill, SA
5088

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 4:30pm

Website

http://www.pivotwellness.com.au/

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