We’d like to introduce you to our team! All of our clinical team are qualified human physiotherapists with a commitment to continuing education in animal physiotherapy.
Our Philosophy: We believe in doing things properly every time and we believe that having fun while doing so fosters the right frame of mind to do things better in future. When we make mistakes or face a problem, we learn from them and improve as a result. We like working as a team because it helps us balance our lives better so we can enjoy our work more. As a team, we can learn from each other’s strengths – by working together, our whole becomes greater than the sum of our parts. We believe in being honest and kind with each other and all whom we deal with.
Dr Helen Nicholson BPhty, MAnimSt(Animal Physiotherapy), PhD, APA Animal Physiotherapist.
Our team leader, Dr Helen Nicholson, began working with animals in 1999. Since then, she has become part of the first class in Australia to graduate with a Masters degree in animal physiotherapy, the first to earn the title of Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) Animal Physiotherapist and the first physiotherapist in the world to earn a PhD in small animal physiotherapy (researching the application of human-standard intensive care to dogs). Helen is currently visiting professor at Yamazaki Gakuen University in Japan and visiting teacher at the University of Pisa in Italy. She has been published in general articles, scientific articles and textbooks and is the Vice Chair and the NSW representative for the Animal Physiotherapy Group of the APA. Helen has 4 kids, 1 husband, 2 dogs, 16 chickens and a variable number of yabbies and silver perch (depending on who has eaten who).
Dr Naomi Boyd BAppSc(Phty), BVetSci
We are incredibly excited to announce that Naomi Boyd has just become one of only a handful of people we know of in the world with both physiotherapy and veterinary degrees!!! Congratulations, Dr Naomi, on such a wonderful achievement!!!
Helen loves telling people that ‘Naomi knows stuff I don’t – it’s so much fun to work with her!’ Naomi has a strong interest in welfare and she and Helen enjoy regaling the rest of the team with stories of the chickens, fruit bats, wombats, kangaroos, blue tongue lizards and more that they’ve helped. Luckily, Naomi’s mum has a property large enough to house her various rescues!
Lauren Ling BAppSc(Phty)
Lauren Ling (then Lauren Russell) joined our team in 2010 after realising her sister was having more fun as a vet than she was as a physio! Lauren is mum to her three dogs and her one particularly gorgeous human baby, James, who she is currently caring for on maternity leave. When Lauren returns, she plans to undertake her Masters degree, researching the effectiveness of our clinical treatments, which will provide valuable knowledge for the entire team.
Laura Calleja BSc(Ex Sci), MPhty
Laura Calleja is the newest member of our team, joining us in 2011. Laura is married to a vet and spent 10 years refining her handling skills as a veterinary nurse prior to embarking on a double degree in exercise science and physiotherapy. Laura has a particularly wonderful way with our patients and understands the demands the nursing staff have on their time when setting exercise programs for inpatients. Laura is currently on maternity leave and we are looking forward to expanding our physiotherapy service into the equine area when Laura returns.
We also have the brilliant Phoebe, Maddy and Nicola in the office, making sure there is some method to the madness!
As you can see, each of our team members contributes their own special strengths. We enjoy working together so we can learn from each other and we look forward to working with you and your vet as a team to maximise your pet’s quality of life.