Child & Teen Counselling in Perth
Family-Focused Support with Mel Tibbitts

Warm, practical support for children, teens and families navigating behaviour, emotions, regulation and relationships.

Mel is a registered Occupational Therapist and Mental Health Practitioner, offering counselling support for children, teens and families.

Book Online

Or call (08) 6114-1845

Medicare rebates may be available for eligible clients with a valid referral and Mental Health Care Plan.

Senior Counsellor

B.Sc. (HONS) Occupational Therapy & Endorsed Mental Health Practitioner.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation (Ahpra) OCC0002166799

What I help with

Children and adolescents whose behaviour or emotions feel difficult to understand or manage
Parents who are trying hard but are losing confidence in how to respond
Teenagers navigating anxiety, identity, or social and academic pressure
Families caught in cycles of conflict, disconnection, or miscommunication
Children and young people with ADHD, ASD, or AUDHD who need support that fits how they work

This may be right for you if…

Your child’s behaviour keeps escalating, and nothing you try seems to stick
You are not sure whether what you are seeing is a developmental concern or something else
Your child is struggling at school, socially, or at home, and you want to understand why
You feel like you are constantly in reactive mode and need a clearer direction
You want support that works with both you and your child, not just your child in isolation

Family-Focused and Parent Involvement

The first session is a parent-focused conversation. It gives Mel time to understand what is happening for your child and within your family, and to begin building practical strategies you can start using at home straight away.

From there, sessions typically involve working directly with your child or teenager. Depending on what is most useful, this may include joint parent and child sessions or parent-only sessions to strengthen consistency and support between appointments.

Parent check-ins are recommended every four to six weeks to review progress, adjust strategies, and make sure the support continues to fit your child’s needs as they change.

What it feels like to work together

Most families arrive at their first session feeling stuck, unsure what to try next, frustrated that previous strategies haven’t worked, and exhausted from being in reactive mode. That is a completely normal place to begin.

You will feel:

Heard without being judged for what has or hasn’t worked before
Clear about what is actually driving your child’s behaviour
Supported, not left to figure it out between sessions

Why families choose to work with me

Focuses on what is driving the behaviour, not just what is visible on the surface
Supports parents alongside children, so change happens at home as well as in sessions
Practical strategies that fit into everyday family life — not just session insights
Consistent, sustainable progress rather than short-term fixes that stop working

What is unique about me as a counsellor?

I work in a way that balances genuine understanding with practical, real-world direction.
very child and family is different, and I take time to understand both the individual and the system around them before building a plan. My background in occupational therapy means I look at the whole picture, how your child moves through the world, how they process and regulate, and how the environment around them either supports or adds to the difficulty. My focus is on helping families move from reactive and overwhelmed to steadier, clearer, and more confident — day to day, not just in the session room.

One quirky fact

I regularly attend adult ballet classes at the WA Ballet — something I started purely for the joy of it and stayed for what it does for my own regulation and mental health. Movement and rhythm have a way of resetting the nervous system that no amount of talking quite replicates, which is something I bring into my work with children and families too.

Therapeutic approaches: