The team at Rise Up Psychological Services keep abreast of and operate in accordance with current research, evidence-based practices, and highest standard of care. We work with the client’s pace to build genuine and trusting connections and safety to help clients gradually remove all barriers and defences.
We integrate a range of evidence-based therapies to meet the needs of our clients. Our therapies include: Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Behaviour Play Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness, Schema Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Systems/Family Therapy, Interpersonal Approaches (IPT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.
Maria Fillipou – Forensic Psychologist and Director
Registration No: PSY0001356415
Maria specialises in working with children (aged 5 and older), adolescents, their parents/carers, adults, and families. Her expertise in forensic psychology primarily focuses on child and family-related matters, both in public (NSW Department of Communities and Justice; NSW Health Diagnostic and Assessment Team at St George Hospital; SWSLHD and SLHD Child Protection Counselling Services), and private sectors since 2003. This background, combined with her Master of Psychology (Forensic Psychology) and Forensic Psychology specialist endorsement with AHPRA, has provided Maria the expertise and specialisation to apply clinical psychological knowledge to legal matters and contexts involving child protection, family preservation, Out-of-Home care, complex developmental trauma, attachment difficulties and separation, parenting capacity and systemic work, family and domestic conflict, divorce, parental separation and family law.
Maria is deeply passionate and highly skilled in assessing and working therapeutically with children and adolescents across a broad spectrum of presentations, including complex trauma, neurodivergent differences (ADHD, Autism, Giftedness, learning differences), regulation difficulties, social skill, friendship, relationship and attachment challenges, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, school cant and refusal, interpersonal skill weakness, behavioural challenges, low frustration tolerance, low resilience, perfectionism, grief and loss, difficulties asserting self and low self-esteem, working with children under 10 years displaying sexual harmful or problematic behaviours, working with children who have experienced domestic and family violence, neglect and abuse, and adjustment difficulties.
Maria also carries out cognitive, adaptive, learning, behavioural, ADHD and Autism assessments, along with mental health and parenting capacity assessments. She also provides parenting support, coaching, skill development, foster care training, capacity building, and therapeutic support.
Maria is a member of the Australian Psychological Society and College of Forensic Psychology, a Board-approved principal and secondary supervisor for the Registration of Psychologists and to registrars in the Forensic endorsement program, an associate member of the EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA), and NSW Justice of the Peace. Additionally, she is an approved external provider for the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), and an authorised Victims Services Counsellor (Approval #A2528) with DCJ Victims Services.
Maria holds accreditation as a provider of the Cool Kids Anxiety Program for child and adolescent versions and is a registered qualified facilitator of:
– 1-2-3 Magic and Emotion Coaching parenting
– Circle of Security Parenting Program (COSP)
– Reparative Parenting Program for Foster and Kinship Carers
– Tuning into Teens: Emotionally Intelligent Parenting
Furthermore, she holds training and experience in:
– Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
– Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
– Motivational Interviewing (MI)
– Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
– Behaviour Play Therapy
– Narrative Therapy
– Mindfulness
– Schema Therapy
– Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
– Systems/Family Therapy
– Interpersonal Approaches (IPT)
– Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Maria’s strengths lie in her genuine collaborative, client-centered, and relationship-based approach with clients. She is committed to creating a comfortable and safe environment where they can freely express themselves and make effective use of the session. She is dedicated to offering child/client focused and family inclusive clinical services that is developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, neuro-affirming, multi-systemic, strength and recovery-based.
Jannie Cheng – Educational and Developmental Psychologist
Registration No: PSY0001321328
With over 15 years of professional experience, Jannie has dedicated her career to working and supporting children, young people, their parents/carers, adults and families across various settings, including schools, NSW Health (Child Protection Counselling Services, Child Mental Health Services), NGOs, and private practice. With this background and her Master of Psychology in Educational and Developmental Psychology and specialist endorsement from AHPRA, Jannie has acquired the expertise necessary to effectively serve clients of all ages.
Jannie’s comprehensive background equips her to address a broad spectrum of presentations, including but not limited to:
– Anxiety and Depression
– Attachment insecurity, separation and disruption
– Parenting challenges
– Complex trauma
– Neurodiversity such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Giftedness, Learning Disabilities,
– Low self-esteem
– Behavioural difficulties
– Emotional regulation challenges
– Friendship issues
– Perfectionism and rigidity
– Emotional and social issues
– Low resilience, adjustment and grief issues
– Working with children under 10 years displaying harmful or problematic sexual behaviours
– Working with children who have experienced domestic and family violence, neglect and abuse
Jannie’s approach extends beyond individual therapy to encompass whole family systems to develop more nurturing and emotionally enriching relationships and building greater security in attachment bonds. Her work spans across family preservation, child protection, adoption and Out-of-Home Care, parenting capacity and family systemic work, family restoration, placement sustainability, divorce and separation.
In addition, Jannie offers cognitive, adaptive, learning, behavioural, and ADHD, mental health and parenting capacity assessments and provides parenting support, coaching, skill development, foster care training, capacity building and therapeutic interventions tailored to meet the unique needs of each client.
As a member of the Australian Psychological Society and a Board-approved supervisor, Jannie continually seeks to enhance her skills and knowledge. Jannie is proficient in various therapeutic modalities, including:
Jannie is proficient in various therapeutic modalities, including:
– Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
– Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
– Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
– Schema Therapy
– Art and Play Therapy
– Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
– Systems/Family Therapy
– Mindfulness
– Motivational Interviewing.
Furthermore, Jannie is a qualified facilitator of evidence-based parenting programs such as the Incredible Years Parenting, Circle of Security, and Wrapped in Angels, reflecting her commitment to providing comprehensive and effective support to families in need.
Central to her practice is the establishment of a warm, safe therapeutic relationship, facilitating sustainable change and fostering resilience. Jannie’s particular focus lies in fostering resilience, addressing relational and attachment trauma, and overcoming related challenges. She is dedicated to providing personalised clinical care that encompasses the entire family, ensuring it is suitable for each individual’s developmental stage. Her approach is trauma-informed, neuro-affirming, multisystemic, and strength based.
Jelena Djukic – Senior Psychologist
Registration No: PSY0001635031
Jelena is a Psychologist with over 20 years’ experience working in the field of child and family, and developmental psychology. She facilitated pediatric clinics in collaboration with NSW Area Health Services in Liverpool, Bankstown, Campbelltown, and Alexandria, conducting comprehensive developmental and functional assessments for children ranging from infancy to 17 years of age, and has worked in the private sector as a Senior Psychologist for over seven years, across different locations in NSW undertaking therapy to children, young people, their parents and carers, as well as adults. She has also been undertaking comprehensive parenting capacity, forensic, mental health and child development assessments.
This experience has given Jelena specialisation and strong foundations undertaking assessments using a holistic biopsychosocial, developmental and systemic approach, as well as consideration of the child alongside family dynamics, allied health supports, educational systems, quality of the child and carer attachment(s) and their relational support networks.
Jelena is warm, engaging, client-focused, goal led, and collaborative. Her therapeutic approach focuses on the importance of building internal and external safety and resourcing, improving and addressing attachment needs and security, fostering a sense of belonging within family, friendship and community networks, and helping clients to process and feel more empowered to tackle challenges they have encountered or are facing.
Jelena has experience and a particular interest in:
– Working with children who have experienced trauma including domestic and family violence, neglect and abuse.
– Neurodivergent differences and supporting family members
– Supporting children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, and First Nations families.
– Assisting children with anxiety and depression.
– Emotional regulation and social skill challenges
– Grief and loss
– Low self-assertion and self-esteem.
– Addressing behavioural issues including school refusal/school can’t, bullying, low frustration tolerance, aggressive and reactive behaviours, anger issues and dysregulation.
– Supporting new and expecting parents dealing with post-natal depression and anxiety.
– Navigating differences in parenting styles and the challenges this can present with for children.
– Treating adolescents and young adults for anxiety, depression, and stress related life issues common for this developmental stage including dating, HSC stress, friendships, life goals.
– Working with families affected by someone with addiction or dependency.
-Working with children under 10 years displaying harmful or problematic sexual behaviours
Jelena holds a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Western Sydney and a Diploma in Applied Psychology from Macquarie University. In 2016, she completed a postgraduate degree in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the University of New York, Prague, focusing on Theoretical and Clinical Psychoanalysis.
Jelena is trained and experienced in the following evidence-based treatments:
– Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
– Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
– Family Therapy (individual, family-wide, or specific groups)
– Cool Kids Anxiety Program for Children and Adolescents
– Circle of Security Parenting Program (COSP)
– Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
– Motivational Interviewing (MI)
– Behaviour Play Therapy
– Narrative Therapy
– Mindfulness
Arriving as a refugee with her family in 1999, she found her calling in psychology volunteering for a non-profit organization aiding survivors of trauma, allowing her to make a difference in the lives of refugee children and young people and helping them adjust to life in Australia. Her early experiences have laid a strong foundation for her career as a psychologist, driven by empathy and a genuine desire to make a difference providing support to help clients reach their full potential.
Carmela Graham – Clinic Coordinator
Carmela’s addition to our team brings a wealth of administrative experience and accomplishments. With a background spanning Customer Service and Experience, Project Management, Process Improvement, Account Management, and Business Development, she offers a diverse skill set and invaluable insights. Her extensive administrative expertise ensures smooth operations and support for our clients, their families, and our team members.
Carmela’s commitment to excellence is reflected in her thoroughness and proactive problem-solving, ensuring all tasks are handled thoroughly and challenges are promptly resolved. In addition to her professional skills, Carmela’s positivity, and enthusiasm shine within our administrative team. Her contagious energy and proactive approach cultivate a supportive atmosphere, promoting teamwork and unity.
Her diverse skill set, unwavering dedication, and optimistic outlook contribute to the effectiveness of our administrative operations and our team. We appreciate her contributions and the positive impact she brings to our work environment.
