Carla Bingham - BOccThy, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association)

Director/Occupational Therapist

Carla graduated from the University of Queensland in 1989 with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy and gained full membership with the Australian Hand Therapy Association (AHTA) in 2007. She has had 25 years experience in the management of hand and upper limb conditions. Before establishing Gold Coast Hand Therapy in 2001, Carla was the Assistant Director of Occupational Therapy at the Gold Coast Hospital, managing the hands caseload and was the senior OT of Rehabilitation Services. Carla is committed to the ongoing development and education of the hand therapy profession and held the position of Education Officer for the AHTA for three years. She served as the Membership Secretary for the Management Committee of the AHTA in 2013/2014. Carla is available for appointments at our Robina and Biggera Waters clinics.

Kate Thorn - BOccThy, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association), Certified Hand Therapist (USA)

Assistant Director/Occupational Therapist

Kate graduated from the University of Queensland in 2006 with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy.  After completing one of her university student placements at GCHT, Kate joined the team in 2007. She has a keen interest in finger and wrist fractures and loves getting to know her patients. Kate is a Certified Hand Therapist (USA) and has served as an application reviewer for the Australian Hand Therapy Association membership committee. She currently works part-time at our Biggera Waters clinic.

Taryn Lester - BPhyTh, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association)

Robina Clinical Manager/Physiotherapist

Taryn graduated from La Trobe University (Melbourne) in 1999 with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy. She worked for six years in various acute hospital settings in Melbourne and the United Kingdom before moving to the Gold Coast in 2005. She has been a dedicated member of GCHT team since February 2006. Taryn also has training in Western Acupuncture (Dry Needling) which is a beneficial adjunct therapy for the management of soft tissue and over-use injuries of the upper limb. Taryn is a Full Member of the AHTA and works at our Robina clinic.

Jodie Robertson - BPhyTh

Tweed Heads and Ballina Clinical Manager/Physiotherapist

Jodie graduated from the University of Sydney in 1992 with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy). She has worked in Australia and in the USA in public and private settings. She has over 20 years experience in musculoskeletal physiotherapy, including occupational and functional capacity testing, women’s health, with a special interest in hands. She has been a guest lecturer and tutor at Griffith University School of Physiotherapy, student supervisor and conducted educational workshops for both community and the medical profession. Jodie joined the GC Hand Therapy team for a short period in 2010 and permanently in 2012. Jodie is a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Jodie works at our Tweed Heads, Robina and Ballina clinics.

Justine de Ruyter - Ba Hth Sci (OccTherapy)

Biggera Waters Clinical Manager/Occupational Therapist

Justine joined Carla for work experience as a student in Year 10, which inspired her to pursue a career in the field of hand therapy, having a passion for wound and scar management, splinting and helping people of all ages and backgrounds to regain hand function. She then graduated from The University of Newcastle in 2004 with a Bachelor of Health Science (Occupational Therapy), and has since worked in hand therapy in public hospitals and private practice in both Australia and the UK.  Her most recent experience in North Shore Hand Therapy in Sydney involved working directly with hand surgeons, and management of a busy caseload of elective and traumatic injuries and surgeries, including congenital hand injuries.  As well as splinting, she became proficient in the use of plaster for casts, and synthetic/waterproof casting. After working at Gold Coast Hand Therapy for a year in 2008, she is happy to have returned to Gold Coast Hand Therapy in 2018 and has made the northern Gold Coast her home.  She is available for appointments on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at our Biggera Waters clinic.

Shanna Mahomed - MOT, Accredited Hand Therapist (As Awarded By The Australian Hand Therapy Association)

AHTA Liaison and Education Manager/Occupational Therapist

Shanna graduated from the University of Queensland in 2007 with a Masters in Occupational Therapy. In the first five years after university, Shanna worked in various hospitals, community settings and hand therapy clinics in both Australia and England. Shanna is an Accredited Hand Therapist and is currently the Elective Course Developer of the AHTA education sub committee. Shanna is available for appointments at our Robina clinic.

Mikayla Pope - IBOC

Occupational Therapist

Mikayla graduated from the University of South Australia in 2015 with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy). After completing her final university placement in hand therapy, she had a keen interest in pursing a career in this field and joined the GC Hand Therapy team in March 2016 shortly after relocating to Queensland.  Since joining the team, Mikayla has been passionate about her ongoing professional development and is currently working towards her accreditation with the Australian Hand Therapy Association.

Tayla Ogilvie - BOccThy (Hons)

Occupational Therapist

Tayla initially joined the GC Hand Therapy team in 2012, where she worked as a therapy assistant providing support for therapists with treatment modalities, splinting and administration.  Following this, she graduated from the University of Queensland in 2016 with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Hons) and has been a treating therapist since.  Tayla has a strong interest in holistic health and aims to provide an encouraging and positive therapy experience.  She is currently working towards her accreditation with the Australian Hand Therapy Association.  You will find Tayla floating between our Robina, Biggera Waters and Ballina clinics.

Mitchell Lawson - BOccThy

Occupational Therapist

Mitchell is an Occupational Therapist graduating in 2009 from James Cook University, Townsville. He has experience working in all sectors of healthcare across Canada, Australia and the U.K. Mitchell has focused his attention to hand therapy over the last four years and developed a keen interest for wrist injuries. When not in the clinic, Mitchell is usually found at the beach enjoying the surf. Though he is also a keen musician playing professionally for many years on the guitar, piano and trumpet. Being from North Queensland, Mitchell is also an avid supporter of all things sport – and with this, he is very interested in hand injuries arising among like minded musicians and athletes at all levels. Mitchell is available at our Biggera Waters and Ballina clinics.

Amy Evans - B OccThy

Occupational Therapist

Amy graduated with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the University Queensland in 2012. She has had experience working in ICU, acute trauma, stroke and brain injury rehabilitation in both the public and private health sectors in Australia and London.

During this time, she developed a keen interested in rehabilitation of the upper limb and joined our dynamic team in 2019.

Given her past experiences, Amy has a very calm, holistic and functional approach to her condition management and can be found at our Ballina, Biggera Waters and Robina clinics.

Carissa Luck - B Occ Thy

Occupational Therapist

Carissa graduated from the Australian Catholic University (with Class 1 Honours) in 2017.  She started her career in aged care in Brisbane.  It was here, that she realised she had a passion for hand therapy and decided to pursue it.  She joined the GCHT team in 2020 and is very focused on professional development and is aiming to become an Accredited Hand Therapist.