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

Occupational Therapist/Practitioner In Hand Therapy, Director

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, Biggera Waters and Ballina clinics.

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

Physiotherapist/Practitioner in Hand Therapy

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.

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

Occupational Therapist/Practitioner in Hand Therapy

Kate graduated from the University of Queensland in 2006 with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy. She has had experience in hospital, community and private practice settings. Kate joined the GC Hand Therapy team in 2007 and is committed to ongoing professional development and student education. She has a keen interest in research and traumatic hand injuries. Kate is a Certified Hand Therapist (USA) with full membership to the Australian Hand Therapy Association (AHTA) and has served as an application reviewer for the AHTA membership committee. She works part-time at our Biggera Waters clinic.

Jodie Robertson - BPhyTh

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.

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

Occupational Therapist/Practitioner in Hand Therapy

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 a Full Member of the AHTA 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, Mikayla spent two months volunteering in SE Asia before moving to the Gold Coast. Mikayla joined the GC Hand Therapy team in March 2016 and works at our Robina and Ballina clinics.

Nicole von Kleist - MOccThySt

Occupational Therapist

Originally from Vancouver, BC Canada, Nicole has now happily made the Gold Coast her home.  In Canada, Nicole completed a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, followed by a diploma in rehabilitation.  After moving to Australia to study, she graduated with a Master of Occupational Therapy from The University of Queensland (2013).  Nicole has had experience working in acute and sub-acute hospital settings, community occupational therapy, chronic pain, and first became part of the Gold Coast Hand Therapy team in 2014.  Nicole is available for appointments at our Ballina and Robina clinics.

Tayla Lundin - 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.

Justine de Ruyter - Ba Hth Sci (OccTherapy)

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.

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.