Therapeutic Team
Carah Harrison, BaOT (Hons)
Director of RiverRun Paediatric Therapy Services and Paediatric Occupational Therapist.
Hello, my name is Carah. I am the director of RiverRun PTS, a Paediatric Occupational Therapist, and the mother of two beautiful (and very busy!) young children.
I am very excited and proud to be a part of the local community; providing support to the Macedon Ranges, Mitchell Shire, and surrounds. I have over 14 years experience working in paediatric community private practice and am passionate about creating communities that help every individual to thrive. I believe that it is not just what you do, but the presence you bring that can make such a difference in the therapeutic process. I enjoy being silly and finding the fun. I love being creative…in movement, in story-telling, in art, and in pioneering new ideas. I advocate for every child and family to celebrate their individuality and harness their strengths to overcome their obstacles.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Hons) in 2009 and have since had additional formal training in:
Sensory Processing
Social Skill Development
Praxis
Fine and Gross Motor skill Development
Developmental Trauma
Paediatric Mental Health
Executive Functioning
Qualified Kids Rainbow Yoga Instructor
Amongst others. For a more detailed list of the skill areas we can assist with, please see our “services” section of the website.
I love being a mentor to the team here at RiverRun and to be the director of such a wonderful community based practice. I feel so lucky to work in the Macedon Ranges, and to have the team that we do, and I look forward to all of the wonderful things we will achieve this year!
Angie Ritchie, BaOT
Paediatric Occupational Therapist
Hello, my name is Angie. I am so excited to come on board the RiverRun team as an Occupational Therapist. I finished my Occupational Therapy degree at ACU in the middle of 2021 and have since moved to the Macedon Ranges.
I have worked in disability support for the past 8 years, in particular with young people. I love working with children and young people; for the energy they bring to life, their capacity for growth and their ability to adapt to new experiences. I love spending my work days supporting people to do the activities that are meaningful to them, and seeing their reactions when they achieve something they thought they might not be able to do.
In my spare time I enjoy cycling and bike packing, hanging out with my dog Mo and at the moment renovating my new house (I’m not sure how much I really enjoy this but it does take up a lot of time)! I’m also currently knitting myself a jumper, hoping I can get it finished before the weather gets too cold….I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone at RiverRun!
Stef Longo, Ba Sports Science/Psychology, MOT
Paediatric Occupational Therapist
Hi, I’m Stef! I am very excited to be joining the Riverrun team! My educational background is very sport, health and fitness based. I graduated from Victoria University with a double Bachelor degree in Sport Science and Psychology and I went on to study a Master of Occupational Therapy at Swinburne University.
I have spent the last six years coaching children at a multisport company called Ready Steady Go Kids (RSGK). I also did this work in Beijing where I was coaching children, training international coaches and helping them set up their franchises around China.
I love working with kids because they make me laugh! I’m a big believer in finding work that is enjoyable and working with kids means I can still be the big kid that I am at heart whilst helping them meet their goals and keeping the fun in the process. I chose OT because my boss at RSGK is an OT and I saw the amazing work she does with kids. I feel that OT is so holistic in its approach rather than focusing only on the body or only on the mind. Humans are so complex and these factors intersect constantly and so we need to address problems the same way!
I have always been very active, I enjoy running, cycling and team sports with my mates. My favourite sport is footy, I am a Collingwood supporter but please don’t hold that against me! I come from an Italian background, WE LOVE FOOD and I have been known to take on insane food challenges which I instantly regret. I also love travelling and my favourite place to visit is Disneyland. Ask me about my favourite Disney movies and I will give you a whole list!
I am excited to meet you all
Aleyshia Keighran, MaOTPrac
Paediatric Occupational Therapist
Hello! I am Aleyshia an occupational therapist (OT) who has recently joined the Riverrun Team. I finished my Master of Occupational Therapy Practice degree in 2021 and have worked with child and adolescent populations since graduating.
My interest in OT as a career came about from my previous experience as a support worker and my passion for helping others. I love working with children as they are often unfiltered and creative beings that enjoy playing games and make me laugh! I was previously employed as an OT at Monash Health in their Early in Life Mental Health Service.
In my spare time I enjoy camping, listening to podcasts and audiobooks as well as walking my two dogs. I am thrilled to see what exciting adventures lie ahead in my time at Riverrun.
Brede Davis, BMus (Performance), MMus Thrp
Paediatric Registered Music Therapist
Hi, I’m Brede, and I’m so happy to be the first Registered Music Therapist (RMT) at RiverRun!
I completed a Master of Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne in 2020 and I have additional formal training in Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation (RAMSR) and Rhythm to Recovery (R2R). I love seeing the ways that people shine through music and play! There are so many ways to be musical and so many ways we can connect with each other and ourselves through music!
After graduating I worked for three years in a specialist school, building up lots of experience facilitating group program and individual sessions with young people from prep to year twelve. I also kept myself busy with some private NDIS work, presenting papers at national and international conferences, publishing a journal article with colleagues, and volunteering in four different music therapy committees and special interest groups! Before all of that, I worked in disability support for five years – where I was lucky enough to cross paths with Carah and learn more about the awesome scope of work that OTs do!
I’m passionate about accessibility within the therapy space and beyond. That means I’m always learning from the people I work with, and I spend way too much of my free time reading books and listening to podcasts to keep up to date with current research and social perspectives! Outside of music therapy world, I love spending as much time as possible with the people I love, improvising on different instruments, or going for long walks and getting lost in my thoughts. I’m also slowly learning a few languages and some circus skills!
That’s definitely enough about me – I can’t wait to learn more about you! What are you passionate about? I’m excited to find out what matters to you and where you want to go, so we can come up with a plan for how we’ll get there together 😊
Chloe Tyrrell, BaOT
Allied Health Assistant (AHA)
Hi! My name is Chloe and I am the Allied Health Assistant here at RiverRun!
I have been working here at RiverRun as an AHA since July 2022 and have loved every moment. I am super lucky to work alongside our amazing team of OT’s to deliver client sessions that focus on repeated practice of skills, whether that be fine motor skills, community access, executive functioning, social skills or play!
I also assist in delivering many of the group programs we have during the school Terms.
At the end of 2023 I completed my Bachelor’s of Occupational Therapy and have been so excited to continue building upon my knowledge and experience within this role at RiverRun.
I hope to meet you soon!
Adminsitrative Team
Mahdi Nosatti
Client Communications Support
Mahdi returned to us in January 2023 and has since made waves in developing our systems and supporting our families through the administrative processes of accessing services. She is an extremely valuable part of our team and we could not do our days without her!
Tim Harrison
Media and Communications
Hi! My name is Tim. Along with being Carah’s husband, I’m here to help make things run as smoothly as possible. I manage RiverRun’s website and Facebook, assisting to provide everyone with up to date information and engaging media on what’s been happening at RiverRun. I’m also here to help if you need any further assistance or can’t get in contact with one of the other staff.