Jaya is one of the Co-Founders of Ropana Allied Health and works as our principal counsellor, where she combines her passion for supporting others with a strong foundation in counselling and psychotherapy.

Her journey into this field began with a genuine desire to help others. While she initially aspired to become a veterinarian, she quickly realised her strengths and emotional capacity were better aligned with supporting people through their own challenges.

From a young age, Jaya has been someone others naturally turned to for support. Whether it was friends, family, or those around her, she has always felt a strong responsibility to show up, listen, and care deeply. Over time, this natural inclination evolved into a clear purpose - one that she has since developed through both lived experience and professional training.

Jaya brings a warm, empathetic, and grounded presence to her work. She has a particular interest in trauma-informed care and integrates evidence-based approaches such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and creative modalities including art therapy into her practice. She also facilitates group therapy, including psychoeducational groups, supporting individuals in shared learning and growth-focused environments.

She is passionate about creating a space where individuals feel safe, understood, and supported, while gently guiding them toward growth, clarity, and meaningful change.

🎓 Diploma in Counselling

🎓 Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling

🎓 Honours in Psychology

🎓 Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Chiara is one of the Co-Founders of Ropana Allied Health and works as our principal speech pathologist. She has always been passionate about working with children (and animals!). If she wasn’t a speech pathologist, she would have most likely been a veterinarian or a dermatologist. Every career she imagined for herself has involved supporting and working closely with others.

Chiara has a particular love for working with children and has always had roles supporting kids. She worked as a private violin and piano teacher for close to 10 years, teaching students of all ages. The joy she shared in working closely with students and families formed the foundation for her work as a speech pathologist. 

Chiara completed 2 years of a Bachelor of Science, before then entering the world of speech pathology, after following her sister's journey with a stutter. After attending some of her sister’s sessions, Chiara was drawn to the way speechies form a pivotal part of an individual's communication journey.

Throughout her career, Chiara has formed a strong passion for neurodiversity affirming care and continuously aims to strengthen her knowledge, to ensure she can provide the best support to all her clients. Taking time to listen, learn and reflect is the backbone of her clinical practice.

To Chiara, being a speech pathologist is more than just ticking off goals. It is about fostering a relationship with her clients and their families, to ensure that therapy is inclusive, empowering and of course, fun!

🎓 Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours) - University of Newcastle Australia

Professional Development Highlights:

• Spalding Program (Literacy)

• Sounds-Write Program (Literacy)

• Gestalt Language Processing (Language)

• Hanen More Than Words (Early Language)

• DLD Project Developmental Language Disorder (Language)

• PlayLearnChat Affirming Communication for Autistic Children