Meet the RISE team

Rachel Addison
Founder Rise Community
Rachel Addison is the Director of Rise Wellness Studio. I am an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with over 14 years of clinical practice in mental health treatment. I am also a qualified yoga instructor, mum of 3 young daughters and am passionate about the mind-body connection in seeking health. To book an appointment please call or email.
My clinical experience has been in many facets of mental health treatment in a variety of settings ranging from inpatient & crisis intervention, school counselling, domestic violence & refugee services and for the past 6 years in private practice. I embrace an integrative approach tailoring treatment to individual needs. I draw on training & experience primarily in Cognitive behavioural therapy, Acceptance and commitment therapy, trauma-informed care, mindfulness, solution focused & motivational interviewing as well as Eye movement & desensitisation reprocessing.
As an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, I am a registered medicare provider, which allows clients to claim a rebate to cover a portion of the cost of services when referred under a mental health care by a GP.
I am also an approved SIRA provider which means I can provide treatment under compensation claims free of charge when referred accordingly.
It is also an option to access services on your own accord and pay privately.
Generally, Medicare or Private Pay appointment fees are as follows:
Initial Intake Appointment: Allow up to 90 minutes: $195
Follow Up Session: 50 minutes: $170
If eligible under a mental health care plan, you may receive a rebate of $77 per session.
SIRA workers compensation referrals are covered with no out of pocket for clients.
Couples & Family Sessions are considered case by case.
Health & wellness workshops, continuing education workshops, professional development presentations are welcomed in the studio. Please contact Rachel for private bookings, collaborations or workplace presentations to be held in the studio.
When you book an appointment, 75 minutes of my schedule is blocked for this service. Due to the overheads of running a private practice, a fee of 50% of the session will be charged for all cancellations made within less than 24 hours and 100% for cancellation or no show of less than 3 hours.

Julia Berger
Phsyiotherapist
Julia is a driven and experienced physiotherapist who brings an energised and evidence based approach to treating clients with a range of conditions. Julia has completed her Bachelor of Physiotherapy and Post Graduate Certificate in Pelvic Floor and Continence Physiotherapy, and is excited to share her skills and knowledge with clients through a variety of holistic wellness strategies and a network of likeminded health care practitioners. Together with her experience in Pilates, core stability and mindfulness she also loves to bring wellness classes and workshops that explore the mind-body connection, and how the mind can greatly influence our health and well being.
Initial women’s & men’s health consultation: $97 (45 min)
Standard women’s & men’s health consultation: $85 (30 minutes)
General physiotherapy initial consultation: $87 (45 min)
General physiotherapy standard consultation: $75 (30 minutes)
Private health rebates available and Medicare EPC referrals accepted
Classes, workshops and education sessions as announced.
6 hours notice is required for cancellations. If you need to cancel your appointment you can call or email Julia. Failure to give 6 hours notice will result in a 50% cancellation fee that is not claimable on health insurance or medicare.

Lesley Kidson
Registered Counsellor
Lesley is a registered Counsellor, Retreat and Group Facilitator and Educator, her focus and experience is in cancer counselling, specialising in breast cancer.
Lesley has a person-centred, holistic approach to supporting her clients/patients, their carers and families who are experiencing difficulties associated with cancer diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and end of life.
Whilst having worked with Lifeline, Wesley Mission, BreastScreen and breast cancer patients at the Mater Hospital alongside her 12 year strong private practice she loves to collaborate with other practitioners to help clients find their ’new kind of normal’ and live an authentic, happy and purposeful life.
Qualifications: Lesley holds a Bachelor of Counselling degree and is a clinical member of the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), National Australian Loss and Grief Association (NALAG), Cancer Counselling Professionals (CCP) and Australian Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (ARCAP).
Individual Counselling: $150 per session. (60mins)
Couples sessions: $180 per session. (60mins)
Lesley does not offer Medicare Rebates. However, clients can claim a rebate if they have private health insurance with: Medibank Private, Bupa and Police Health Fund as well as funding through Cancer Council & Employment Assistance Programs (EAP).
Clients may cancel or reschedule appointments. However, if you cancel or reschedule with less than 24 hours’ notice or fail to arrive, a cancellation fee of 50% of the fee will be charged.If you are unable to keep your appointment because of sudden illness or an unexpected personal emergency, please contact me as soon as possible.

Katrina Girgis
Speech Pathologist
Katrina is a Senior Speech Language Pathologist and a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist (C.P.S.P) with Speech Pathology Australia. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology). Katrina has a passion working with preschool and primary school aged children to help develop their communication skills. She also has an interest supporting adults with communication and swallowing disorders.
Cancellation Policy:
Please note that 24 hours notice is required for cancellations, otherwise full fee is to be paid.

Tayla Watson
Yoga Teacher
Tayla is qualified as a speech pathologist who has specialised in working with individuals diagnosed on the autism spectrum. She recently shifted the primary focus of her career to sharing her love for yoga, which she has been teaching both in Australia and internationally for the past several years. Tayla has a younger brother who lives with Down Syndrome and is her inspiration for this passion to serve individuals with additional needs. She also strongly believes that children are our future and by being able to engage on their level and see the world through their eyes, we can support them in developing emotional resilience, building and maintaining relationships and the importance of feeling connected to something greater.
Tayla is most passionate about awakening love in all beings as well as changing the way we interact in our forever busy world. She believes in the importance of creating presence, kindness and purpose within our interactions. She stives to live her life by the eight limbs of yoga each day.
Services: Tayla teaches yoga for adults, kids & teens at Rise. She also holds a monthly traditional cacao ceremony for women with each full moon.

Rachel Sardelich
Meditation Teacher
& Creative Advisor
Deep curiosity, a sense of awe, a decade spent immersed in an education of ancient knowledge and meditation of the Vedic tradition – these are the things that have led Rachael to a life of service, working to support the creative practices of others as a Vedic Meditation Teacher and Creative Adviser.
After a long career in the arts & media working closely alongside artists and professionals, Rachael is highly attuned to the needs of the creative inner life.
Led by intuition, Rachael is by nature, a nurturer, and after 15 years of her own introspective learning and an excavation of her own mental limitations, Rachael now provides a warm and safe space for clients to explore the development of their own inner guidance and spontaneous discovery.
Her approach is multi-disciplinary and informed by Vedic knowledge, modern psychology and neuroscience, creative research and lived experience.
Rachael works at the confluence of creativity and spirituality, and through meditation and advisory, she traces the flow of these rivers with clients, gently guiding them through new landscapes as they source, course and land.
In her offerings, the work is done together, using meditation as the foundation to improve one’s daily experience of life. Creative blocks such as stress, fear, distraction and socially constructed inhibitions can be understood and overcome, as Rachael shows us that it is possible to recognise the natural impulses of our inner creator and decode their meanings so that we can show up with a new, confident momentum.
From her home on the South Coast of NSW in Yuin Country, she works with clients both in-person and remotely and also holds regular workshops, courses and retreats across NSW and Victoria.
At the heart of her work rests the desire to build a community of rich, secure and creative inner lives.
Whether it be curiosity, instinct or a simple desire to connect that has brought you here, know that you are so welcomed.
Rachel teaches monthly Vedic Meditation & Rounding Courses at Rise.