Michelle O’Sullivan is a Senior Occupational Therapist with over 16 years of experience practising in the area of connective tissue disorders and hypermobility. She works in her own Private Practice, Michelle O’Sullivan & Co | Occupational Therapists, with children & adults who live with hypermobility conditions which significantly impact their function. The complex co-occurrence of the conditions hEDS/HSD, POTS, Mental Illness, and Neurodivergence is her niche area of skill and passion.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Loss, Grief & Trauma Counselling from Flinders University. Early in her career, Michelle wrote My Bendy Body: Living with Hypermobility, an illustrated children’s book about living with hypermobility aimed at explaining hypermobility to young children and their carers. She has a special interest in finding ways to enable individuals to engage in their chosen activities to improve quality of life & mental wellbeing. 

As a Mental Health Endorsed Occupational Therapist, Michelle works with clients holistically. She firmly believes in seeing humans as whole humans, not humans broken down into illnesses, body parts or diagnoses. Practising from the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance & Engagement, Michelle sees each client as a person with mind (cognition), body (physical), emotions (affect) and life-sustaining force (spirit).

Michelle is also extremely passionate about upskilling health professionals in hypermobility management, providing professional education across allied health disciplines and clinical supervision to Occupational Therapists across Australia. Michelle has presented nationally and internationally on hypermobility, hEDS, HSD, transition from adolescent to adult care and the role of Occupational Therapy, as well as creating the Hypermobility for Paediatric Occupational Therapists Online Course. 

Hypermobility Connect, an online platform created by Michelle in 2016, filled a significant gap in translating academic knowledge into practical guidance when there was almost no support and trustworthy information about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome generated and available in Australia. Since the Ehlers-Danlos Society developed a strong presence worldwide, the platform remains to connect parents and professionals. 

Michelle & her team can be contacted directly via Michelle O’Sullivan & Co | Occupational Therapists.