Brooke Paterson

Director/Co-Founder

Brooke grew up near Fremantle and spent much of her youth at the beach, body surfing and bodyboarding at Scarborough and Trigg. She learnt to surf a little later in life and relocated to Margaret River in 2016.  The ocean became a central part of how she supports her own mental health and wellbeing, and it is this lived understanding that sits at the heart of her work with Flowstate.

Brooke completed her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2009 and holds postgraduate qualifications in Emotion Focused Psychotherapy. She is an AHPRA registered Occupational Therapist, an Accredited Mental Health Practitioner and a Mental Health Medicare Provider. Brooke works in private practice providing individual therapy to young people aged 15 and over and adults. Her areas of interest include neurodivergence and neurodivergent burnout, women’s mental health, gender identity, life stage transitions and identity, emotional regulation, sensory modulation and nervous system support, and interpersonal relationships and attachment. She works with clients under Mental Health Care Plans, NDIS, and privately.

Brooke is a co-founder and serves as Director of Flowstate. She is passionate about making clinically grounded mental health support accessible to people who may not engage with traditional settings, or who are seeking an alternative, nature-based approach to their mental health and wellbeing, and firmly believes in the therapeutic potential of the ocean and natural environment as a complement to evidence-based clinical practice.

Rob West

Treasurer/Co-founder

Rob was born and raised in Margaret River and the ocean and surfing has always been an integral part of his life. His mum taught him to surf when he was 11 and he still vividly remembers the stoke following his first proper green wave at Huzzas.

He has over ten years’ experience working as a Mental Health Occupational Therapist in both Australia and the United Kingdom. He has worked in a variety of mental health roles including group therapy program, community mental health teams and inpatient unit. He has completed additional training in somatic psychotherapy, acceptance commitment therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy.  He currently works for headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation as a Senior Clinical Advisor in a digital mental health program. He is passionate about early Intervention Youth mental Health and for providing individuals access to group therapy outside of the conventional clinic environment.

Rob is a co-founder and serves as Treasurer of Flowstate. He is passionate about early intervention in youth mental health and about providing people with access to therapeutic support outside of conventional clinical environments.

Fynn Mueller

Chairperson/Co-Founder

Fynn hails from South Australia and has always been close to the ocean, spending his younger years on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. The ocean remains a central part of how he stays focused, healthy and grounded.

Fynn holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of South Australia and has experience working across mainstream teaching and education support in schools across the lower South West. He also holds Youth Mental Health First Aid and ASIST qualifications. His background in education gives him a unique understanding of how young people learn and engage, and a genuine insight into the barriers many young people face in traditional settings. Fynn has had a varied career, moving from teaching into carpentry and building, before returning to his passion for working with young people through Support Work and Flowstate.

Fynn is a co-founder and serves as Chairperson of Flowstate. Drawing on his experience as a teacher, Fynn understands firsthand how difficult it can be for some young people to engage in traditional settings. He is passionate about using the ocean and the natural environment as a space where people can learn about their mental health in a more natural way, and about the results that become possible when support is offered outside of a traditional classroom or clinic.