[Image Description: a portrait of Liel smiling at the camera. Liel is a white person with olive skin and shoulder-length brown hair. She is wearing a black top and black thin glasses.]

Hi, I’m Liel Bridgford

I’m a Psychologist, writer, educator, and podcaster. I'm a proud disabled, immigrant, non-conforming femme, who uses she/they pronouns and is based in Naarm.

I love supporting people with chronic health conditions or disabilities, and helping disabled people live their best life.

Working with fellow disabled adults on their mental health and overall wellbeing is both my passion and a great privilege. As someone who has lived with a disability for more than 30 years, I want to make a difference in the lives of disabled people. Working alongside my clients, I strive to be not only your therapist, but your ally.

My work focuses on inclusive, accessible, holistic, and trauma-informed support and education, by centering lived experience. I am passionate about working from an intersectional feminist perspective and using an anti-oppression approach. 

I have worked in the mental health and disability sectors for over a decade. I am experienced in supporting people who live with disability, psychosocial challenges, anxiety, family violence, suicide ideation, perinatal mood challenges, adjustment issues and more.  

In 2025 I was the winner of the Brenda Gabe Leadership Award. Before then, I have been selected as an honoree for Diversability’s annual D-30 Disability Impact List 2024, an ABC TOP 5 Arts resident, editor of Writing Place Magazine 2022 and a 2023 Melbourne Access and Inclusion Award finalist. I have facilitated education and writing workshops in schools and organisations across Australia and internationally, focusing on anti-ableism, equity, inclusion and wellbeing. 

My work is published in ABC Arts, Mamamia, Hireup, the anthology We’ve Got This by Black Inc. Books and Scribe UK, Mascara Literary Review, amongst others. I have appeared on various media outlets including ABC radio, 3RC radio, Able radio, ABC News and Channel Nine News. I am particularly fascinated by intersectionality and am the creator and host of the (Un)marginalised podcast. 

I founded Kultivate to continue working towards wellbeing, equity, inclusion and disability justice.

In my free time, I not-so-secretly love to sing along to the Frozen soundtrack with my kids and try to keep up with social media at @LielKBridgford.

Hi, I’m Lizzie Cupper

I recently completed my Master of Clinical Psychology, and I am overjoyed to have an opportunity to work at Kultivate. I’m a proud country girl (she/her pronouns) who grew up in the mallee and now live in Melbourne with my husband and two happy (aka: spoilt) cats.

In 2012, I was diagnosed with MS and, looking back, I launched into a panic/survival mode – postponing my postgraduate studies as I tried to prioritise seeing family and thinking about any “bucket list” items.

With the advantage of hindsight, I can look back on that scared, recently married young woman and reflect on how far I have come. For me, chronic illness and disability hasn’t necessarily stopped me from achieving my dreams – but it’s taken me much longer than what was on the brochure!

I have worked in the mental health sector for five years, with experience in supporting people experiencing depression and anxiety, adjustment issues, psychosocial challenges, suicide ideation, disability and more.

I joined Kultivate because I believe in Liel’s vision to work with fellow disabled adults in a collaborative manner to live their best lives.

In my free time, I love to play Angry Birds (yes, it still exists) and spend time with my little fam at home.

We believe that every person deserves to live their best life. We envision an equitable and inclusive society where all disabled and multiply marginalised people can thrive. 

Our Vision

Our Purpose

We provide wellbeing, equity and inclusion support and education that is lived-experience based and rooted in disability justice and an anti-oppression approach. 

Our Values

Kultivate

We believe that everyone can grow and improve how we live, and how we treat ourselves, each other and the environment. We regularly work to improve how we do things, unlearn our biases and do better for our communities. We respect and work with our clients’ values and capacities to kultivate a meaningful life.

Community

We are active participants in our own communities. We strive to understand and work with people’s communities and context. Where people live, their histories, cultures and barriers all matter, and we consider these in all we do.

Equity

We believe that all people deserve to have access to what they need in order to thrive. This includes everything from physical access to buildings, to bias-free healthcare, and everything in between.

Mindful

We strive to be fully present and engaged in what we’re doing and what matters. We are mindful of the people we work with, ourselves, our context and our environment.

a photo of Liel as a child walking on a beach. She is wearing a white jumper and black pants, and is walking with a crutch, pointing to something on the sand.
[a photo of Liel standing near a large grey wall, with some greenery at its top. Liel is wearing a bright blue beanie, grey jacket, black pants. She is holding a camera and leaning on a timber walking stick.