Psychotherapy is an investment in your long term health, wellbeing and relational quality. Effective therapy requires regular ongoing sessions (which will vary with each individual's the presenting issue), and most importantly a good connection or rapport with your therapist.
How long is the therapy session? 50 minutes
What are the session fees? Please contact the practice.
How do I pay for my therapy session? Full payment of your account is due on the day of your appointment. CC, direct deposit or cash to be organised prior with administration.
Do I need a referral? You do not need a referral to see a clinical psychologist. However, if you wish to access a Medicare rebate, you will need a referral from your GP, psychiatrist or pediatrician.
What rebates are available? A rebate (private health insurance or Medicare) will support in covering part of the cost of the therapy sessions.
Medicare rebates apply to individuals referred for a *course of treatment by a GP under a Mental Health Treatment Plan, or by a psychiatrist, or a paediatrician, and Private Health Insurance offers rebates depending on your policy.
Medicare Rebates are NOT AVAILABLE for family or couple therapy.
If you are in a Territory of Australia and cannot access Medicare, similar schemes may be available through the government health service in your region.
Medicare Rebates BETTER ACCESS TO PSYCHOLOGISTS MEDICARE BENEFITS REBATE: If you wish to use this scheme for treatment for your mental health condition, please familiarise yourself with the requirements of this benefit. It is your responsibility to ensure that your referring doctor supplies the documentation as detailed, as this practice is not authorised to request referrals for a *course of treatment on your behalf. This scheme allows for up to ten (10) rebateable sessions each calendar year (40 for Eating Disorders). Medicare GP referral letters are required for each *course of treatment in a calendar year. In 2021 these are as follows: 6 sessions, 4 sessions,(and an extra COVID 10 sessions).
REMOTE AND RURAL TELEHEALTH Medicare rebates are available for people living in remote and rural areas for all 10 sessions. To find out if you qualify for remote / rural access, visit Doctor Connectand enter in your postcode to see if you qualify.
Please bring or send the letter of referral before your appointment.
Private Insurance Rebates PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR PSYCHOLOGY: Private health insurers provide partial rebates for Psychology services, which may be used instead of, or following, use of Medicare rebates. Private health rebates cannot be used in conjunction with a Medicare rebate. A referral is not required to claim private health insurance rebates.
How long will I need to attend for and how often ? For therapy to work well and be effective, regular weekly or fortnightly sessions are recommended. The number of sessions will vary depending on the complexity of the problem. Generally individuals/couples/families need to attend for a minimum of 12 to 18 sessions over a year. If problems are more complex or if there are a number of issues, people may require long-term therapy.
What should I expect in therapy ? The decision to attend therapy is usually not an easy one, Sally respects your decision to come to therapy and will work with you to provide a safe, non-judgmental environment to support you throughout your therapeutic journey. The first sessions are generally assessment sessions to gather enough information from you to gain an understanding as to what may be contributing to your difficulties. You may also be asked to fill out questionnaires to assess how your mood and anxiety levels, etc. have been.
If I need to cancel or reschedule, what do I do ? Contact the practice with any changes you need to make, and the practice will do its utmost to accommodate your appointment needs. Please give 48hours notice prior to your scheduled appointment to change or cancel your therapy session. This enables the practice to book other clients into a session. If you do not give 24 hours notice to cancel your booking, the session fee will be charged at the non-attendance fee rate.
Do you work with adolescents (teenagers) or children ? Sally works with teens in the context of families therapy. She does not work with children.
Tele-health - therapy by video-conferencing? This is done using the ZOOM platform. You will get a link with a password prior to your session. Computer browser of the Free Zoom phone app can be used for the session. Click HERE for further information.
Will I receive a Medicare rebate if I attend family or couples therapy? Medicare rebates are not available for these sessions. Some Health Insurance funds do have rebates, so check with your provider. Full fee will apply.
Do you offer a service providing court reports in legal/custody disputes? Sally does not provide reports for court proceedings. If you require this service, an independent expert will need to be engaged outside this practice.
What is the Privacy Policy? Please follow this link (Button Below) for the full policy.