WHY SEE A PSYCHOLOGIST
There are many reasons why you might see a psychologist. For example, you might be experiencing anxiety, depression, stressful life events or any other mental health difficulty. You might not even know what’s going on, but just feel that you haven’t been ‘right’ or that your life has become more difficult. A psychologist is trained to perform a detailed assessment of your mental health and to identify what’s going on for you. If you’re having difficulties at school, such as struggling to pay attention or to maintain your focus, you might see a clinical neuropsychologist who will help by developing an individual treatment plan for you.
No matter what your reason for seeking help, it’s important to find a psychologist you can connect with and trust. You may have to meet a few before you find one that clicks for you. Psychologists specialise in different areas, so one may refer you to another doctor if they feel that someone else can better treat your needs.
THE FIRST SESSION
The first time your you and your child visit a psychologist it may be feel a little awkward and you may feel somewhat nervous. Your child will also naturally feel the same way, particularly given this is a new person in their life. This is normal and should ease as the initial sessions progresses.
In the initial session, the psychologist will complete an assessment of your child by asking you and the child (either separately or together as deemed appropriate) a series of questions about what’s happening in yours/their life, as well as asking for details about background, including family life and personal/emotional/social history. The assessment is an important first step, as it will help your psychologist understand what’s troubling your child and, more importantly, how to help you and them. They will also cover confidentiality, which is your/child's right to privacy, which means that anything you discuss with them will remain private between the two of you, or between the child and the psychologist. When working with children, it if imperative that parents are involved in the sessions and at times this may include disclosure about what is happening with the child, however that will be carried out with the consent of the child and often be discussed with the child present, encouraging the child to share things on their own. This of course does have some exceptions which will be covered during your first session.
Additionally, during the first session, there will be a discussion with you about a plan for continuing, including how often they recommend you sessions to occur, and for how long. Normally, they will recommend that you visit them weekly or fortnightly for a period of time. The length of time for your treatment can vary from a few weeks to many months, depending on what the needs are.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
An psychological treatment session usually lasts about 50 minutes but can sometimes go for longer.
Psychologist fees will vary from psychologist to psychologist depending the expertise of the psychologist. Additionally, fees will also be structured based on the referrals source. Please refer to Referrals and Fees page for further information.
If the referral has been made under a Mental Health Plan Medicare will cover part of that fee. Generally Medicare will cover part of the fee, which will be refunded directly to the clients' account by Medicare, at times depending on family threshold limits, Medicare may cover a higher amount. If you’re seeing a psychologist as part of a Mental Health Treatment Plan, the psychologist will have to send a report to your doctor every 6 and further 4 sessions. You can talk to the psychologist about what the report will say. It’s also important to know that a Mental Health Treatment Plan is restricted to ten sessions a year.
Other referral sources such as NDIS, TAC, VOC (Victims of Crime) referrals will incur different fees as per outlined by each authority and those fees will be paid by the bodies funding treatment.
MAKING AND APPOINTMENT
The best place to start is to use the Contact page to initiate a contact regarding what services you may require. You can contact also contact directly via telephone or email and and we will then get in touch to discuss your situation and book an initial consult.