1. How do I make an appointment?
Please call me on 0478 422 318 or email your inquiry via email or the contact page, and I will get back to you as quickly as I can. 2. How long are the appointments? Appointments are usually 50 - 60mins. 3. What issues can you help me with? Depression, Anxiety and Stress Carer counselling Relationship counselling Grief and Loss Life transitions - career issues, becoming a parent, ageing. Mindfulness based counselling Life coaching Parenting and family counselling, including behavioural issues. Disability and life skills 4. How much does it cost? Initial Consultation in rooms or via Skype: 1 hour $180.00 Follow-Up Consultations in rooms : 50mins $180.00 Follow-Up Consultations via ZOOM: 50mins $170.00 All after hours appointments (after 5pm) $180.00 Unfortunately, due to the fact that I will have saved the appointment time for you and will be unlikely to be able to book an alternative client at short notice, cancellations less than 24 hours before the appointment will incur the full fee. 5.Medicare Rebates / MHTP If you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) from your GP then you will be eligible for a Medicare rebate of $82.00 for a maximum of 10 sessions. Usually your GP will refer you for an initial 6 sessions, after which you will need to visit the GP for a review, and they will decide whether to refer you for the final 4 sessions. If you are going to your GP to discuss getting a MHTP, make sure you book a long appointment with them as it takes time. You will need to get the MHTP before our first appointment in order to claim the rebate. 6. Do you accept any other funding? Some of my clients are funded by Carers Vic or N.D.I.S. If this applies to you, please inform me of this when booking our initial appointment in case there are additional processes or paperwork to complete. 7. I have Private Health Cover. Can I claim the cost with them? This depends on your provider, and level of cover. Please check directly with your Health Insurance provider. 8. How long is the waiting list? The waiting list is variable for an initial consultation depending upon your preferred times and my availability. Expect to wait approx 2- 3 weeks for your first appointment; however if your need is urgent then I will do my utmost to fit you in. Cancellations also occur, so if you have flexibility with times and are able to come in at relatively short notice, just ask to be put on the cancellation list. 9. Can I send you some information about my situation before the appointment? Please feel free to write a summary of your situation. As well as providing me with useful background, you may find this process useful to collect your thoughts. I usually ask you to complete a short Intake form before our first session which also provides some of this information. 10. What happens in a counselling session? At our initial meeting, we will talk about why you have come to counselling and what you would like to achieve from it. From this we will agree on a plan and some goals. In sessions we will largely talk about what you want to talk about, at a pace that you are comfortable with. You wont be forced to address issues you dont want to, and I will always be endeavouring to collaboratively agree about what we work on together. 11. How can talking about my problems help? Research has demonstrated that talking about our problems with a trained professional can help. Being really listened to with empathy and respect can be a powerful experience, and can assist you to clarify your thoughts and feelings and understand yourself from a different perspective. This will enable you to make changes in your life if you decide to do so and improve your emotional well-being. In addition I have strategies and approaches which I can offer you which have been researched and proven to be effective. 12. Is it confidential? Confidentiality will be discussed with you at the initial session. No information will be shared about you or what we discuss in the sessions without your consent. The only exception is if I am concerned that you are at risk of harm, either from yourself or others, or others may be at risk of harm from you. If such a situation occurred, I would discuss this with you before acting. 12. How many sessions will I need? This depends on your individual circumstances and we will discuss this in the initial session. Usually we reach an agreement for an initial number of sessions and then review the work together on a regular basis. 13. What if Im not happy with how the sessions are going ? I welcome your feedback at each session. If you aren't happy with anything that occurs in the sessions please don't hesitate to talk to me about it. These sessions are for you and it is important that you feel that they are meeting your needs and that you let me know how you are feeling about what we are achieving together. |