Information for Clients

Telehealth-Only Consultations

Please note that all consultations with me take place online, as videocalls and occasionally phonecalls when necessary, rather than in person. 

The Medicare and private health rebates for seeing a clinical psychologist are identical whether the sessions take place in person or via telehealth.

To ensure sessions are confidential and secure, I use an encrypted telehealth platform developed specifically for allied health services. It is Australian-owned, and compliant to international (ISO 27001 & GDPR) and Australian (HIPAA) electronic security standards.

Telehealth is not an appropriate medium for everyone. If you have unreliable access to privacy or wi-fi, if you have difficulties with dissociation and struggle to stay present when upset, or if there are significant safety concerns, please reach out to discuss suitability before making a booking.

Fees

The fee for a standard 50-60 minute consultation is $250 (the recommended consultation fee for psychologists is significantly higher, and can be found here). Any incidental and brief calls and emails with you or others on your behalf are included in this fee. Under some special circumstances I also offer fee reductions – please discuss this with me if required.

The provision of psychological reports or detailed letters (the kind required for legal matters, by workplaces and schools, medical practitioners, insurers, etc.) takes substantial time and so incurs a separate fee. If you anticipate requiring a report or detailed letter, please discuss this with me and provide as much notice as possible.

Please note that fees are due in full at the end of your session and can be paid electronically using the banking details provided on the invoice.5

Medicare & Private Health Rebates

Medicare rebates: If you have a valid Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) and referral from your GP or psychiatrist, you will be eligible for a rebate of $141.85 per session for the maximum number of sessions allowed by Medicare per calendar year (usually 10). After I receive payment for our session, I issue you a receipt that contains the details you require to claim your own rebate directly through myGov. Please note that I will need your current Medicare card number and a copy of your valid referral and MHCP in order to provide you with a Medicare-eligible receipt.

Additional information about the various Medicare rebates and programs is available on the APS website.

Private Health rebates: Your rebate will depend on your level and type of cover, and who your insurer is. Please contact your private health fund if you are unsure what rebates you may be able to claim.

Please note that you cannot use your Private Health extras cover and claim a Medicare rebate for the same session.

Confidentiality

Your relationship with us (“us/we” refers here to me as your psychologist as well as any professional support staff engaged by me, such as admin assistants or IT technicians) is a professional one with important and specific limitations to what can be kept confidential. 

The limits to what we can keep confidential applies to all information of any nature (i.e., during the administrative process, active psychological service delivery, incidental communication exchanges, etc.) that you share with us, in any format (via email, telephone call, text, social media, mail, in person, etc).

Any and all information you share with us will remain strictly confidential, except under any of the following circumstances:

  • When there is a legal obligation to disclose information (e.g. if I or my file notes are subpoenaed);
  • If we reasonably believe that the collection, use, or disclosure of such information is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual, or to the public’s health or safety;
  • When I access clinical supervision (client information is only discussed in a non-identifiable way, and only with colleagues who are professionally and ethically bound to preserve your confidentiality too);
  • To comply with the conditions of your funding (e.g. reporting requirements for sessions funded by a Medicare scheme, your employer, WorkSafe, DVA, NDIS, etc.);
  • In following all legal requirements for reporting alleged or suspected child abuse to the relevant authorities as specified by the Government; or
  • If you disclose information about a registered health practitioner (including yourself) that AHPRA defines as requiring mandatory notification.

In all of the above exceptional circumstances, we make efforts to safeguard your privacy where possible by disclosing only the minimum, necessary, and relevant information. If we wish to share your information under any circumstances not listed above, we will first gain your consent or the consent of the person/s with legal authority to act on your behalf. 

Your session notes and records of all other communication are stored securely and comply with relevant privacy laws.

We respect and support your right to make an informed decision about how and what you communicate with us, and so we will alert you to our confidentiality policy and seek your consent to our policy as early in our first communication as we reasonably can. By communicating with us, you are consenting to all information being treated in accordance with our confidentiality policy. If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy and information, please raise these with us at the beginning of our first contact before disclosing anything further.

Cancellations

Sometimes circumstances change and appointments need to be cancelled or rescheduled. Please give me as much notice as possible, because I need at least 48 hours’ notice to be able to organise someone else from my waiting list to take your spot. 

If you are cancelling with less than 48 hours’ notice, the following fees apply:

  • Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will result in the full session fee still being charged.
  • Sessions cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice will incur a cancellation fee of 50% of your normal session rate.

Cancellation fees are due ahead of your next session, and unfortunately Medicare and Private Health funds do not allow rebates to be claimed for cancellation fees.

Sometimes your personal circumstances might change unexpectedly (such as illness or a medical emergency) and you will not be able to provide the above notice when cancelling. Please let me know if you are cancelling for these exceptional personal circumstances (I do not apply the cancellation policy if these occasions are infrequent and irregular).

By booking an appointment with me you are agreeing to this cancellation policy.

After-Hours Availability

Please note that I am unable to provide emergency services in private practice, and therefore I cannot guarantee to return urgent messages left for me via phone, email, or online within a certain timeframe. I may also be unreachable for significant lengths of time during business hours, and I am not contactable outside of business hours unless organised beforehand.

For these reasons, returning your contact can sometimes take over 48 hours.

Booking and Attending Your First Session

Once you’ve read all of the important information above (on telehealth, fees, etc) and you’ve looked at the other relevant information about me available on this website, you’re ready to make a booking!

Please email me with your preferred appointment windows (Monday-Friday, mornings/afternoons/early evenings), and I’ll contact you back with a suggested first appointment time. If I have no capacity to make new bookings when you contact me, I will respond to you with an estimated waiting time and some other information.

Once I’ve booked in our first appointment, I will send you a confirmation email that includes our session time, the telehealth link you’ll need for our session, and directions back here to complete and submit the Intake Form and DASS21 before we meet.

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