Psychology FAQ's
How do we make an appointment?
Please make contact via email. Our team will get back to you within 3 business days.
What clients do you specialise in?
We are dedicated to working solely with women. We offer therapies in support of all stages of womanhood. We take a holistic approach to treating women and do not assign ourselves to a one size fits all, or one treatment fits this particular diagnosis model. We aim to get to know each women who trusts us to share space with them.
How are you different?
Our space is one of warmth, comfort, beauty and luxury. Setting aside time for yourself should be a given, but it often is not. Many women we see struggle to find time in their lives to seek the support they truely need to thrive. We acknowledge the time commitment it takes to seek therapy and aim to have it an experience that is healing and nurturing. When you step into our office you are not sitting in a cold, clinical room, counting the minutes until you can leave and feeling more stressed upon leaving than when you arrived.
Sit, relax, have a cup of tea, a hot face wash, cover yourself with a blanket and finish your session with a calming meditation. We sandwich our 'hard stuff' into the middle of your session but aim to have you leave with workable solutions and also a sense of rest and calm.
What's your cancellation policy?
Please let us know as soon as you do regarding not being able to make your appointment. Unlike some other health professionals, psychologists can not easily replace an appointment as most psychology treatment is an ongoing process, therefore not many one off appointments. If you do not show for an appointment we forgo an hours pay. For this reason all accounts will be charged the full fee of a session if cancelled, or no show 24 hours in advance.
Medicare do not cover cancellations, so for all Medicare subsidised clients you will be required to pay the full session fee out of pocket. No new appointments can be made until the account is paid.
Are all psychology sessions subsidised?
No.
In order to be eligible for a Medicare Rebate Subsidy you will need to receive a referral from your family GP along with a Mental Health Treatment Plan. This will allow you 6 subsidised psychology sessions of (50mins- 1 hour). On the 6th session a review with your treating psychologist and yourself will be completed where it will be decided to apply for a further 4 sessions or for treatment to cease.
If it's decided that a further 4 sessions would be beneficial your treating psychologist will write a review letter to your GP applying for the 4 additional sessions.
You will be required to attend a GP appointment with the letter to obtain the additional 4 sessions prior to having another appointment with your psychologist.
The new referral and extended Mental Health Treatment Plan is needed for the subsidy to be applied.
Please note a maximum of 10 rebated psychology sessions are available for a person in 1 calendar year.
At current the Medicare Subsidy you will receive is $96.65. Full payment at time of appointment is required and Medicare will refund the rebate directly into your account often on the same business day.
Please note the Medicare Rebate is not sufficient full payment for a psychology session.
You will be required to pay a gap fee for each appointment.
What is a gap fee?
A gap fee is the difference between the Medicare Subsidy Rate and the fee for services.
For a regular (50mins- 1 hour) psychology session at current rates you will pay a gap fee of $123.35. You will be required to pay the full service fee ($220) on the day of your appointment but will receive the rebate paid into your bank account by Medicare.
Do you service NDIS participants?
We service all self and plan managed NDIS participants. We are not registered to service agency managed NDIS participants.
We have a long history of working with regular NDIS participants, CoS and plan coordinators.
What if I can't get a Mental Health Care Plan and I am not a NDIS participant?
That is fine you are able to self-refer. Private clients pay the full fee, so do not receive a medicare subsidy. Flexibility of being a private clients means we can work with human design and psychology if this is of interest to you and you do not need to wait for dr's referrals and reviews to continue service.
Do you offer Telehealth appointments? How do we pay for these?
Yes. We do offer Telehealth appointments. Telehealth appointments will be conducted via a secure website and are for the same length of time and same payment as a face to face session.
Invoices will be sent out after the appointment and are to be paid within 1 week. If you are a Telehealth client who is receiving sessions under a Mental Health Treatment Plan you will be responsible for claiming your Medicare Rebate. A Medicare Rebate Receipt will be sent out to you after payment has been received.
Are you a member of any bodies?
Yes. We are a member of both the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Australian Association of Psychology (AAPI).
It is a requirement for all psychologists to be registered with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority (AHPRA).
Melanie's registration number is PSY0001925041.