Referrals & Fees

If you’re struggling in some way and starting to question whether you should connect with a therapist, this may be a good indicator that you could benefit from psychological support. You might be tired of years of ongoing challenges. You may have noticed changes in your mood, sleep, appetite, energy, or motivation. You can also experience more subtle changes, that you can’t quite name but you simply feel exist. Other indicators could be feeling lost and wanting some guidance to get you back on track, or even an urge to discover what your track looks like! Coming along for an initial intake session will help you decide whether this is the right path for you at this time.

Your GP could be a good starting point to suggest a therapist, as they often keep a list of practitioners and can provide you with some names. If you don’t have a GP, or wish to find a therapist without your GP’s assistance, you can also reach out to any health professionals directly or look online. Some reputable websites are:

• Australian Association of Psychologists incorporated (AAPi)
• Australian Psychological Society (APS)
• EMDRAA.org (for EMDR-trained therapists)
• Psychology Today

If you are interested in seeing one of our therapists at Mindful Psychology, you can read through their profiles here. Our reception team can also support you in finding the most suitable practitioner for you. You can contact us via phone, email, or come and see us in the clinic.

Sometimes it can feel daunting knowing where to start to find a good therapeutic match, but our reception team is trained and ready to help. By having an idea about your needs we can help match you to the best therapist for you. It might be useful to ask yourself:

• What experiences have led me to seek therapy at this time?
• What is my communication style? (For example, do I prefer direct communication or a more exploratory style?.)
• What do I want out of therapy?
• How do I feel as I read a particular therapist’s profile?

There are a variety of ways to get in contact with us to book your first appointment. You can either submit an online enquiry, call us on 3391 5833, email us: info@mindfulpsychology.com.au, or come and see us in person. Our friendly reception team will be happy to help you to find the most suitable appointment for you.
If you have a practitioner in mind, you can let our reception team know, and they will advise you of the therapist’s upcoming availability. If you don’t have anyone in mind, we are happy to provide a recommendation based on your requirements and availability.

At your first appointment, your clinician will work with you to understand your personal circumstances, difficulties, and challenges. This is achieved by asking specific questions, which will help them to get to know you and your current and previous situation/s. Once they have this information, they will work with you to recommend a treatment plan. Your clinician will do this in the safe, relaxed, and confidential environment we have created here at Mindful Psychology. In the sessions following your first appointment, your clinician will work with you using proven evidence-based therapy, whilst treating you with compassion and respect to yield effective and positive results.

Please know that this is a perfectly normal experience and that if you choose to let us know, you will be met with understanding. Our reception team will ask if you would like to try therapy with a different practitioner at our clinic. If so, we can match you to somebody else. It would be helpful to know if there were any specific things about the initial practitioner that didn’t resonate with you, so that we can do our best to ensure that you don’t encounter them with your next therapist.

We have written an article to help you understand the difference between all these different practitioners. Basically, the accreditation of the practitioner is determined by what undergraduate and/or postgraduate studies they completed. In reality, there is very little difference between their qualifications when it comes to the way they support their clients in private practice. All our clinicians are committed to ongoing professional development in their particular areas of interest and expertise and this is what sets them apart, more than their initial training.

The answer to this question is very variable, and depends on things like:

• Your short-term and/or long-term goals
• Your current and past experiences
• Your financial situation
• Your willingness to commit to ongoing therapy

Some clients like to come in for a handful of sessions, while others have seen their therapist for several years. Other clients prefer not to exceed the ten Medicare-rebated sessions per calendar year. This question is worth discussing with your therapist during your first appointment because it can help you and your therapist decide on the frequency of your appointments.

If you are an existing client at Mindful Psychology, you can book future appointments and amend existing bookings using our Online Booking Portal. If you haven’t used this tool already, you can create an account by clicking “forgot password”.
Alternatively, you can reach out to the reception team via phone or email, and they will be happy to assist in helping you book further appointments.

Our practitioners offer telehealth appointments to clients anywhere in Australia and overseas. Please note that your appointment time is scheduled in Queensland time, so please ensure you are available for your appointment before confirming.
Medicare offers rebates to eligible clients in Australia, but no rebates are available to clients while they are overseas.

A referral is optional to book an appointment. If you wish to receive a rebate from Medicare for your sessions, you will need to see your GP before the date of your appointment and ask whether you’re eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan. If you prefer to pay privately, or if you have a third-party funder, a referral from your GP or psychiatrist is not necessary. Simply phone or email or contact us through our website’s contact page.

Clients access psychological support for various reasons, and there are different referrals for each reason.

• Most clients who obtain a referral from their GP for conditions such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD are given a Mental Health Care Plan.
• Some clients who have experienced severe work-related stress will be able to access funding through WorkCover.
• Other clients who have a disability and receive funding from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) can use this to access our services.
• Some clients who are retired or current veterans can obtain a DVA referral from their general practitioner.
• Clients who have been subjected to a violent crime or domestic violence may be eligible for a referral through Victim Assist.

You can read below about each of these types of referrals in some more detail.

A mental health care plan is a referral provided by your GP or psychiatrist that allows you to obtain a Medicare rebate for up to ten sessions per calendar year. A valid mental health care plan (MHCP) needs to be signed and dated by your GP on or before the date of the appointment that you wish to claim for.
If your GP determines your eligibility for a MHCP, they can address this to a particular therapist or simply to Mindful Psychology. They will provide you with a copy of the plan, and / or fax it to us. You are eligible for up to ten rebated sessions in a calendar year. You will initially be granted six sessions, and then you will need to see your GP again for a review, to determine whether you would benefit from an additional four sessions.
The amount of rebate you receive from Medicare depends on the registration of the practitioner you choose to see.

If your practitioner is:

• A mental health social worker, you will obtain a rebate of $82.30
• A registered psychologist, you will obtain a rebate of $93.35
• A clinical psychologist, you will obtain a rebate of $137.05

Once the full session fee has been paid, we will process your Medicare rebate. It usually takes around one to three business days for you to receive the rebate, which will appear in the bank account that you have nominated with Medicare.

As long as there is at least one session left on your plan, you will be able to use it for an appointment. Mental health care plans don’t expire, so you don’t need to go back to your GP for a new plan. However, you do need to return for a review at the end of every set of sessions (6 and 10). If, for example, you received a MHCP last year, and you used 3/6 sessions, you can still use the remainder this year. After using the final three sessions, you will need to go back to your GP for a review. It doesn’t matter if you used this plan with a different psychologist or your current psychologist – it’s still valid.
If you think you might have an old MHCP but can’t remember, you can ask your GP. They might issue you with a new plan, or reprint your old plan for you.

You may be entitled to up to ten Mental Health Care Plan sessions each calendar year. It doesn’t matter if these are used from a plan dated from previous years (as they don’t expire). From 1st January, you start with ten sessions, and each rebate that you receive counts for one session. The date on the plan that you use doesn’t matter.

It’s your responsibility to check how many sessions you have left on your plan. You can check this by contacting Medicare or by downloading the Medicare app. However, we may also be able to assist with this, so you can call and ask us as well.

At Mindful Psychology, we can process these for you. We will need a copy of your mental health care plan, and your Medicare card. At the end of each session, we will send you an emailed receipt and Medicare statement. The Medicare funds should hit your account in 1-3 business days from when they are processed. To check which account they will go into, you can log into MyGov.com.au and look at which bank account you have linked to your Medicare or download the Medicare app.

Every private health fund is different, and they offer many different types of coverage. Therefore, your coverage depends on your private health provider, your unique coverage, and who your therapist is (this is because not all practitioner registrations are recognised by all private health funds). We recommend checking with your private health provider if your appointments will be covered before you attend your session.
While we don’t process private health rebates, you will receive a receipt at the end of your session with all of the details that your private health insurance needs in order to process your claim.

If you are covered through NDIS, WorkCover, or Victim Assist this means that they will fund eligible sessions. If you are covered by NDIS there may be a gap fee for the appointment. For example, if you are seeing a clinical psychologist whose fee is $250.00, NDIS will cover $214.41 and you will need to pay the $35.59 gap. However, please let us know if paying a gap will cause financial stress so we can review the fee.

Yes, you can use your DVA referral to fund your sessions. We will match you with a suitable practitioner who has expertise in this area. Your GP may have explained to you that you are eligible for 12 sessions per cycle, which are fully covered by DVA. At the end of each cycle, or at the end of 12 months from your referral date (whichever comes first), you will need to go back to your GP to ask for an additional referral. Your therapist is also required to write a brief report to your GP and to DVA between each cycle.