“In my experience, psychotherapy at its best is like dual meditation - it's like a container in which you can be compassionate and mindful toward yourself.”
— Jack Kornfield
Available Services
Therapies
Individual Therapy
Individual consultations are 50 minutes long. A pace of weekly or fortnightly consultations is most common, but sometimes people come twice per week for intense therapy, and others might come at a ‘maintenance’ pace for a predetermined amount of time. The pace that will work best for you is determined in the first few sessions so that it supports your goals and fits your resources.
Telehealth
Telehealth is ideal for people who have trouble getting to appointments in person. There are Medicare items available for Telehealth, and if you want to claim Medicare rebates you need to see you GP for a referral.
Consultations are conducted by videoconferencing or telephone, via a secure platform that is HIPAA compliant.
Supervision for practitioners
Supervision is available for individuals and groups in psychology and related professions, and for reflective practice in other professions (for example, I supervised a Cancer Council telephone triage team of nurses for several years in W.A.).
Groups
I sometimes run groups, depending on demand, time and space - these generally have no more than ten or so people, often less. Some are clinically oriented - for example, depression, anxiety, stress.
Other groups are not clinical, but oriented to self-knowledge and self-development, for example support for single mothers, writing for wellness, fostering the creative self, psycho-education on a particular theme, and so on. These groups are organised on request, or on occasion, and information will be available on this website.
EMERGENCIES
Lumina Psychology & Psychotherapy does not provide a crisis service. If you or someone you know needs crisis support the following 24-hour telephone counselling services are available:
Emergency services 000 :
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
Samaritans 135 247
Mental Health Emergency Response Line 1300 555 788
Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
Sexual Assault Crisis Line 1800 806 292
Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre 1800 015 188
Mensline Australia 1300 78 99 78
Referrals, Fees and Rebates
Referrals
You don’t need a referral to make an appointment if you don’t want or need to claim a Medicare rebate. However, if you do want to claim a Medicare rebate, and most people do, you will need a referral from your GP.
Your GP can make up a Mental Health Care Plan for you - that will allow you six sessions, with a further four possible after review, making up to 10 sessions available per calendar year rebated by Medicare.
Rebates
The current Medicare rebate for Clinical Psychology is $141.85 for a 50-60 minute individual consultation. .
Many private health funds have a rebate for Psychology services. The amount and parameters differ from one fund to another, so if you have private cover, check what yours makes available for Clinical Psychology.
Fees
Fees for consultations conducted by registered psychologists and clinical psychologists are GST free; please note that fees for all other services - reports, letters, non-clinical consultations, supervision and suchlike have an added GST component.
The fee* currently recommended by the Australian Psychological Society is $311.00 for a 50-60 minute individual consultation.
Given the effects of the pandemic, my standard consultation fee remains at $225.00 - leaving an out-of-pocket gap of $83.25. The fee is revised every financial year, with notice. However, I am aware that therapy is expensive, and I exercise reasonable flexibility according to individual circumstances. Don’t let the matter of fees put you off enquiring about therapy or beginning therapy - if you are sincere and committed, we can likely work something out.
What I do not do is bulk bill, except where it is a legal requirement of service. The reason? I have learned from long experience that treatment that requires no commitment tends to be valued less and may not go so well - so even if someone can manage only a very small gap amount on top of the rebate, it makes a difference.
What to expect
First steps
Most often I get either an email or call directly from someone interested in therapy, or I receive a referral from a GP or psychiatrist. In the latter case, I will let you know I have received it, and invite you to have a short preliminary discussion about what you are looking for, and to see if we have the sense of fit that is essential to working together.
If everything checks out and it is possible to begin straight away, we do; however, there is usually a wait to begin, and that wait has become increasingly longer since COVID and the extensive uptake of psychology services everywhere. If waiting is problematic, we discuss what to do about it, including other options.
Initial consultation
The first step is to properly figure out what you’re dealing with and that, of course, varies from the relatively straightforward to the extremely complex. I send an intake bundle before your first session to get the ball rolling, and then we figure it out from there - this can take one or more meetings depending on the complexities involved. Sometimes, but not always, formal assessment or psychometric testing is indicated - we would discuss that fully so that you know what and why it is involved. Then we proceed with a clear and mutually agreed idea of what is needed. The task in the first session(s) is to undertake a treatment assessment, make a (preliminary) diagnosis and recommend a treatment plan. I share my understanding with you, and make recommendations for treatment, and you decide whether you are ready to undertake the treatment.
How sessions work
We both turn up at the agreed time and place. We start on time. If you arrive late, you get a shorter session. If I arrive late (it’s rare), I’ll extend the end of the consultation.
In session, you talk about whatever you want to discuss - that may be related to certain goals, or it may be more exploratory. We’ll decide that in the first few sessions, so you’ll know what you’re going to be attending to as we work through. There may be surprises along the way, of course.
You pay on the day of your consultation, unless we have made a different arrangement. I can process your Medicare rebates for you (unless you prefer to do it yourself), and I give you the receipt for your records.
Cancellation and no shows
Things happen, and you may need to cancel. When that happens, I require 48 working hours notice. If you don’t give it, you will incur 50% of the fee. This seems fair - you carry half since you have claimed the time and experience has shown that such short notice usually means it can’t be picked up by someone else, and I carry half since I don’t do the consultation.
Confidentiality & Limits
What you talk about is private and held in confidence. There are some limits on confidentiality to do with the risk of harm to self or others, professional supervision and specific legal situations. This will be discussed in full in your first session, or you can read further here.
If you have concerns you’d like answered before you get to a first session, please contact me here.