Questions and Answers

Psychology is about human behavior change. As psychologists we are interested in why a person has decided to see a psychologist and what their expectations are. Therapy or counselling is focussed on what the client wants to achieve, and our approach involves tailoring the psychological treatment to help you, and meet your expectations. Our psychologists utilise Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT) methods to ensure that therapy works for you. We will monitor your progress from session to session to ensure that counselling is on track and the strategies we develop are working for you. Your feedback is crucial in determining the pace and focus of counselling. For example, anxiety is a common problem and a reason that many people come to see us. Our approach is to understand the effect and experience of anxiety for you and to then assist you in developing different ways of dealing with your symptoms, relationships, and triggers in order to equip you to manage anxious feelings more effectively.

Most people have tried many things to get rid of their problems. As psychologists, we can help you see your experiences more objectively and we can offer our professional experience to assist you with your problems.

Psychiatrists are specialist medical practitioners who can prescribe medications and if necessary they can also hospitalise people. They generally see patients with more severe and complex mental illnesses. On the other hand, psychologists are not medical doctors and therefore do not prescribe medication. However, we can be of great assistance in helping you to understand the development of your problem and assisting you to make changes. Psychologists consult with people with mild, moderate, and severe mental illnesses and we work closely with a client’s GP and or psychiatrist to ensure he/she gets the most comprehensive treatment.

We are very interested in helping people with anxiety, depression and stress as well as chronic illnesses, work-related issues such as bullying and injury, pain management, trauma, serious mental illnesses, and complex problems such as family or relationship issues and personality problems. We regularly see people who have complex and chronic problems that are sometimes labeled as ‘treatment resistant’, that is, they have tried to get help and not been successful in the past. At Psychology on Parade we have the experience and skills to assist clients with various presenting issues.

In order to obtain a Medicare rebate for seeing a psychologist you must obtain a referral and a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP (. Please be aware that rebates can differ. Also, please make a long appointment with your GP if you wish to discuss a Mental Health Care Plan.

You need to ring our office and a senior administration staff member will complete a short intake interview with you to discuss your reasons for seeing a psychologist (this interview is also an opportunity for you to ask questions).

We will then arrange a first session with the psychologist who is most appropriate for you. Treatment length can be 1-2 sessions, or 12 or more sessions. Medicare rebates are normally only available for 10 sessions. The first session is an assessment and ‘getting to know you’ process and involves a thorough discussion regarding your reasons for coming; sometimes we may complete some psychological questionnaires. The assessment needs to be comprehensive so that we both understand your situation and can then plan the course of treatment; this is also flexible because often new information and priorities arise in the course of the work.

As of November 2006, psychology treatment has been made rebatable under the Better Access scheme. This scheme requires a patient to obtain a doctor’s referral in the form of a Mental Health Care Plan which then allows the patient to attend the psychologist of their choice and obtain a rebate on the professional fee.

There have been changes to the Medicare Better Access to Mental Health Care program and you should check with Medicare to verify your eligibility.

Under the new Medicare scheme, all registered psychologists who are endorsed by Medicare Australia can provide treatment for mental health problems. Medicare rebates are also available for consultations with specialist clinical psychologists.