My fee for a session is $170. If you have a referral from a GP, you can get a Medicare rebate of approximately $85 per session, for up to ten sessions per calendar year. Six sessions are available with the initial referral, and then four more provided they are authorised after a GP review.
I am also an approved provider for the ATAPS scheme (Access to Allied Psychological Services) in the Northern Sydney region. More information on the scheme is available here.
At a given point in time 20% of adults either will have a mental illness, or will have had one within the last 12 months. That’s according to a survey done by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2007. The mental illnesses they looked at were anxiety, mood (depression and bipolar), and substance use disorders.
To break that 20% down a bit further: 11.3% will have one mental illness, and 8.7% will have more than one, most commonly a mood disorder and an anxiety disorder.
Another question in the survey looked at mental illness across a person’s lifespan. The ABS found that 45% of adults had experienced mental illness at some point in their lives.
So, how common is mental illness? At a rate of one in five adults in a given year, I’d say it’s definitely common enough that we should know more about it.
Sometimes people don’t know what to expect when they see a psychologist, so here is a quick guide to what usually happens in the first session.
The main thing you do in the first session is talk about why you’re there. What is bothering you? How long has it been happening? In what situations and contexts? Has it happened before? When did it start? Do you have any thoughts as to why it is happening? Have you tried anything to fix it before? How well did that work? And so on.
Depending how much time is taken up by other things, you would usually also answer some questions about your background, e.g. your family of origin and your medical history (I’ll give more detail on these in a later post).
There’s also paperwork, unfortunately! You read over a confidentiality protocol (detailing our procedures to keep your information confidential) and sign off on it. This is a legal requirement imposed on us; we have no choice about it. Sometimes there’s an informed consent form, which tells you about some things which can happen during therapy (e.g., you may experience upsetting feelings at some points), and asks you to consent to the process of therapy by signing off. Also, I will usually give people a short questionnaire covering common symptoms. Lastly, there’s a sheet with your contact details.
If you are feeling suicidal, or are worried about someone whom you think might be suicidal, please contact
Lifeline on 13 11 14
or
Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
Both of these services operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I am on my Christmas/New Year break at the moment. My first day back at the clinic will be Monday 20th January 2014.
I am a registered psychologist working in North Ryde. I see adult clients for a range of issues, including:
Keywords: Psychology, psychologist, counselling, counsellor
North Ryde, Marsfield, Epping, North Epping, Chatswood, Pymble, Gordon, Denistone, Eastwood