What is the initial session like?

- At Balanced Minds Psychology Practice we believe that every client brings a unique set of circumstances, experiences, strengths and vulnerabilities to therapy. It is therefore crucial that the psychologist get to know the individual in order to design a personalized treatment program. As a consequence, the initial session is usually approximately 90 minutes to allow for as much information to be gathered at this time. This usually consists of filling in some brief questionnaires and spending the remainder of the session discussing the issue that motivated you to seek support, your relevant history and what you hope to achieve through the sessions. We believe very strongly that therapy is a collaboration between the psychologist and client.

How long are the therapy sessions?

The initial therapy session takes approximately 90 minutes (see above for more details on the first session). Subsequent sessions are then usually 1 "therapy hour" (approximately 55 minutes therapy time and an additional 5 minutes for the psychologist to write notes, score questionnaires, write to referring doctors where applicable, etc). As sessions are frequently booked back-to-back it is optimal for all clients to be available to begin sessions on time as otherwise a session may be shorter than is ideal.

Is there an out of pocket cost for the session?

At Balanced Minds Psychology Practice we are aware that therapy is an investment in your health that includes time, resources and finances. We encourage clients to obtain a Mental Health Care Plan where relevant in order to receive a Medicare rebate for up to 10 therapy sessions within a calendar year. Such a plan provides access to $124.50 back from Medicare when you work with a clinical psychologist. Rebates are also available under the Pregnancy Support Counselling item and through numerous private health insurance agencies. Please feel free to contact us to discuss rebate eligibility and our current fee schedule.

Is there a cancellation fee?

Life certainly doesn't care if you have an appointment and occasionally missing a scheduled appointment may be necessary. We ask that every client let us know as soon as possible if they are unable to attend a session and appreciate your letting us know. If, however, you are unable to provide at least 24 hours notice it may be hard to fill the time slot. On such occasions a cancellation fee applies to the session if we cannot allocate it to another client. We do not double charge clients for the same appointment slot so it is always worth letting us know ASAP if you are unable to attend.