Starting therapy What to expect

Seeing Jess without a referral

You can book directly with either clinic and pay the clinic's fee. If your extras cover includes psychology, your health fund may pay a benefit towards each session, up to any yearly limit. You cannot claim Medicare and private health for the same session, though you can claim from your fund once your Medicare sessions for the year are used. Mind Your Health Centre in Rosanna processes major health fund claims on the day.

Seeing Jess with a Medicare referral

Under Better Access, Medicare pays a rebate for sessions with a referral from a psychiatrist or paediatrician, or from a GP who prepares a Mental Health Treatment Plan (often called a mental health care plan). The GP must be at your MyMedicare practice or be your usual GP, who provides most of your care. Medicare covers up to 10 individual sessions each calendar year, and the first referral is for up to six. Jess reports to your referring doctor, who can review your treatment and refer you for more sessions.

Because Jess is an endorsed clinical psychologist, her sessions are claimed under Medicare's clinical psychologist items, which have a higher rebate than the registered psychologist items for a session of the same length. What you pay after the rebate depends on the clinic's fee. At Mind Your Health Centre in Rosanna, the rebate can be processed at the end of your session.

Sessions by video

You join video sessions from home or another private place, and they follow the same structure as sessions in the room. Better Access rebates apply to them too. Video can suit people who are unwell, caring for young children or more at ease in familiar surroundings. You and Jess can arrange to move between video and in-person sessions if your needs change.

Privacy and confidentiality

What you discuss with Jess is confidential, apart from the limits below. Psychologists follow a professional code of conduct and privacy law, so nothing is passed on to anyone, including family or an employer, without your consent. If you have a Medicare referral, Jess sends brief reports to your referring doctor, as Medicare requires, and you can ask what they contain.

In rare situations information may be shared without consent, such as a serious risk to someone's safety (including a child's) or a court order. Jess explains these limits in the first session and, where possible and safe, talks with you before anything is shared. Notes are stored securely for the period the law requires, and you can generally ask to see the information held about you.

Therapy for children and teenagers

Jess works with children from about six years old. Sessions with younger children often include drawing or games. Parents and carers are usually closely involved, contributing to the assessment, joining some sessions and meeting Jess separately to discuss how to support their child. Jess has a particular interest in neurodiversity, and sessions can be adapted to how each child communicates and learns, for example with visual supports or movement breaks.

Teenagers usually have more say in how therapy runs and more privacy about what they share. At the start, Jess, the young person and their parents or carers agree on what will be shared, with the understanding that a serious safety concern may need to be passed on. A parent or carer often makes the first contact, and from age 15 a young person can apply for their own Medicare card.

Finishing therapy

As things become steadier, sessions often move to every few weeks and then monthly. Towards the end, you and Jess review progress against your goals and agree on how to recognise and respond to early signs of old patterns. Some people return for a few sessions later, when something new comes up. You can stop or take a break at any time, and telling Jess beforehand allows for a planned final session.