Frequently Asked Questions

Email info@introspectclinicalpsychology.com.au  to enquire. You will have an intake form emailed to you, and an initial session will be booked in once this is reviewed to ensure my service is the correct fit for your therapy needs. 

 If a client's difficulties lie outside my area of expertise, I will assist them in finding the most appropriate service for referral.  

No you do not need a referral from a doctor to make an appointment. A referral that is accompanied by a Mental Health Care Plan does make you eligible for a medicare rebate for up to 10 sessions per calendar year though. 

Appointments run for approximately 50 minutes.

 The first session is often referred to as the “diagnostic assessment”. During this session we will meet, and I will provide you with information about confidentiality and briefly outline any administrative matters. I will then ask you a number of questions regarding your main concerns, current situation, background history, and reasons for coming (e.g. if you have any treatment goals) in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of your needs. I may also administer some questionnaires to better understand your issues.

By the end of our first session, you and I will generally have established some shared goals for therapy, treatment options can be discussed, and we will start to develop a treatment plan. 

Ongoing sessions last for 50 minutes face-to-face. These sessions are based on a balance between gaining insight and understanding, as well as skill development. You are invited to begin each session with any concerns you would like to focus on during the session. We explore and unravel the thoughts, emotions and behaviours that contribute to distress. We work together in targeting these factors in treatment. New strategies are introduced and practiced in session as well as outside. Trying things out in between sessions, in an everyday context, is very important for good progress. Therapy does not only focus on eradicating difficulties but also on discovering what you value most in life and overcoming barriers to living a fulfilling life. Most people find 6 to 15 sessions helpful. However, both short-term and long-term options are available depending on your needs and desires. 

 A Mental Health Care Plan is a plan that your GP will prepare for you that allows you to access up to 10 medicare rebates for psychology consultations per calendar year. Your GP will discuss your needs and do a brief assessment of your functioning in order to make the appropriate recommendations and/or referrals. Once you receive your plan and referral you will be able to get a rebate for 6 sessions, and then you will need to go back to your GP to get a re-referral done where you will be able to gain access to the remaining 4 sessions for the calendar year. 

 This is a tricky question to answer as it tends to vary from client to client. The number of sessions that will benefit you is dependent on the nature and extent of the issues for which you are seeking assistance. Some people find attending therapy on a regular basis beneficial, and helps them better approach issues that present in daily life. Others engage in therapy as a means to move towards identified outcomes, such as reducing the severity or the symptoms of depression or anxiety, or reducing distress caused by their issues.

The type of therapy a person wishes to engage in also varies in time required. Some therapies are more long-term, some clients have more severe, enduring symptoms and sometimes new issues can present in session which you may wish to also address and this can extend therapy. 

How frequently you attend therapy also factors into this as some clients find that due to family, work or financial reasons that they cannot go as often as they may like.

This will be discussed further at your first session, where we can make plans to review your progress after a set number of sessions. As a general indicator, most clients find they make the most gains when they start with a few weekly or fortnightly sessions and then space it to three or four weeks once they have a good grasp of their therapy skills or need more time to practice. 

 When clients are in crisis they require immediate support. As a clinical psychologist in private practice I am not available 24/7. If a client calls in crisis and reaches a voicemail as their clinical psychologist is unable to take the call, then this is likely to leave them feeling worst.

Your safety is vital so I am always very upfront that should you be in crisis then your needs are best met by calling 000 or going to the emergency room at your nearest hospital. You can also contact lifeline 24/7 on 13 11 24 or NSW Mental Health line 24/7 on 1800 011 511. 

Any services or treatment you receive is 100% confidential. Absolutely no information about your status as my client, or any information about you will be provided to any other parties without your consent.

There are just a handful of times when a psychologist in Australia is bound by state and federal law to disclose information to other parties without written consent. These include the risk of:

• Serious physical injury to yourself or someone else.
• Current or reported abuse of a child, and/or threat to abuse a child.
• Details of a serious offense under the Major Crimes Act.
• Information requested by a subpoena from the court of law.

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If a psychologist believes that failing to disclose information to the relevant authorities may lead to one of the above-mentioned outcomes, they may be ethically and legally bound to intervene. Otherwise everything that is said within the therapy session stays there.