medicare/private health insurance

These counselling sessions are not currently eligible for rebate under Medicare or a private health fund. I understand that when you are seeking a therapy service, an economical approach is most desirable. Therefore, I always ensure that the session fee is less than the out-of-pocket gap amount that you would need to pay after receiving the current Medicare benefit, if you were accessing my sessions with a Mental Health Care Plan.

Some of the benefits of receiving therapy in private pay (also called self-pay) settings include:

Flexibility in working with your therapist

• You are not obligated to choose from therapists preferred or referred by your GP or private health fund.

• You are able to choose the therapist that best suits your needs, location and personal preference.

• Diagnosis/es will not be shared without your consent or placed on shared medical records.

• You have more flexibility with the type of treatment you receive.

• You and your therapist are able to choose when treatment is effective and/or terminated.

Confidentiality

• Your privacy will remain intact without the possibility of Medicare or a private health insurer requesting needed information regarding your diagnosis, treatment, treatment plan, or treatment progress.

• There is no limit to the number of sessions that you can receive when you pay privately. Medicare and insurance companies may limit the number of sessions that you can receive depending on your plan, diagnosis, or other factors.

If you are need of mental health services, it is important that you have the freedom to choose services with or without Medicare/private health rebates. Therefore, if you wish to see a different therapist whom you can claim the Medicare/private health rebate with, I am more than happy to provide the names of alternative clinics who might be able to assist.

NDIS

Yes! You can access counselling services with me under the NDIS. To do this, you must have the item ‘Improved Daily Living’ in your plan. Improved Daily Living provides funds to access an allied health professional and is generally flexible across other therapeutic services.

Victims Services

Yes! I am a registered NSW Victims Services Counsellor and you can use your approved NSW Victims Services counselling hours with me under The Victims Support Scheme.

If you have been injured by a violent crime or modern slavery in NSW, the Victims Support Scheme offers up to 22 hours of paid counselling to help you recover from the psychological and emotional impacts. 

To access this, you must have received approval from NSW Victims Services for an allocation of counselling hours. Please provide me with your full name and Victims Services reference number when you submit your booking request.

You can find out more here: https://victimsservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/how-can-we-help-you/victims-support-scheme/counselling.html