Frequently Asked Questions
General
Mostly just yourself! But if you have a referral and/or Mental Health Care Plan, bring those with you too. We would suggest allowing yourself extra time to find a park and locate the building.
Parking can be tricky during busy hours. There are three visitor spots right out front of the building which are available for use. Otherwise, there is free street parking around Phipps Close.
Absolutely not. Harry Potter will always have a fondness in our hearts and we love our logo symbolizing Fawkes, however, we in no way support any transphobic comments or any discrimination to any person ever. We support and welcome ALL people and in fact, many of our staff have specific interest and experience in supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.
A Clinical Psychologist has completed a Master of Clinical Psychology while Registered Psychologists have not. However, many of our Registered Psychologists have completed their Masters degree but are currently completing their registrar programs, which is two years of supervised practice before they obtain their Clinical Psychologist title.
Despite the above, Clinical Psychologists are not necessarily better than Registered Psychologists – everyone has their own specialty and wealth of knowledge and experience that they bring to their work. I encourage you to focus on the person and their interests, rather than their title!
A provisional psychologist is either completing their working internship to obtain registration or is completing their Masters degree and is on placement. They are supervised weekly by clinical supervisors and are often up to date with the latest research and practice due to learning it currently and so vigorously.
Yes! We love to be flexible for our clients and Telehealth is absolutely an option! Talk to reception about this and your specific psychologist’s preferences.
If you cancel an appointment more than 48 hours before the appointment time, this is absolutely fine. If you cancel within the 48 hour period of your appointment time, the policy is that you pay full fee. There are obviously extenuating circumstances which can be discussed at the time of cancellation. Please note, there is no flexibility when people do not show up for appointments without any prior notice.
Unfortunately, no we are not. However, if you are under a self-managed plan you are absolutely welcome to access our support. We do require full payment at the time of the appointment, and we cannot invoice to third party services.
Individual Therapy
Coming in to see a psychologist can be a daunting process – not only are you meeting someone new, but often we are talking about difficulties that make us feel the most vulnerable. At FTH Psychology, we know and we understand this! This is why we have set up our waiting room and all of our therapist rooms to be homey, relaxed, and welcoming. No sterile clinic vibes here! We only welcome people onto our team who match the loving, welcoming ‘vibe’ and hopefully you feel this from your first phone call, but especially your first visit.
When your sessions are booked, you will be sent an appointment schedule and some paperwork to fill in prior to your first appointment (but if you forget, don’t stress, we’ve got you!). Your psychologist will call your name, and the first session is spent getting to know one another to determine whether this is the ‘right fit’. It’s important you feel connected to your psychologist and their approach, and we won’t be offended if you feel we’re not the right fit!
The psychologist will ask questions about your life, what has brought you to therapy, and get some information about your history to help inform them to decide the best treatment approach. Our psychologists work collaboratively with clients to establish your goals and decide what works best for you!
Absolutely! No child lives within isolation. Our psychologists know how important it is to work with the family in order to support a child. Your first session will be a parent only session so that the psychologist can understand your child’s needs. Subsequent sessions will often involve bringing you in for 5-10 minutes to give an update or provide any concerns to discuss in the session, then spending most of the session with your child, then bringing you in at the end to discuss what was talked about and provide guidance on how you can support your child with any strategies at home.
No, you do not need a referral to see our psychologists. However, if you would like to claim the Medicare rebate, you will need a referral from your doctor and an active Mental Health Care Plan.
This depends on who you see! Our current rates are:
Clinical psychologist: $280 per 50 min session
Registered psychologist: $250 per 50 min session
Provisional psychologist: $150 per 50 min session
The Mental Health Care Plan is an initiative that allows clients to claim rebates for psychological sessions for up to 10 sessions per calendar year. In order to access these, you must have a referral from your GP stipulating the amount of sessions for this course of treatment (up to six per referral). After this course of treatment is finished, your psychologist will write a letter to your GP updating them on your progress and (if agreed to by you) will request a re-referral for further services.
Referrals are valid for 12 months, but the total claimable sessions in one calendar year cannot exceed 10. Any subsequent sessions in the calendar year are paid privately.
The current Medicare rebates are as follows (as of 14th Feb 2024):
Clinical psychologist: $137.05
Registered psychologist: $93.35
Unfortunately, there are no rebates for provisional psychologists.
Our beautiful therapy dog, Charlie, is only allowed to be present in sessions with Nicola who is currently on maternity leave until November, 2024. Sorry! Once he is back in the office, you are more than welcome to ask for pats if you see him!
Assessments
Cognitive Assessment for ages 6 and up
This is a basic cognitive assessment utilising the age appropriate intelligence scale to determine an individual’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses. This can be used to assess for intellectual giftedness, intellectual disability, or to merely give an indication of a child’s strengths and weaknesses to indicate how to best support them in the classroom.
Learning Disorder Assessment for ages 6 and up
This assessment utilises the age appropriate intelligence scale, in addition to achievement based testing to determine whether there are specific academic concerns that are not congruent with their intellectual ability. This, along with information from a thorough initial intake session, helps the psychologist to determine whether an individual meets criteria for a Specific Learning Disorder. There are three main ones to consider:
Dyslexia – A specific learning disorder in reading.
Dysgraphia – A specific learning disorder in written expression.
Dyscalculia – A specific learning difficulty in mathematics.
This assessment will also provide information regarding cognitive strengths and weaknesses, in addition to ruling out intellectual disability as a cause for any academic difficulties.
ADHD Assessments for ages 6 and up
This assessment is the same as the Learning Disorder Assessment above but additionally requires a number of questionnaires to be completed specifically related to ADHD
symptoms and executive functioning. In addition, a more thorough observation of behaviour is utilised throughout the testing sessions to ascertain information as to whether or not an ADHD diagnosis is present.
This assessment is comprehensive and will consider all potential explanations for ADHD like presentations including (but not limited to): specific learning disorders, intellectual disability or giftedness, other behavioural disorders, and mental health/trauma history.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Assessments for ages 3 and up
This assessment utilises an initial interview to gain a comprehensive developmental history and standardised information from the ADOS-2 assessment tool to assess for the social, emotional, and behavioural challenges associated with ASD. The ADOS-2 is a play based assessment tool for children that explores their responses to standardised activities. Similarly, for teens and adults, the ADOS-2 assesses for specific social and emotional responses (or lack there of) through a range of standardised tasks.
While signs of other psychological disorders such as ADHD or mental health difficulties may be picked up throughout this assessment, they are not assessed as a part of this assessment.
Cognitive Assessment
1) 2 hour session whereby the first 30 min to an hour is spent gaining a basic history, and the second half of the appointment is spent conducting the intelligence testing
2) A report detailing the results and finding
Learning Disorder and ADHD Assessment
1) 1 hour initial interview with parents and/or individual to gain a comprehensive history
2) Two 2 hour sessions: one for the intelligence testing and the other for the achievement testing (please note: these sessions can take two hours but sometimes take less. The remainder of the time is taken to score/interpret results)
3) A comprehensive report detailing background, assessment results, conclusions/diagnoses (if applicable) and recommendations
4) ADHD only: several questionnaires specific to ADHD and executive functioning for teachers and parents, or the individual and an observer
ASD Assessment
1) 1 hour initial interview with parents and/or individual to gain a comprehensive developmental history
2) 2 hour testing session for the ADOS-2
3) A comprehensive report detailing background, assessment results, conclusions/diagnoses (if applicable) and recommendations
This varies depending on the time taken and complexity of the report; however, they are charged based on an hourly rate to compensate for psychologist time. Please contact reception for the most updated prices for the assessment you are seeking.
For everything other than ASD assessments, unfortunately not. Some private health insurance will provide some funding and we advise you check in with yours before booking in.
For ASD assessments, if the referral for the assessment is made by a Paediatrician or a Psychiatrist, and the person being assessed is under the age of 25, they may be eligible to claim a total of four services under a Diagnostic Assessment Plan for a rebate of $93.55 per session.
Unfortunately not! Psychostimulant medication can only be prescribed by a paediatrician (for children) and psychiatrists (for adults).
Unfortunately this is commonly the case nowadays, which is why any adult referral for an ADHD assessment, we explain this before booking appointments. Although at FTH our comprehensive reports are often more thorough, psychiatrists are instead opting to not accept these and require their own version of ADHD testing be completed for additional fees.
If you wish to receive medication for ADHD, it is more cost effective to go straight to the psychiatrist. With that said, medication is not the only treatment for ADHD and our reports are very comprehensive that provide you with information a psychiatrist cannot without implementing the standardised testing that we do.
Our assessments will allow you to understand your cognitive strengths and weaknesses and how this may impact on your ability to function at work, within relationships, and at home. This information is crucial to understanding yourself and learning what strategies to implement to support you behaviourally.