The process to see a Psychologist can at times seem daunting if you don’t know where to start. In this article we break down the process and address the most commonly-asked questions and assumptions about seeing a Psychologist at NLC Psychology.
No! While we accept referrals such as Mental Health Treatment Plans (which we will elaborate more on below), we are able and willing to see anyone who feels they need to see one of our team of Psychologists without a referral.
While you don’t need a referral to see us, we would encourage you to consider seeing your GP to discuss whether a Mental Health Treatment Plan (previously called Mental Health Care Plan) is appropriate for you.
A Mental Health Treatment Plan entitles you to Medicare rebates for up to 10 individual Psychological appointments per year. You can read more about Mental Health Treatment Plans and how to obtain one here.
If a Mental Health Treatment Plan is not an option for you, you can still see us without one. If you have Private Health Insurance, you may be able to claim a rebate via HICAPS at the time of your appointment. Unfortunately you cannot claim from both Medicare and Private Health for the same appointment.
If you wish to claim via Private Health Insurance, please check with us at the time of booking that your Psychologist is a registered provider.
To book in to see one of our Psychologists, you can call our friendly front desk team to chat about your personal situation and options. During this call we will ask you about your reason for wanting to see a Psychologist (for example, “stress” or “sleep”), whether you have been referred to a particular clinician, and whether you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan. All of this information will help us to find the Psychologist that will best fit your needs.
Depending on your circumstances and preferences, we may be able to book you in during the initial phone call, or we may place you on a waitlist and contact you in the coming weeks or months to finalise your appointment times.
If you are unable to attend our clinic for a face-to-face appointment, we also have the facilities to provide telehealth consultations (either via phone or video call). Please ask our front desk team for more information about telehealth if this is something that you are interested in.
No! We pride ourselves on the fact that our Psychologists and administrative team work collaboratively each day to monitor the waitlist and offer new appointment times whenever we can. As a result, the longest waiting time we conservatively quote is 2-3 months. Furthermore, this is only for some of our Psychologists, as others may have much sooner availability.
If you are placed on the waiting list, we will make contact with you as soon as we can to help you start your journey.
When we book you in for your initial appointment, we also recommend booking 2-3 follow up appointments over the following weeks or months to ensure you have them in place and ready to go. Often we recommend booking these follow up appointments 2-3 weeks apart, and booking these in advance makes it easier for you to find times that are best suited to you. If these appointments need to change at any time, we ask for at least 24 hours notice for any changes.
If you would like to inquire about seeing one of our Psychologists at either our Malvern or Magill clinics, please feel free to call us on (08) 8373 5655.
