FAQs

Our practitioners work with a range of presentations, with some practitioners having specific areas of interest. For a list of many of the presentations covered by our practitioners, click here.

For more information about areas of interest for each of our practitioners, you can also review their individual profiles.

Our practitioners work across all ages, although some focus on specific age groups. See here for more details.

In addition to various age groups, some of our practitioners have an interest in working with couples and families.

Psychologists, counsellors and mental health social workers all use talk-based therapy and can help with mental health and personal concerns. There are some differences, including education and registration requirements, as well as the focus of their practices. That said, all use talk therapy and person-centred approaches and can help with mental health and personal concerns.

Below is a basic summary of the differences between various types of practitioners. More detailed information may be found doing a search online.

Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologist

(source: APS website – https://psychology.org.au/psychology/about-psychology/types-of-psychologists)

Psychologists with general registration:

All psychologists are registered with the Psychology Board of Australia, meet high education, training, ethical and professional standards, and undertake ongoing training and skills development.

Psychologists with general registration (over 60% of Australia’s psychologists) have a minimum of six years of university training and supervised experience and build on that with ongoing education. They use evidence-based, customised psychological approaches to assess, diagnose and treat a wide range of clients and concerns.

Clinical Psychologists

Clinical psychologists provide a wide range of psychological services to individuals for mental health conditions that range from mild to severe and complex. They are trained in the assessment and diagnosis of mental illnesses and psychological problems and are qualified to provide advice in clinical and compensation areas. They use a range of techniques and therapies to tailor programs to treat complex clinical psychology problems requiring individually tailored treatment.

All clinical psychologists undertake continual learning in areas such as prevention, diagnosis, assessment and treatment, including rehabilitation.

The primary difference between clinical psychologists and social workers and counsellors is that they can diagnose mental health conditions.

Clinical neuropsychologists

Clinical neuropsychologists can assess, diagnose and treat people with brain disorders that affect memory, learning, attention, language, reading, problem-solving and decision-making. They are trained to understand the cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects of a wide range of brain conditions that range from developmental and nutritional to endocrine-related, degenerative, traumatic and epileptic.

Mental Health Social Workers

Registered with AASW, mental health social workers need a bachelor’s in social work plus extra training. They provide counselling for mental health issues, and Medicare rebates may be available with a GP referral.

Counsellors

Registered with ACA, PACFA, or CCAA, counsellors usually have a counselling degree. They use talk therapy and researched interventions to help with a wide range of personal and emotional issues.

Counsellors do not qualify for Medicare rebates.

Dr Cristian Torres offers a range of workplace/corporate training. More details can be found here.

Each practitioner offers a different range of therapies. A list of many of the therapies offered by at least one of our practitioners can be found here.

For more information about what therapies are offered by individual practitioners, you can also review their individual profiles.

In addition to psychologists and clinical psychologists, we currently have several other mental health related practitioners using our rooms. This includes:

Registered Counsellor – Kelly Chen
Mental Health Social Worker – Mary Jacob
Clinical Neuropsychologist – Jean Xu
Yoga Therapist / Trama Sensitive Yoga Practitioner – Yonnie Fung

Although all practitioners will undertake a basic assessment as part of developing a treatment plan, not all practitioners conduct formal assessments.

Of those who do, our practitioners offer a range of assessment types, which can be found listed here.

Several of our practitioners offer professional supervision for psychologists or other mental health practitioners. Click here for details.

Each of our practitioners run their own private practice out of our rooms. As such, they look after their own administration and appointments. To contact individual practitioners directly, please see our Find a Practitioner page.

Note: some practitioners can be contacted by phone, however, they will not be able to answer calls if they are in session. Please leave them a detailed message and they will get back to you.

Other practitioners will need be contacted via email in the first instance.

Where a practitioner has let us know that their waitlist/books are closed, this will be included on their profile.

To assist the practitioner in determining whether they are suitable for your needs, it helps to provide them with information about why you need to see a someone and whether there is anything specific you are looking for in a practitioner.

Once you find a suitable practitioner, they will complete an intake with you, either over the phone, or via an online or physical form. They will also ask you to read and sign a consent form, and possibly complete additional psychological screens, either before or at your first appointment.

Most of our practitioners will see clients under GP provided Better Access Mental Health Treatment/Care Plans.

Other referrals that may accepted by some practitioners, but not all, include:

• Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) white or gold card
• ADF referrals via BUPA
• Open Arms referrals via BUPA or, for some practitioners, directly from Open Arms
• Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plan (EDP)
• NDIS (specifically plan-managed and self-managed)
• NDIS registered practitioners (for non-plan- or self-managed clients)
• Australian Federal Police (AFP) Early Intervention Program
• NSW Workcover
• Comcare or EML workers compensation
• Other types of insurance claims

Our Phillip and Canberra CBD (Hobart Place) clinics both have lift access.

O’Connor is only accessible via a flight of stairs.

As each practitioner looks after then own clients, including appointments. Because waitlists can change overnight, we will not always now if someone’s books are open or not on any given day.

If they have advised us that their books are closed, this is noted on their profile.

If their profile doesn’t mention that their books are closed, it is possible that they may have space on their waitlist. If you contact them and they are full, they will let you know. As said, their waitlist can change overnight.

You do not need a referral to see our practitioners. However, you can’t access Medicare rebates if you don’t have a Mental Health Treatment/Care Plan from your GP.

If you see a practitioner privately, depending on your level of private health care, you may be able to claim some of your fees back with your insurance. It is recommended you check your cover before proceeding with sessions if you are hoping to claim on your private health cover.

To access the Medicare rebates, you need to have a Mental Health Treatment/Care Plan from your GP. It is important to note that not all conditions/presentations are covered by Medicare.

NOTE: When making an appointment with your GP, you should mention that want to discuss getting a Mental Health Treatment/Care Plan as they may need book you a double appointment.

For more information about Medicare rebates and Mental Health Treatment/Care Plans, click here.

We have three centrally located clinics, including:

• O’Connor
• Canberra CBD (Hobart Place)
• Phillip

Details can be found here.

Most psychology sessions are between 50 minutes to an hour.

This may vary, as some practitioners have longer first sessions or offer longer or shorter sessions for different types of treatment. Your practitioner can let you know what their session lengths are when you make your appointment.

As each of our practitioners run their own private practice, they also set their own fees.

Generally, standard fees for psychologists range between $250 and $350 per session.

For the fees for our social workers, counsellors and yoga therapists, please check with them directly.

Some private health funds allow you to claim for psychology or other mental health services. As all funds and levels of cover vary, please check with your fund.

Note: you cannot claim both Medicare rebates and private health insurance rebates.

If you have a referral from your GP that includes a Mental Health Treatment/Care Plan, you may be eligible for a Medicare rebate.

Not all reasons for seeing a psychologist are covered by Medicare. Specifically, you need to have a diagnosed mental health disorder based on the DSM-V. If you are not sure if you are eligible, please discuss this with your GP or practitioner.

To access a Medicare rebate, you need to have a valid referral from your GP (as part of a Mental Health Treatment/Care Plan), your psychiatrist or your paediatrician.

If you are eligible to receive Better Access services, you can receive an initial treatment course of up to a maximum of six (6) allied mental health services. These services can be individual or group therapy sessions, or a combination of both.

Medicare will provide up to a maximum of 10 rebates per calendar year. Once this has been reached, no more Medicare rebates will be paid for sessions for the remainder of the calendar year. The 10 sessions reset for sessions after 1 January the following year.

If you have run out of Medicare sessions, you can continue seeing your practitioner without receiving a rebate. Alternatively, you may be able to claim a rebate from your health insurance, depending on the type of cover you have (you need to check your cover with your insurer).

Note: You are not allowed to receive a Medicare rebate AND a rebate from any other insurance provider for the same session.

More information about the Better Access Program and Medicare rebates, please see Services Australia’s Better Access fact sheet for patients – https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/better-access-fact-sheet-patients?language=en

Although a few of our practitioners offer bulk-billing or concession fees, this is usually only offered for a proportion of their clients and, as such, may not always be available.

If your practitioner offers bulk-billing, you must have a valid referral and Mental Health Treatment/Care Plan from your GP.

Some psychologists offer concession fees for students, health care card holders, seniors, or those with other concession cards. Please check with your practitioner to find out if they offer reduced fees and if you qualify.

Alternatively, Capital Clinical Psychology regularly hosts provisional psychologists (ANU or UC Masters students) on their final placement. Provisional psychologists offer reduced fees (see our practitioner page to see details of any current provisional psychologists and their fees), however they do not qualify for Medicare rebates.