Appointments and fees

Sessions are by appointment only, with appointments available Tuesday to Saturday.

Please note as a sole practitioner I do not have full time administration support. To arrange an appointment please phone or text 0488 832739 or email northlakespsych@bigpond.com and leave your name and contact phone number. We will contact you to discuss and schedule your appointment as soon as possible.

If you need to change or cancel your appointment please give sufficient notice to allow us to fill the hour that has been set aside for your. Cancellation fees may be charged according to APS recommendations: 0-24 hours notice may be charged the full fee, 24-48 hours 50% fee. This is weekday hours, not weekends. Medicare does not provide a rebate for cancelled or missed appointments.

You do not need a referral to see a Psychologist, however it is important to discuss your concerns with your GP, as you may be eligible for a referral under Medicare and a rebate for your sessions. This will also enable us to work as a team with your GP to support you. Referrals are also welcome from Workcover and the Department of Veteran's Affairs.

Clinic appointments

Clinic appointments are available at North Lakes Psychology and Evercare Clayfield.
Please do not attend the clinic if you have any symptoms of illness. We can move your appointment to Telehealth if this occurs.

Telehealth Appointments

Clinical Psychology services are available through Telehealth (videoconference) or telephone. While it is different to sitting together in the clinic, Telehealth has been shown to be very effective mode of support. I am very experienced using both of these methods and to support your engagement in this way. I understand that this change may be difficult or uncomfortable for some, and I encourage you to work through this with me.

What do we need to do?

1.When you receive your appointment confirmation email, please

respond by indicating if you will be attending in clinic or prefer a telehealth appointment.

2.Telehealth: This practice now uses Coviu, as recommended by the Australian Psychological Society. Anne-Louise Easey at North

Lakes Psychology will be responsible for the cost of the call to you and the cost associated with the platform used to conduct telehealth services. You are responsible for the costs associated with setting up the technology needed so you can access telehealth services, which means providing your own device and internet connection. If you are unable to use Coviu we can also use Facetime if you have an Apple device. If there are any difficulties with connecting we can use my mobile for problem solving or to continue the appointment by telephone.

3.Telephone: If you have requested a telephone appointment, Anne-Louise will phone you at our scheduled time.

Things to consider for telehealth appointments:

1. Privacy

To access telehealth consultations you will need access to a quiet, private space; and the appropriate device, i.e. smartphone, laptop, iPad, computer, with a camera, microphone and speakers; and a reliable broadband internet connection. Coviu prefers to use the

latest version of the Google Chrome, but you could also use Mozilla Firefox or Apple Safari web browser.

The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. To support the security of your personal information this practice uses Coviu which is compliant with the Australian standards for

online security and encryption. I will be providing telehealth services either from the Clinic room at North Lakes or from my home office, which is private.

2. Safety

At the beginning of our appointment I will confirm where you are and details of your next of kin, so that if I need to access extra support for you I can advise your current location.

3. Quality

While face to face is the preferred method for therapy, telehealth has been found to be effective also. A telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection which may affect the quality of the psychology session. In addition, there may be some services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your psychologist will consider and discuss with you the appropriateness of ongoing telehealth sessions. Please consider the device you use and access to internet to support good connection. We will have telephone as backup. Please ensure you have good lighting and a comfortable position for our session.

As usual we will review each session and discuss ways we may improve this experience for you.

Fees

Fees are Payable at the time of consultation

The fee for a 50-60 minute Clinical Psychology Consultation at North Lakes is $235. Fees for after hours or Saturday appointments are $245.

Clinical Psychology Consultation at Evercare Clayfield is $250.

(Please note that these fees are different due to different practice costs and are significantly lower than the Australian Psychological Society recommended fee which is currently $311).

Medicare rebate

If you have a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP, from 1st July 2024 you will receive a $141.85 rebate per session. Payment of the full fee is made to us at the time of the consultation. When payment is made to us, we may claim your Medicare rebate using HICAPS and process the rebate back onto your EFTPOS card. At times we are unable to connect with Medicare, or if you are doing telehealth and not in the office, you will need to use your receipt to claim your rebate through Medicare.

Private Health rebate

If you are eligible to claim a rebate from your private health insurance claims may be processed at the appointment and rebates vary depending on your policy or you may pay the fee and submit your claim to your insurer.

You cannot claim on private health if you use a Mental Health Care Plan.

Workcover

You are responsible for ensuring that Workcover has approved your claim for Clinical Psychology Services and provide documentation to us before your initial session. If documentation is provided we will invoice Workcover $260 for your session. If documentation is not provided, you will be required to pay for your session at the time of the appointment.

NDIS

Payment is required at the time of the appointment unless prior arrangements discussed with us.

The fee for a 50-60 minute Clinical Psychology Consultation is $235. ($250 at Evercare Clayfield). Fees for after hours or Saturday appointments are $245.

(Please note that this is lower than the Australian Psychological Society recommended fee which is currently $311).