Helpful Answers to Common Questions
We provide a comprehensive range of psychiatric, pain medicine and psychological services, including psychotherapy, and medication management, and expert psychological assessments. In addition to multidisciplinary care, we provide support for large organisations and have a team of clinicians dedicated to providing both employee-assisted psychological support and medico-legal reports (including but not limited to Criminal Injuries Compensation).
Psychologists
In Australia, clinical psychologists are university-trained mental health professionals who have advanced postgraduate training in clinical psychology. They provide assessment, diagnosis, and evidence-based psychological therapies. Psychologists, sometimes called Generalists or Registered Psychologists, have completed six years of university and practical experience, including an internship.
Clinical psychologists and Neuropsychologists can diagnose mental health conditions and often work in public hospitals alongside psychiatrists and other specialists. In private practice, clinical psychologists receive a larger Medicare rebate than other psychologists due to their advanced training in diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions.
There are nine types of psychologists recognised with advanced specialist training in areas of endorsement. These include Educational & Developmental Psychologist, Forensic Psychologist, Organisational Psychologist, and Neuropsychologist. These titles are protected by national law. Some commonly used titles such as School Psychologist or Child Psychologist are not recognised by AHPRA as endorsed areas of practice.
Psychiatrists
Psychologists do not prescribe medication. Medical management is the role of a psychiatrist, who is a medical doctor with further specialist training in psychiatry. Psychiatrists can diagnose mental illnesses, prescribe and manage psychiatric medication, and provide medical treatment (such as rTMS and ECT). Both professions often work together to support individuals’ mental health through complementary approaches.
To learn more about these differences, watch our video.
For psychologists, you don't require a referral and can choose to use private health insurance as an alternative to Medicare. However, a GP referral under a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) provides a typically higher rebate than most private health funds. To access Medicare rebates, you will need to have a referral letter from your GP in addition to a MHCP. If you've had a MHCP in the past for the same reason (e.g., Depression) then you only require a referral letter unless your presenting with a different condition. Currently, session numbers are capped at 10 per calendar year for psychology services.
Psychiatrists must have a GP referral letter. Due to overwhelming demand and workforce shortages, our psychiatrists need to review your referral before accepting it. You can lodge a referral electronically for review through our referral portal systems found on this link.
Similarly, Pain Specialists also require a GP referral letter and the referral must be reviewed prior to acceptance.
Our clinics are open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with some availability for late evening appointments at our Midland Clinic.
Yes, we offer secure and confidential Telehealth appointments for your convenience, allowing you to receive care from the comfort of your home. Our Telehealth service platform has been developed by the CSIRO to meet the demands of Australia's diverse locations and bandwidth variability.
Security and confidentiality is of the highest grade, and you do not need to download or install any application onto your device as it operates fully through a web browser. The only requirements are a device with video camera capability (mobile, tablet, laptop or desktop) and a relatively stable internet connection.
We do not bulk bill under Medicare due to our provision of pro-bono postgraduate supervision, training and our choice of using high-end Telehealth solutions which incur a significant fee. We do, however, provide services through our Low Cost Postgraduate Clinic (LCPC) which operates periodically throughout the year. Find out more about LCPC here.
