Scheduling an appointment with your doctor may be a good starting point. They can talk you through Mental Health Care Plans, and if they think it’s appropriate, write a plan and a referral to a psychologist. GPs may also ask you to schedule a longer appointment or get you to eesill in a questionnaire about how you’re going. For a lot of people, popping to the doctor is the easiest way to start the process of seeing a psychologist.
Appointments
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What to do?
The First Session
The first session often begins with an introduction about the process including information regarding confidentiality, privacy and informed consent, as well as fees, rebates, our cancellation policy and failure to attend fees. Then the majority of the session is spent on assessing you situation and getting to know a bit about you, your current and past circumstances, and any difficulties you are having. . This may involve obtaining information about why you are seeking help, what goals you would like to address and may involve some brief questionnaires.
The next step is to work with you to establish some goals for your ongoing care and formulate a collaborative treatment plan. These goals will be reviewed as therapy progresses and will be modified as required to ensure maximal benefit from the process. Should you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to raise them with your psychologist, as this feedback is important to tailoring treatment approaches to your needs for a positive outcome.
Please bring your Medicare card, doctor referral letter and Mental Health Care Plan, private health insurance details, TAC or WorkCover claim number to your first appointment.
Appointment Information
Standard appointments are 50 minutes, however 30 minute consultations are available on request should the need arise.
Often clients prefer to come weekly initially and then space it out to fortnightly/monthly as their treatment progresses. Clients utilising the Medicare “Better Access” system may wish to be mindful that they are only entitled to 10 medicare rebateable sessions per calendar year (Jan 1st-Dec 31st), thus may wish to space them out throughout the year to ensure continuity of care.
Session frequency often depends on the preferences and availability of the client, the nature of the presenting concerns and the level of support required. Your psychologist may discuss their recommendations with you, however the frequency of your sessions is your decision.
Types of Therapy
Our team use a strengths-based, solution-focused, collaborative approach in all our work, regardless of therapeutic framework. The Mind Collective endeavour to be integrative in our practise, drawing on skills and experience in a number of therapeutic modalities including:
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Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence-based psychological treatment formulated on the premise that the way we think (cognition) and act (behaviour) affects the way we feel. CBT involves working with a psychologist to identify your thoughts, feelings and behaviour patterns, and then learning how to change them.
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based therapy that utilises four modules, namely Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, Mindfulness and Interpersonal Effectiveness, to help people change patterns of behaviour that are unhelpful and to acquire more positive coping skills.
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Family Therapy
Family Therapy is an evidence-based intervention that acknowledges the importance of relationships in good mental health. Family therapy looks at family systems, communication, conflict management, roles and responsibilities in relationships and how family systems can work to support positive mental health of all members.
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based therapy that involves learning skills to accept things you cannot control and deal with uncomfortable thoughts, feelings and sensations more effectively. It involves exploring your values and developing your skills to improve motivation, while encouraging you to commit to actions that change your life in positive ways.
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Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
The name says it all. Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a short-term, goal oriented therapeutic modality that focuses on dealing with the present to achieve future goals, rather than focusing on the past.
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Play Therapy
Play Therapy is an evidence-based intervention most commonly used with children that allows them to express and reflect on their thoughts and feelings. Play is an important developmental learning opportunity for teaching children new skills, improving communication, emotion regulation and helping manage behaviour.
Homework Tasks
During the course of your care, you may be encouraged to complete activities outside your appointment time. This may take the form of thinking about specific things, writing things down, keeping track of your mood or sleep, or practising implementing new skills. This therapeutic homework has been demonstrated to be a crucial element of psychological care, regardless of the treatment framework utilised, however, again it is up to you.
Your psychologist will work with you to develop realistic, useful and achievable tasks in line with your goals to help learn, implement and consolidate new skills. Sometimes the idea of homework is a bit daunting to clients, but rest assured, you won’t be marked or get in trouble for not completing it! Sometimes it may be too hard, or we run out of time, or it’s not a priority, and that’s fine. Just let your psychologist know so they can more adequately tailor tasks to your needs and goals.
Make an appointment
Scheduling an appointment with your doctor may be a good starting point.
They can talk you through Mental Health Care Plans, and if they think it’s appropriate,
write a plan and a referral to a psychologist.