Counselling and Therapy

Counselling and Therapy at Greater Bunbury Psychology Services is a personalised, evidence-based and outcome-focussed treatment service used to help individuals address a range of issues in their lives, including but not limited to:

Counselling and Therapy at Greater Bunbury Psychology Services provides you with an opportunity for you to talk to a qualified psychologist to help you understand yourself and your situation. This might involve reflecting on your life experiences and how you might respond to new ones. The therapist will also help you to identify what changes in lifestyle could reduce any distress you feel, and support you as you consider how to do this.

Beginning with a thorough assessment of your situation, we formulate a clear understanding of you and your unique challenges in order to establish specific goals for treatment.

Counselling sessions take place in a private setting so that you can feel free to share your concerns in confidence. The psychologist will suggest a plan, including the number of times you might need to meet to achieve your objectives. Each session is usually 50 minutes in duration, normally at the same time each week or fortnight. Depending on how things work out, you may wish to take short breaks in the process to work on issues that have emerged for you, returning later when you are ready to do more work.

You will usually know after one or two therapy sessions if Counselling and Therapy is going to work for you.

Counselling and Therapy can offer a number of benefits as it is helpful to have somebody who really does understand you. Therapy and counselling may give you a fresh perspective on a difficult problem and direct you towards a solution. Most clients will say that the benefits of therapy and counselling include:

• Being able to understand yourself, your personal goals and values better.
• Developing skills for improving relationships.
• It helps overcome certain health problems, such as an eating disorder, depression, or anxiety.
• Obtaining a solution to the problems or concerns that made the client seek therapy.

Psychological treatments vary in the length of time they take to work. The benefits of psychological treatments often happen at a different rate for different individuals.

There are many types of psychological treatment at Greater Bunbury Psychology Services that are proven to be effective. These may be provided individually, as part of a group, as a couple or even as a whole family – depending on the nature of the problem:

• Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
  CBT helps people discover how their feelings, thoughts and behaviour can get stuck in unhelpful patterns. They are encouraged to try new, more positive ways of thinking and acting. Therapy usually includes tasks to try between sessions. CBT is a well-established treatment for depression and most anxiety disorders. It can also be an effective part of treatment for other conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
• Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)
  IPT looks at the way someone has related to significant people in their life, and how this may have affected other relationships and how they feel, think and act generally. It then looks at finding more positive ways of interacting with others. IPT can been especially effective in treating depression and anxiety disorders.
• Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
  DBT is a form of treatment specifically for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD). DBT is based on an understanding that a key problem for people with BPD is extreme difficulty in handling emotions, and the distress associated with this. DBT helps people learn to handle their emotions better and re-learn the way they typically respond to situations and other people. DBT generally combines individual and group therapy.

Other treatment strategies used at Greater Bunbury Psychology Services include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy (ST), Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) and Mindfulness Based Therapy (MBT).

The standard ‘Initial’ consultation fee is $260 for a 50-minute consultation or $130 for a 30-minute consultation. This fee applies to individuals, couples or family consultations (up to 4 family members).
The standard ‘Subsequent’ consultation fee is $240 for a 50-minute consultation or $120 for a 30-minute consultation.
All fees are payable in full by credit card, cash or direct deposit on or before the date of service.
Psychological counselling sessions are exempt from GST, however, services or reports billed to an agency are subject to GST.
Discounted rates may be available to full-time students, unemployed, pensioners and Health Care Card holders, subject to prior approval. Our psychologists are registered providers with Medicare and various health funds to allow patients to access rebates when available.

If you are referred to a psychologist by your GP or psychiatrist with a Mental Health Care Plan, you can claim a Medicare rebate.

Medicare Rebates for Psychologist Services

Medicare rebates are available for psychological treatment by registered psychologists under the Australian Government’s Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative. This scheme provides considerable financial assistance to people living with mental health problems, allowing them greater access to psychologists and providing more affordable mental healthcare.

Am I eligible?

Medicare benefits are available for a range of specified psychology services for people with certain mental health disorders, including:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress
• Bipolar disorder
• Adjustment disorder
• Eating disorders
• Panic disorder
• Alcohol use disorders
• Co-occurring anxiety and depression
• Drug use disorders
• Sleep problems
• Attention deficit disorder
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Psychotic disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Sexual disorders
• Conduct disorders
• Bereavement disorders

Medicare benefits are also available to persons with the following conditions:

• Children with autism or any other pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) – aged under 13 years for diagnosis and under 15 years for treatment
• Children up to 15 years of age with any of the following disabilities: sight impairment, hearing impairment, Cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome
• Women who are concerned about either a current pregnancy, or one that occurred in the previous 12 months
• People who have a chronic medical condition and complex care needs
• Follow-up allied health services for people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent

To be eligible to receive psychological services under Medicare, a person must be referred by his/her GP or in some instances by a psychiatrist or a paediatrician.

How do I access the Medicare Rebates?

Medicare rebated sessions can be accessed in three easy steps:

1. Visit your GP and discuss your mental health concerns.
2. If your GP believes you are eligible and would benefit from seeing a psychologist they will complete a GP Mental Health Care Plan with you and can make a referral to the psychologists you would like to see.
3. Progress will be reviewed with your GP after your first six consultations with your psychologist. After this you can claim your additional four sessions.

Get a Medicare rebate on the spot

If you are an individual referred to Greater Bunbury Psychology Services by your GP, you may be eligible to receive a rebate for 10 counselling sessions per calendar year (1 January to 31 December) through the Better Access to Mental Health Care Initiative.

In most cases, eligible Medicare Rebates can be processed on the spot by Greater Bunbury Psychology Services Psychology with the funds transferred directly into your bank account*.

*Subject to Medicare card and bank account details being provided prior to initial session.

For more information about Medicare rebates for psychological services, please view the Australian Psychological Society Medicare Fact Sheet.

Bulk-billing is not available at this practice.

You may be eligible to receive a contribution towards psychological services from your private health fund. Please check the details of your cover with your provider if you intend to make a claim.

If you have a current worker’s compensation, you may be eligible to receive psychological treatment sessions to assist with your injury recovery and return to work. If approved, the associated fees would be covered by your insurer.

• 50-55 minute psychological consultation: $260 Initial Session (GST free)
• 50-55 minute psychological consultation: $240 Subsequent Session (GST free)
• 30 minute psychological consultation: $130 Initial Session (GST free)
• 30 minute psychological consultation: $120 Subsequent Session (GST free)

If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, we ask that you do so more than 24 hours before an appointment. A 100% cancellation fee will apply if this criteria is not met.