Frequently asked questions

No, you do not need a referral to attend psychology sessions. However, if you are eligible, your GP, Paediatrician, or Psychiatrist may provide you with a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP), which will entitle to you to receiving a rebate from Medicare. Bring a copy of this plan along to your first appointment, and we will be able to process your Medicare rebate after each session.

See our full schedule of fees here.

Some private health funds do cover psychology sessions, however, you need to find this information out directly from your private health fund provider. If your appointment is covered by private health, your invoice will still need to be paid in full following your appointment and claimed back through your insurer.

You cannot claim both the Medicare rebate and private health insurance rebate.

A parent or carer and the child are required to attend the first appointment. The majority of the first session will be spent with parent/carers in order for the Psychologist to get a clear picture of the difficulties and your expectations of treatment. Following this, the Psychologist will spend some time with your child to help them feel comfortable and safe in this environment. Subsequent sessions will be spent mostly with the child or adolescent whilst still speaking with you about progress at each session.

This is a tricky question to answer and depends on both what you are looking for, how regularly you can attend, and for how long problems have been present. For families seeking assessment only, you may only need between 4 and 6 sessions. For concerns requiring treatment, that have been around for a long time, therapy may be an important, but longer process.

At Harrison Child & Family Psychology, we include information such as your availability, your other commitments, and your finances into our initial goal-setting with you, so that you and your Psychologist are on the same page about what treatment will look like.

All individual therapy sessions are 50 minutes in length.

Assessment sessions vary in length (50 - 100 minutes). This will be confirmed with you upon booking.

Once you have booked your first appointment with us, you will receive a welcome email confirming the date and time of your appointment, and some important information regarding the therapy process. You will also be emailed new client forms, which we kindly ask are completed before you attend your first appointment.

If you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP), you may email this to us or bring it along to your first appointment so that we are able to process your rebate.