The information on this page is general and is designed to answer some of the questions people have when considering beginning work with a psychologist or in determining which psychologist or psychology practice is the right fit for their current needs. This information is not a substitute for personalised advice. Your psychologist will answer questions in greater detail and will discuss areas such as informed consent, confidentiality, and the limits to confidentiality (for example, where there is a serious risk to safety or where disclosure is required by law) as part of commencing services.
If you are in immediate danger or someone’s safety is at risk, call 000. If you need urgent support, you can contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636).
Please note that the psychologists at Pandora Psychology are not able to provide on call or emergency care.
People seek therapy for many different reasons. You might come for support with a specific current concern, to work through the impacts of past experiences, or to build skills for coping and wellbeing. People also seek therapy to access a compassionate, non-judgemental and understanding space in which to safely share their distress, to seek clarity or to access support through a challenging time or period of adjustment.
Therapy may be helpful for issues such as stress, burnout, adjustment, low mood, anxiety, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, trauma, addictions, disordered eating behaviours and many other concerns. Some people attend for a short period; others benefit from longer-term work, depending on their goals and circumstances.
If you are experiencing severe symptoms (for example, hallucinations, delusional beliefs, episodes of mania, or persistent thoughts of harming yourself or someone else), it’s important to seek urgent support. This may involve contacting your GP, your local acute mental health service, or emergency services. A psychiatrist may be the most appropriate clinician for assessment and medication management, and psychological therapy can often be part of care alongside medical treatment.
To book an appointment with one of our psychologists, you can use any of the options below.
Phone
Call Pandora Psychology on 07 3709 7557 to book with our administration team. Our team will offer the next available appointment options and book in an initial session.
Contact form
Complete the contact form on our website and our team will get in touch to arrange a suitable appointment time.
Via your GP
If you prefer, your GP can send us your referral (and, if applicable, your Mental Health Treatment Plan). Once we receive the referral, our team will contact you as soon as practical to arrange your first appointment.
Online Portal
Existing clients can book new appointments and manage existing appointments via our Online Client Portal. Please note that in order to access this portal your details need to already be in our system.
What happens next?
Once the initial appointment has been booked our administration team will email you through an Intake and Consent Form to complete prior to your first appointment which will cover important information such as privacy and confidentiality. You will also be sent a brief questionnaire to assess your current mood symptoms, and some psychologists will ask you to complete a set of initial questions to facilitate clarity and understanding in your first session.
You will receive an SMS or email reminder (depending on your preferences) to confirm your appointment two days before your next session.
Please note that not replying to this message does not constitute a valid cancellation of your session. You can either reply “no” or call our administration team to cancel or reschedule your appointment if needed.
We strongly recommend booking in several sessions (normally weekly or fortnightly, dependent on availability and finances) to ensure continuity of care as our psychologists can quickly become booked months in advance.
No. You can book an appointment without a Mental Health Treatment Plan (otherwise known as Mental Health Care Plan).
However, if you would like to claim a Medicare rebate, you will need a valid referral and a Mental Health Treatment Plan typically provided by your GP, although these can also be provided by a psychiatrist or paediatrician.
Please note that a Mental Health Treatment Plan allows you a rebate for a portion of the session fee unless you are attending a practice that bulk-bills services. Pandora Psychology is not a bulk billing practice, and our fees and Medicare rebate amounts are listed in our schedule of fees.
If you have private health insurance with extras cover, you may be able to claim a rebate without a Mental Health Treatment Plan . Medicare and private health rebates cannot both be claimed for the same session. Please contact your private heath fund to determine the rebate amount you are likely to receive.
Our psychologists also work with people who have their sessions subsidised or fully funded via third party providers such as WorkCover, DVA and NDIS.
To access Medicare rebates under the Better Access initiative, book an appointment with your GP for a mental health assessment and discuss the support you’re seeking. If you are eligible, your GP can prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan and provide a referral to a psychologist.
You can ask your GP to refer you to a particular psychologist, or you can accept a recommendation. A referral is required for Medicare rebates (a treatment plan alone is not sufficient). In some situations, a psychiatrist or paediatrician can also provide a referral that allows you to access Medicare rebates.
Please provide your referral before or at your first appointment (for example, by bringing a copy, emailing it to us, having your GP send it through or by uploading it via our intake process). This helps ensure any eligible Medicare rebate can be processed in a timely manner.
Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP)
Under the Better Access initiative, eligible clients can claim Medicare rebates for up to 10 individual psychological therapy sessions per calendar year. (Separate Medicare rebates may also be available for up to 10 group therapy sessions per calendar year.) This can be used for face to face, video and telephone sessions.
A referral for individual sessions is usually provided in two parts: an initial referral for up to 6 sessions, followed (if needed) by a further referral for up to 4 sessions. After the first course of sessions, your psychologist will provide a brief written report to the referring practitioner, and you will need an appointment with your GP (or referring doctor) for a review and, if appropriate, a new referral.
Eating Disorder Treatment Plan (EDTP)
If you are experiencing challenges related to unhealthy eating behaviours and body image concerns a GP may determine you meet criteria for an Eating Disorder Treatment Plan. This allows you to receive a rebate for up to 40 sessions per calendar year.
Reviews of this plan occur following 10 sessions with your psychologist who will send a brief written report summarising your progress to your GP who will discuss your progress with you at your next appointment and may refer you for another set of 10 sessions if needed. An EDTP will require input from a psychiatrist or paediatrician at, or before, the 20th session. These plans are renewed every 12 months, and involve other health professionals, typically a dietitian, psychiatrist, or paediatrician. This cap of 40 sessions is inclusive of any sessions used under a MHTP in the same calendar year.
Chronic Disease Management Plan
(GP Management Plan, Team Care Arrangement, or an Enhanced Primary Care Plan)
If you are struggling with the physical and psychological impact of navigating a chronic disease or health condition, and are seeing a number of allied health practitioners related to your physical and mental health, your GP can also provide a referral to a psychologist under the above plans. These plans allow you to receive a Medicare rebate for up to 5sessions per calendar year. This rebate amount is typically less than the rebate received under a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
Please note that you can book an appointment before you have a plan and referral; however, to claim a Medicare rebate for a session, you must have a valid referral in place for that date of service.
You can continue with therapy as a private (self-funded) client, or you may be able to claim a private health insurance rebate if you have extras cover.
If cost is a barrier, please raise this with your psychologist or our administration team, as there may be alternative options or services that fit your situation.
Private health rebates vary widely depending on your insurer and level of extras cover. Please contact your private health fund before your first session to confirm whether psychology is covered, any waiting periods or limits, and the rebate amount per session.
Pandora Psychology is not a bulk billing clinic and does not offer bulk-billed sessions.
Our schedule of fees clearly outlines the upfront payment cost for your sessions, as well as the rebate amount you will receive from Medicare with a mental health treatment plan. All accounts are to be settled in full at the time of your appointment.
If you have any questions about our fees, please contact our administration team. If you are an existing client and experiencing a change in circumstances or a period of financial hardship, please speak with your psychologist to explore what options may be available to ensure you can continue to access psychological support.
Yes. Our psychologists regularly work with clients whose therapy is funded by the above third-party providers.
DVA
Sessions with a Psychologist or Clinical Psychologist are fully funded through DVA. To access sessions under DVA you will need a valid referral from your GP starting sessions are being accessed through DVA before we are able to bill DVA for your sessions. You will also need to hold a valid white card or gold card with the appropriate conditions to access psychology sessions. DVA referrals from your GP will entitle you to a total of 12 sessions per referral or 12 month period depending on which comes first. At this time, your psychologist will write a brief written report of your progress to your GP who will discuss your sessions with you and then provide a referral for a further 12 sessions if necessary.
WorkCover
Sessions with a Psychologist or Clinical Psychologist are fully funded through WorkCover. To access fully funded sessions through WorkCover please let our reception team know that you will be attending sessions under WorkCover at the time of booking. You will be sent a Workcover Details Form to complete before your first session to ensure that your sessions can be directly billed to WorkCover.
WorkCover will provide details of the number of sessions that you are initially eligible for and, at the conclusion of these sessions, your psychologist will complete a WorkCover Provider Management Plan (Form 32) which will outline your progress, prognosis and a recommendation for further sessions.
NDIS
Pandora Psychology works with clients that have access to funds allocated for Psychology under a NDIS plan. However, Pandora Psychology does not bill directly to NDIS Plan Managers and sessions are not fully funded via NDIS.
Should you wish you use NDIS funds for psychology you will need to pay the full session fee up front and have NDIS rebate the eligible amount directly to you. Please ensure our reception team know that you are requesting a NDIS rebate for your session so that we can ensure the correct item number appears on your receipt to allow you to easily access your rebate.
No. Feeling comfortable and able to work collaboratively with your psychologist is an important part of therapy. If you don’t feel the psychologist’s approach is the right fit for you, please let us know. We can then discuss alternative options, including trying a different psychologist within our practice or helping you find an alternative service that may better match your needs.
In Australia, the title psychologist is protected. To use it, a person must be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia (via AHPRA) and meet the Board’s minimum training requirements (a six‑year sequence of accredited study and supervised training).
A clinical psychologist is a psychologist with an area of practice endorsement in clinical psychology. This involves completing an accredited postgraduate qualification in clinical psychology (Masters, Doctorate or PhD) followed by a Board‑approved registrar program (a period of supervised practice and professional development) to meet advanced competencies. Medicare rebates are typically higher for services provided by endorsed clinical psychologists.
In Australia, psychologists and psychiatrists both work in mental health, but their training and roles are different.
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Many people engage with a psychologist for therapy including assistance processing difficult experiences, managing intense emotions and cognitions and for practical skill‑building. Some people benefit from seeing a psychiatrist as well as accessing psychological support, particularly when medication, diagnostic clarification, or more intensive support is needed. If you’re unsure what would be most helpful, a GP can talk through options and help with referrals.
The first session is an opportunity to develop a shared understanding of what brings you to therapy and what you would like to address. Your psychologist will ask questions to understand your situation and history, discuss confidentiality and its limits, and check what supports are currently in place. Together, you will aim to determine initial goals and a plan for next steps. Your first session is also a chance for you to ascertain whether your psychologist feels like the right fit for you and to ask any questions you may have about therapy.
If you are unwell (for example, with a contagious illness), please do not attend the practice in person.
Our administration team can help you reschedule, or (where clinically appropriate) convert your appointment to a telehealth session.
We understand that plans can change. However, late cancellations and missed appointments can affect your therapy progress, and may prevent another client from accessing a much-needed appointment.
We ask for at least one clear business day notice to reschedule or cancel. If less notice is provided, a cancellation fee of 50% of the session fee applies.
If you cancel on the day of your appointment, or do not attend without notice, the full session fee will be charged. Medicare and private health rebates cannot be applied to cancellation fees.
If you are unable to attend due to sudden illness or an urgent personal emergency, please contact us as soon as possible (if after hours, please leave a message) so we can discuss options. If you do not feel comfortable discussing the reason for your cancellation with our reception team, please let reception know that you would prefer to discuss the reason with your psychologist or alternatively send your psychologist an email to explain.
Telehealth sessions can be provided by secure video call or by telephone, and can be a convenient way to access therapy when attending in person is difficult or not suitable.
If you have opted for a telehealth appointment, you will receive a unique link with instructions before your appointment. The link opens in a web browser and can be used on a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. A stable internet connection is strongly recommended for video sessions.
For telehealth, please choose a quiet, private space where you can speak freely. For safety reasons, please do not attend a telehealth session while driving or operating machinery. If there are concerns about safety, privacy, or whether your location is suitable, your psychologist may pause or reschedule the session.
Telehealth can make therapy more accessible in a range of situations, including:
If you would like to request telehealth, please let our administration team know when booking.
Pandora Psychology is a private practice that emphasises providing therapy and psychological intervention, with the focus on assisting our clients to understand the challenges they are facing and to work on developing skills and strategies to address contributing factors and allow for more effective management of their challenges moving forward. This may include assessment and clinical observation.
In the course of providing therapy to clients our psychologists may at times need to, or be asked to, write reports to GPs, allied health practitioners, third party providers, educational institutes, employers, insurance companies and lawyers. Please note that there will usually be a fee associated with completing these reports, dependent on the time required to complete the report. Our psychologists are happy to complete any letters, reports or medical certificates that support the mental health needs and well-being of our existing clients throughout the course of providing therapy.
Our psychologists are not trained to provide Medico-legal reports for court procedures, and these should be requested from a trained forensic psychologist.
Our psychologists will not take on a new client who is accessing sessions for the purpose of assessment for a psychological report or letter unless the client is committed to a course of therapy with a minimum of 6 sessions before the report is required to be written.
Our psychologists can write a medical certificate that briefly outlines the date of assessment, the issues you are facing and the impact of these issues in the course of providing ongoing therapy to you. Please ask your psychologist to provide you with a medical certificate if needed.