Services & Booking
Personal Health
Executive & Career Coaching
Couple & Family Therapy
Personal counselling could be effective for any age for a wide range of life challenges. e.g Children's behavioural issues, College student's study problems, Adult's stress and anxiety management, Retiree's life adjustment......etc. To live life in its fullness is a personal choice!
Couple & Family Therapy
Executive & Career Coaching
Couple & Family Therapy
Happy relationship is usually an outcome of continuous effort. Anyone could benefit from receiving support and training about relational skills. Professional help could be a timely assistance when we feel lost and powerless at difficult phrase of life.
It could be a preventive or maintenance service, eg pre-marital counselling and prenatal parenting programs.
Executive & Career Coaching
Executive & Career Coaching
Executive & Career Coaching
Psychological Service could enhance job satisfaction and career plan. For corporate staff, the service could provide recruitment advice, team building elements, stress management, EAP support and personal development. For students, it could be study guidance.
Counselling results in saving the expensive cost of wrong career choice, low productivity, staff conflict, or even the lost of valuable staff!
Cost and insurance
Medicare, Private Health Funds and Gap payments
Many first-time counselling users are confused by the payment system of health services. Should I pay directly? Or pay through the insurance? Let us explore the differences between a medical-centred model and a consumer-centred model.
The medical-centred model is commonly known as the Medicare system in Australia. The service user usually goes to consult a GP/Family doctor. Then a referral letter is being issued for the user to consult a "designated" Psychologist/Psychiatrist, under the Mental Health Care Plan whereby a minimum 6 sessions of consultation being "covered" by the plan. The service provider would charge client an amount of gap fee (the total fee deducted by the Medicare subsides) For example, if the session fee is $190 and the Medicare pays for $50 per session, the client has to pay the difference of $140 out of pocket per session.
In comparison, the consumer-centred model is more flexible and enabling whereby the consumer can choose any service to meet their needs. Firstly, they can get in touch with the service provider (counsellor/psychotherapist/psychologist) and find out service content and fee charges. Then at the service, client pays directly to the service provider and make claim/s through their own private health funds, employee assistance scheme, NDIS, compensation program or other benefits. For example, if the fee is charged at $170 per session and the health fund claim( and or other scheme) is $40 per session then the out of pocket payment becomes $130 (net). By using the consumer-centred method, the consumer has greater autonomy of choosing the service provider/s, treatment choices, methods, scale, timing, quality control and a greater flexibility to suit the changing needs. The last but not least advantage, the "non-medicare" services may turn out to be more economical in the overall costing.
However, these two approaches are not mutually-exclusive. Some people would be better off to use either the medical-centred approach or the consumer-centred approach, while others would benefit from a combined approach (using both medicare mental health care plan as well as a private set up)
A little effort of talking to other consumers and professionals in the field may be helpful. Getting the appropriate advice may save you time, effort, money, and a better treatment outcome!!
Be a smart consumer and make some enquiries today!
Learn More
An interesting fact-sheet from the Commomwealth Ombundsman about this topic.