FAQs

What fees are involved?

Each counselling session is approximately 50 minutes in duration and my fee per session is $170. This fee applies to all individual, couple and family sessions. Please note that accounts must be paid on the day of your session.

Appointment Cancellations & Outstanding Accounts

I require 2 working days notice if you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment. I consider "working days" to be my usual office hours (ie: Monday to Thursday). If you do not provide 2 working days notice, you will be charged a cancellation fee (100% of the usual session fee).

Payment of accounts

Payments are taken by the online booking system via Paypal. You can also be invoiced to complete a bank transfer by discussing with Dr Valerie. Your Medicare rebate will be processed online after you have attended the appointment, the rebate is currently $87.45. Please note that once you have made an appointment, 2 working days notice is required to cancel it. Otherwise, the full fee will be charged as we are unable to book someone else into that appointment.

Private Health Insurance Rebates

Many private health insurance funds provide a rebate for services provided by psychologists. I encourage you to contact your health insurance fund prior to your appointment to find out whether your policy covers services provided by me. I am registered as a provider with most private health funds. I do not offer HICAPS electronic claiming at my practice. Note that fees differ for insurance companies as they are set by the governing body.

Can I claim a rebate from Medicare?

As part of the federal government's Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative eligible clients can receive a rebate of $84.80 from Medicare for psychological services.

In order to obtain a rebate from Medicare, your GP must complete a Mental Health Care Plan with you and refer you to a Psychologist. Referral letters from psychiatrists are also welcomed. You will need to bring a referral letter from your doctor to your appointment with the Psychologist. Once a Mental Health Care Plan and referral letter have been completed by your doctor, you will be able to obtain a Medicare rebate for up to 10 sessions per calendar year. You must visit your referring doctor after attending 6 counselling sessions, to ascertain whether further sessions are appropriate and if so, you may be referred for a further 4 sessions.

You will not be able to claim any rebate from Medicare unless your doctor has completed a Mental Health Care Plan prior to your counselling appointment. Please note that Medicare rebates are not available for couple/family counselling sessions, even if one or both clients have a Mental Health Care Plan.

My practice offers the Medicare Easyclaim service, which allows clients to claim their Medicare rebate via my EFTPOS terminal. If you wish to utilise the Easyclaim service, please bring your current Medicare and EFTPOS cards to each session.

Do you do psychological reports for Courts?

Yes, I have completed a number of assessments for Courts and other agencies. Each assessment of this nature is unique, and therefore you should discuss this directly with Dr Valerie to determine what will be involved and how long it will take. The cost of the report is determined by how long it takes.

Typically, assessments involve interviews, paper-and-pencil assessments and sometimes learning abilities assessments, and take 4 to 20 hours.

How do I book an appointment?

Please contact the office via phone or email. Frequently you will need to leave a message with voicemail, and Dr Valerie will call you back as soon as she is able. Appointments are generally available Monday to Thursday 10am to 5:30pm (finishing 6:30pm).

I am in crisis, where can I go?

• Alcohol and Drug Information Service (ADIS)
  (formerly Next Step Alcohol and Drug Information Services)
  Perth WA 6000 Tel: 9442 5000 (all hours)
  
  
• Child Protection Unit
  (formerly Child Sexual Abuse Unit)
  Perth WA 6000 Tel: 9340 8222
  
  
• Family Help Line
  Tel: (08) 9223 1111
  
  
• Kids Help Line
  Tel: 1800 55 1800 (Counselling Line)
  
  
• Mental Health Emergency Response Line
  (formerly Psychiatric Emergency Team)
  Perth WA 6000 Tel: +61 8 9224 8888
  
  
• Ngala Family Resource Centre
  9 George Street, Kensington WA 6151 Tel: +61 8 9368 9368
  
  
• Parenting WA Line
  Tel: (08) 6279 1200
  
  
• Poisons Information Centre
  Perth WA 6000 Tel: 13 11 26 (all areas, all hours)
  
  
• Royal Flying Doctor Service (WA)
  Jandakot Airport, 3 Eagle Drive, Jandakot WA 6164 Tel: 1800 625 800 (medical & emergency calls only)
  
  
• RuralLink
  Tel: 1800 552 002
  
  
• Salvo Care Line
  333 William Street, Northbridge WA 6003 Tel: (08) 9442 5777
  
  
• Samaritans Crisis Line
  (formerly Suicide Emergency Line - Country)
  Samaritan House, 60 Bagot Road, Subiaco WA 6008 Tel: (08) 9381 5555
  
  
• Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC)
  Perth WA 6000 Tel: 9340 1828 (crisis line 24 hours)
  
  
• Veterans Emergency Line
  Tel: 1800 011 046 (24 hours)

---