Frequently Asked Questions
What is Counselling?
Counselling is a process that focuses on enhancing well-being. The focus of counselling is to explore and strengthen your own resources in dealing with lifes hurdles. At some point in our lives, many people will experience emotional difficulties that might be overwhelming to deal with. Sharing your thoughts and feelings with a Psychologist who is non-judgemental and impartial can be helpful in helping you gain a better understanding of yourself and your behaviours.
Counselling may address: personal growth, development, self-understanding, particular concerns, decision making, relationships, physical and mental health and support. A psychologist can facilitate in finding creative solutions to your problems, empowering you to adopt more constructive life practices.
Do I need Counselling?
If you or your loved ones are troubled by something that has been persisting for a while and is interfering with your daily activities, you deserve care and attention. No problem is too “small”. Counselling can be an empowering journey that gives you powerful insights to your inner self and can help your understand the root cause of your unresolved feelings and heartache. If you are motivated to make a positive change in your life, counselling can be an effective tool to achieve your goals. We acknowledge the while it might be difficult to see a Psychologist, we make no judgement on anyone, rather we are compassionate and want to genuinely help you through struggles.
How a Psychologist can help you
We live in a complex, busy, dynamic world. In this world, there are many different types of experiences that are difficult for people to cope with; challenging relationships, adjustment to parenting, peer pressure, death in the family, anxiety management and workplace stress. Most of the time we get on with life; but sometimes we are stopped in our tracks by an event or situation that we do not have the resources to deal with.
A trained psychologist can help you work through painful emotional, behavioural or relationship problems using evidence based therapies.
Counselling occurs in a non-judgmental, confidential and safe environment, whereby you are empowered with skills to develop insights and bring positive change in your life.
Counselling is a two-way conversation during which the psychologist will work with you to identify the underlying causes of the problem and then collaborate with you to determine practical strategies to help you overcome them.
Patient Confidentiality
Psychologists are bound by the professional regulations and ethical codes of conduct set by the Psychology Board of Australia and the Australian Psychological Society.
Trust is crucial in the development of any relationship and hence we believe that personal stories and information provided by our clients need to be treated very carefully. We take steps to ensure we protect your privacy, including keeping all electronic records and notes – password protected. Where correspondence to another clinician is required, this will be discussed with you.
Circumstances where concerns exist regarding your personal safety or others, will need to be communicated as a way of minimising risk of yourself or others. Further, at times we may receive a subpoena, whereby we need to provide information to the courts – this will be discussed with you. Concerns about your confidentiality can be discussed with your Psychologist anytime during treatment.
What is your Cancellation Policy?
We understand that sometimes unavoidable circumstances may arise and would appreciate it if you could contact and inform us at the earliest convenience.
Cancellations must be made at least 48 hours (2 business days) prior to your appointment. If you cancel within 48 hours of your appointment, you will be charged $100. If you cancel the day of your appointment, you will be charged the full fee. This is out of fairness to your practitioner and others who might otherwise have been able to utilise this time. Once treatment has commenced, we strongly encourage you to continue sessions as planned. This will assist in the progress and reduction of symptoms and overall assist in reducing treatment time.
