Policies
Fees
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) recommends an hourly rate for psychological services of $311 (2024-2025 financial year). We provide services below this recommended rate. The current fees for service are outlined on The Joyful Psych website, are subject to change without warning, and are not negotiable. If you are unable to afford the service fees, please speak with your psychologist who will make recommendations for other service providers. The full fee is currently charged by the practice. This practice then processes Medicare rebates for you, using encrypted practice software. As part of this, credit card details are stored on file so payments can be processed automatically at the time of consultation. This information, once stored initially, remains invisible to any employees or practitioners at The Joyful Psych. Only the last four digits of your credit card number will be visible so confirmation can be sought regarding the accessibility of funds. Alternative payment options are available, including direct deposit.
If you are using a Private Health Fund, it is important you take responsibility for determining whether you are covered for psychological services, what level of cover you have, and what out-of-pocket expenses you can expect to pay. It will be your responsibility to pay the fee for service in full to the practice, and then seek reimbursement through your private health fund.
Cancellation Policy
When booking an appointment, this spot is reserved for you and therefore cancelling this appointment can often mean it is unable to be offered to a different client when insufficient notice is given. As such, The Joyful Psych has a strict cancellation policy.
If, for some reason, you need to cancel your appointment, you are required to provide at least 24 hours’ notice. Failure to do so will result in you being charged for the FULL COST of session. Please note that Medicare and health fund rebates cannot be claimed for missed appointments, and it will remain your personal responsibility to pay the full fee.
Confidentiality and limits to
Psychologists maintain confidentiality as part of the Code of Ethics, and maintaining this is of the utmost important to The Joyful Psych. As such, you can expect all information provided to your psychologist will be kept in the strictest of confidence and is securely kept on management systems that are fully encrypted.
However, it is important to note exceptions/limitations to confidentiality exist, to keep you and others safe. This includes:
if you are at risk of harming yourself or someone else.
if you are at risk of harm from someone else.
if you disclose a crime that is serious and requires notification.
if a psychologist’s records are subpoenaed by a court of law.
if written approval has been provided to disclose information to another professional/agency.
if disclosure is otherwise required by law.
If confidentiality is to be breached, every attempt will be made to provide warning of this to you and to provide a rationale as to why confidentiality is unable to be maintained. Wherever possible and appropriate, details of what is likely to be disclosed will be discussed with you in a safe and supportive manner.
In Australia, all psychologists participate in supervision – a statutory requirement set out by the Psychology Board of Australia as part of the fulfilment of the conditions of maintaining registrations as a Psychologist. During supervision, de-identified information is shared including symptoms, presentation, historical information, and factors leading to ongoing distress, usually in a case presentation format. Supervisors are required to maintain the same level of confidentiality and ethical conduct, and are bound by the same limitations. Your details will always be removed from any information that is presented as part of supervision so that respect, ethics, confidentiality, and trust can be preserved.
Consultations (Therapy)
All sessions/consultations are 50 minutes in duration. The initial session will include a thorough assessment of your child's current difficulties, past experiences, and relevant information that helps inform your psychologist of the factors that may be contributing to your distress. At the first appointment, you will also speak with your psychologists about confidentiality (as detailed above) and limitations to this, so that you can ask any clarifying questions you may have.
All subsequent sessions will also be 50 minutes duration and will include evidenced based treatment to address your reasons for seeking therapeutic supports. It is expected that you and your psychologist will work collaboratively on your treatment goals, regularly checking on progress and your experiences of treatment. It is your responsibility to arrive on time for sessions. Failure to do so will result in that session being limited to the time remaining, without any reduction to fees.
Psychoeducational Assessments
Testing sessions do not attract a rebate from Medicare and as such, fees for this service as the responsibility of the parties attending sessions. As with all fees, these are payable at the time of service and are not negotiable. It is helpful to enquire with your private health fund whether they offer reimbursement for psychoeducational assessments as part of your policy. The cost of psychoeducational assessments is based on the assessment and report taking approximately 10 hours for the psychologist to complete.
Child Client Policy
The focus of The Joyful Psych is the emotional and psychological wellbeing of the clients we see. When providing services to a child client, the child is considered to be the primary client. Participating parents are deemed client-parents, who may collaborate with the psychologist in order to support the child’s therapy. The Joyful Psych requires consent of both parents to provide services to a child under the age of 18 in most circumstances. Exceptions are made case-by-case and assessed in both a legal and ethical framework. As per Australian Psychological Society Ethical Guidelines, the child’s best interests are paramount, and the treating psychologist must ensure that services are provided in a way which best supports treatment outcomes for the child.
Separated Parents Policy
It is the parents’ obligation to provide us a copy of any relevant legal documents or court order.
Your psychologist encourages active communication between parents to ensure agreement relating to administrative matters, such as appointment bookings or payment. It is not the responsibility of the psychologist to keep each parent availed of information relating to appointments, payment, or treatment for their child.
Your psychologist welcomes both parents to attend appointments. If the appointment is made by one parent, it is the responsibility of this parent to inform the other parent and invite them to attend. The attending parent is encouraged to share any relevant information regarding their child’s therapy with the other parent.
In addition to attending their child’s appointments, each parent may book parent-only appointments to provide information regarding their child’s needs or discuss their child’s treatment; please note any information discussed during parent-only sessions are bound by confidentiality (i.e., if one parent attends a parent-only appointment, this information cannot be divulged to the other parent).
Payment is to be made on the day of the child’s appointment. If there is a legal agreement that requires the other parent to pay all or part of the treatment costs, it is the attending parent’s responsibility to settle the account and collect reimbursement from the other parent.
Communication between sessions
Communication via email and telephone in-between sessions will be kept to a minimum with an expectation that it is limited to administrative issues. Extensive emails will be discussed in the next scheduled session.
Court reports
We do not offer letters, reports or assessments for court purposes and do not give opinions on custody matters. This is a specialised area of psychology and you will be referred to a more appropriate service if this is the service being sought.
Emergencies
The Joyful Psych is NOT a crisis service and is not able to respond to calls or emails outside of business hours. Due to being in session, it is unlikely your call will be answered when you first make contact and emails are checked infrequently. If you feel you are in a crisis, are feeling suicidal, need after hours support, or are in an emergency, please contact one of the below crises support services.
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Suicide Call-Back Service: 1300 659 467
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
Emergency Services: 000