A perinatal psychologist is a health professional dedicated to the wellbeing of mother, fathers, infants and families around the time of pregnancy and the transition to parenting. We are thinking about your/your child’s individual wellbeing within the family “constellation”.

Psychologists with additional training in perinatal mental health may take a more family-centred, developmental life-span approach to mental health and psychosocial wellbeing than other psychologists working at other times of the lifespan.

Perinatal Plus is a private psychological practice for clients with mild-moderate psychological care needs.

At 1 August 2024, the standard consultation fee for a 50-60 min appointment is $210

The Medicare rebate on the standard consultation fee is $96.65 for clients with a Better Access Mental Health Care Plan provided by a referring doctor (GP, paediatrician or psychiatrist).

The full consultation fee is payed at the time of the session. The Medicare rebate claim can be processed for you at the time your account is paid and Medicare will deposit your rebate back into your nominated bank account.

If you have private health insurance you may be eligible for fee rebates for psychology; please contact your insurer about your policy.

Please note that both Medicare and private health insurance rebates can not be claimed for the same consultation.

A treatment session under a NDIS plan is billed using the NDIS fee schedule and can be billed directly to your NDIS fund manager, if applicable. Please contact me to discuss this further.

There are several Government funding streams (through Medicare and the NDIS), that may assist with the fees for psychological services for eligible clients.

You and your GP (or Psychiatrist or Paediatrician) can work together to explore whether you/your child are eligible for a Medicare or NDIS funded support scheme for psychological assessment or treatment.

If eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP), your doctor will provide you with a referral and treatment plan which will allow you to claim a Medicare rebate for an 6 initial sessions and up to 10 sessions per year.

Please refer to the Australian Psychological Society for a summary of information about Government Support Schemes for accessing psychological care: https://psychology.org.au/psychology/medicare-rebates-psychological-services

The NDIS (National Disability and Insurance Scheme) has an Early Childhood Approach for the support of early intervention services for children under 7 years of age with developmental delay or disability: https://www.ndis.gov.au/understanding/families-and-carers/early-childhood-approach#help-for-children-younger-than-7

Telehealth is the conduct of a health session via a secure video connection on a phone, tablet or computer monitor.

In Psychology/Psychiatry we have been using telehealth for therapy for decades with people living in remote communities; the Covid Pandemic helped us all understand that we could use telehealth routinely and effectively to deliver psychological care.

Psychology is a science and our toolkit of treatments and interventions can only be helpful when they are appropriately matched to the needs of the client. After many years of working more broadly in child and family psychology, I now exclusively practise in a family-focused way that may not be the best fit for adults or children who might gain more benefit from another therapeutic approach at that time.

Even if I am not the preferred provider for your family over the longer term, I may be able to work with you to help identify a treatment pathway for you or your family.

I do not offer services to families with an ongoing Family Law (parenting) dispute.

Should you require relationship support pr parenting support during separation please contact a Family Relationship Support Centre: https://www.familyrelationships.gov.au