Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much will my appointments cost?

Head Office Health is a private billing practice.

Health Funds Accepted: Medibank, Bupa, Police Health Fund, AHM, Teachers health

We offer a range of options depending on the type of appointment/s you require.

Please contact us directly and we will be able to explain these to you and help work out the most cost effective option to suit your individual needs.

couples counselling and mediation | Freemantle | Head Office Health

2. Cancellation and Non-attendance

When an appointment is scheduled for you, that time has been set aside for you and when it is missed, that time cannot be used to treat someone else.

We respect that your time is valuable, and we appreciate your understanding that ours is too. We request that you respect our time and give us as much notice as you can if you must cancel or reschedule your appointment, to be able to reallocate that time to someone else. Cancellation policies are more about mutual respect than about rules.

We respect your emergencies. We understand that at times emergencies occur and will do our best to take exceptional circumstances into account. Please make sure to communicate with us if this is the case.

Psychiatry appointments are in high demand, therefore late cancellations impact both the psychiatrist and other clients who have been placed on a waiting list. We therefore require a minimum of 48 hours’ notice of a cancellation to allow us adequate time to reallocate your appointment to another client.

Thank-you in advance for your respect and understanding.

HOW TO CANCEL OR RESCHEDULE

You will receive an SMS reminder 48 hours prior to your appointment. If for some reason you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please allow a minimum of 24 hours’ (48 hours for psychiatry) notice, i.e., call, SMS, or email prior to 9.00 am the day before your appointment.

We prefer that you call the clinic on 08 94381976 if you need to cancel or reschedule. Please leave a message on the answering machine if you call outside of clinic hours. If your appointment is on a Monday, please call the clinic on Saturday and speak to the receptionist or leave a message on the answering machine.

HOW MUCH IS THE CANCELLATION AND NON-ATTENDANCE FEE?

Individual Therapy

Non-attendance without notice, or cancellations with LESS THAN ONE (1) full business days’ notice will incur a fee equal to 100% of the consultation fee, as there will be insufficient time to offer this timeslot to another patient.

Cancellations with LESS THAN TWO (2) full business days’ notice will incur a fee equal to 50% of the consultation fee.

Cancellations with more than two (2) full business days’ notice will not incur a fee.

Fees must be paid before further appointments are offered.

Psychiatry

Non-attendance without notice, or cancellations with LESS THAN TWO (2) full business days’ notice will incur a fee equal to 100% of the consultation fee.

Cancellations with more than two (2) full business days’ notice will not incur a fee.

Fees must be paid before further appointments are offered.

* Example: a 10:00 AM appointment on Monday, would need to be cancelled by 10:00 AM Thursday, for the cancellation not to incur a fee (weekends are not business days).

*Cancellation fees are not reimbursed by Medicare, i.e., no rebate is given.

3. What To Expect At Your First Appointment?

BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT

At the time of making the booking, our friendly reception staff will advise you of likely fees.
You will receive an email with the invoice attached. Payment for the initial appointment is to be made prior to your appointment date.
An assessment questionnaire will also be attached to the initial email. Questions are focused on your child’s developmental, physical, emotional, and mental health. We want to gain a sufficient understand about their growth and development, social skills, about the family, schooling and much more.
You will receive a confirmation text message 48 ours prior to your appointment.

AT THE FIRST APPOINTMENT

Family counselling in Freemantle | Head Office Health

Initial appointments are scheduled for 90minutes (1.5 hours).
You’ll be seen together with your child for the first part of the session, I then spend time separately with your child or adolescent.
We all come back together at the end of the appointment to make sure you are comfortable to continue in my care and develop a plan. The first appointment time goes very quickly and there is often more information to be gathered.
The goal is to be confident that a sound, shared understanding of the problems and issues has been developed, together with recognizing the family and individual strengths. This provides a solid foundation for discussing a treatment plan.
We’ll discuss who else – with the parent’s permission – is suitable to provide feedback on your situation, for example, the young person’s school teacher or school psychologist.
We’ll often provide feedback around initial ideas and plans, as well as recommend a therapeutic approach for moving forward. Due to time constraints and the complexity of most of the problems we see, treatment is often not started until following appointments.
It’s at this appointment where together we’ll discuss if Head Office Health is the right service to meet your needs on an ongoing basis.
The main aim of this first appointment is for you and your child to discuss worries, concerns, or problems you want to talk about.

AT SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS

Follow up sessions Face to face are then booked in with the child, parents and/or family for intervention to improve skills (e.g. anxiety/ anger management, social skills, behavioural management training) using evidence-based therapies.
A consultation usually takes 50-60 minutes.
We will continue the assessment and treatment process, providing regular updates on progress.
The therapist will work with you to create an understanding of the issues that currently concern you and to work out a plan that is suited to you and your family.
After a fixed number of sessions, the clinical team will review your progress and renegotiate what you may need. They will always keep your referrer and GP informed of your progress.
If at any stage you or we feel that Head Office Health is not the best fit for you and your family, we’ll happily discuss with you alternatives.
To make sure we offer the best possible service, we will sometimes ask you about your experience with us. We welcome feedback at any time.
Payment must be made on the day. Credit card and EFTPOS are preferred, cash is also accepted. If you have a Mental Health Care Plan a rebate will be provided. Private health funds may also cover some of the fee. You’ll be given information on how to claim Medicare rebates for the session.

4. How does therapy work?

Individual therapy sessions with a child/adolescent

At each counselling session your child/adolescent will spend time individually with the therapist.

We ensure that parents are involved in individual therapy sessions and may invite parents into the session at the end to briefly summarise what was achieved, and inform new skills being taught and strategies that can be implemented in the home environment to assist their children.

Ensures that the entire focus is on the child/adolescent and family concerns
Assists our therapists in tailoring strategies and skills for individual needs
Provides a 'safe place' and outlet for children and adolescents to share their thoughts and feelings in non-judgemental and confidential environment.
Joint sessions with the parent may also be delivered depending on the needs of the child/adolescent.

is useful in several ways:

Individual therapy

Working with families

Working with families entails working with your child or adolescent and parents/caregivers in the aim of addressing the concerns that you may have. Depending on each case, it may involve a parent and their child/ adolescent, both parents and their child/ adolescent or both parents with their children, all in the aim of addressing the concerns in the home environment.

Allows a safe place for the family to discuss their concerns and seek guidance
Provides psychoeducation and understanding to the whole family on the child's condition
Assists in understanding of how your child's concerns can impact your entire family
Provides ways to understand child and cope with the child's difficulties/ concerns
Empowering families in developing alternative family strategies, solutions, and skills to manage your child's concerns

Working together with parents/caregivers and their children can be useful in several ways:

5. I have a referral, when can I make an appointment?

Please have your referrer email or fax the referral. If you have a copy, you can email it to us at info@headofficehealth.com.au. Simply take a photo and attach to an email if you do not have a scanner or fax.

Once we receive your referral, it will be reviewed by our clinicians. We will then contact you to offer an appointment. This can take up to 5 working days.

Group therapy in Freemantle | Head Office Health

6. Do I need a referral before making an appointment?

No. You can make an appointment and engage in therapy without a referral form your General Practitioner, however, in order to access Medicare Rebates a General Practitioner referral is required.

Therapy appointments can be claimed through your private health provider should you not have a referral. Please advise reception you will be claiming through Private Health. Private health funds accepted at the clinic include Medibank, Bupa, Police Health Fund and AHM.

7. Help! I need a script

If you find yourself out of medication and require a script, please be aware our psychiatrist is not in clinic every day and may take up to 7 days to do a script.
Please email us with your request for a script, detailing the name of the medication and dosage.

The psychiatrist may request you make an appointment and/or may charge a fee of $50

8. Help! I need a Psychiatrist, can I call and make a booking if I have a Referral from my GP?

Appointments with our Child and Adolescent psychiatrist Dr Paul Simons are determined based on the outcome of the initial assessment and is reviewed on a regular basis at our multi-disciplinary team meeting. Dr Paul Simons is only here one day a week and therefore he is unable to see people for a one-off appointment or to those who are currently engaging in therapy outside of Head office Health. In order to see Dr Paul Simons, the young person will have to be engaging in therapy at Head Office Health.