Question 1

DO I NEED A REFERRAL FROM MY DOCTOR?

Accepted Answer

No, you can visit your psychologist without a referral if you wish.  However, if you want to claim a rebate from Medicare you must first visit your doctor for a referral letter and to establish a Mental Health Care Plan before seeing your Psychologist.  
 
Your Doctor will assess your progress after the first six sessions, and refer you for more sessions if required.

Question 2

AM I ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICARE REBATES?

Accepted Answer

Your GP will determine if your treatment is eligible for Medicare rebates.  Be sure to bring any referral documentation to your initial session.
 
If you have begun treatment at another clinic, you can always call Medicare to determine how many Medicare rebates you have remaining on your referral.

Question 3

CAN I GET A MEDICARE REBATE IF A CHILD (CLIENT) IS NOT PRESENT?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately you cannot claim a rebate for sessions where your child client is not present.  
 
Sessions attended without your child are privately funded. 
 
Some private health funds may provide a rebate, its best to check with your individual fund.
 
You also cannot use your own Mental Health Care Plan when attending sessions without your child.

Question 4

CAN I CLAIM A MEDICARE REBATE ON THE DAY?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we have online Medicare processing. If you are eligible for a Medicare rebate, we can process your claim online. 
 
If you register your banking details with Medicare, rebates will be automatically deposited into your nominated account.

Question 5

HOW DO I PAY FOR MY APPOINTMENT?

Accepted Answer

Payment is contactless, on the day of your appointment.

On the day of your appointment you will receive a text message from Tyro Health with a link to where you need to nominate the card you wish to be billed.

Make sure to tick the checkbox to save your details for future payments before you enter your card details.
**IMPORTANT REGARDING YOUR REBATE.

Please be sure to advise the clinic via text that payment has been made otherwise we won't know to process your rebate.

This process is only a onetime set up and moving forward will flow seamlessly. You can nominate a different card at any time and if you have any issues please request a call from the Client Care Team to help talk you through the process.

Question 6

WHAT IS YOUR CANCELATION POLICY?

Accepted Answer

In order to provide maximum access for all of our clients, we ask that should you need to cancel or re-schedule an appointment you give us sufficient time to offer the opportunity to those who are waiting.  
 
Help us never charge a cancelation fee.  All you need to do is give us 24 hours business notice.  
 
Please note you are required to cancel any Monday appointments before the close of business Friday, so that we have time to offer your appointment to other clients as we do not operate over the weekend.

Please note that cancelation fees are full cost of the session you have reserved, and are not subject to Medicare or Health fund rebates.

Question 7

HOW LONG DOES A SESSION LAST?

Accepted Answer

Each session will last for 50 minutes.
 
Our therapists respect your time, and therefore you can expect that your session will run on time.
 
The number of sessions needed will vary depending on your personal circumstance.
 
Please note: most EMDR sessions will last for 80 minutes.

Question 8

HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR MY INITIAL APPOINTMENT?

Accepted Answer

Give yourself plenty of time to arrive early enough to manage traffic, find a car park and fill out any forms.
 
Be sure to bring your Mental Health Care Plan, GP Referral or other documentation.  
 
Be sure to bring your Medicare Card.

Question 9

WHAT IF IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET TO SESSIONS?

Accepted Answer

Ordinarily session are conducted in our Berwick rooms.
 
However, Telehealth and phone sessions can be considered to help you access regular treatment where this may be difficult.

Question 10

HOW LONG IS YOUR WAITING LIST?

Accepted Answer

We currently have immediate availability for you to begin your treatment with a number of our psychologists.

Question 11

DO YOU ACCEPT NDIS CLIENTS?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we treat self managed NDIS clients. 
 
Self-managed NDIS clients are billed as private paying clients, and they claim their invoices from NDIS privately.

Question 12

DO YOU ACCEPT WORKCOVER CLIENTS?

Accepted Answer

Yes we do, however, WorkCover clients are billed as private paying clients, and they claim their invoices from WorkCover privately.

Question 13

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR A TELEHEALTH SESSION?

Accepted Answer

Your appointment reminder contains the link for you to e-meet your therapist in session at the appointed time.
 
Use that link in either the browser of your phone, tablet or laptop at your scheduled appointment time.
 
PREPARATION:
Make sure that you have a full battery on your device.
Practice positioning the device in a stable place so that your therapist can see you.
Make sure that your camera and audio is turned on.
Make sure that you have someone mind the kids, you have made yourself a cuppa and turned your phone to silent. 
Make sure you have some tissues handy.

Question 14

WHAT IF I DONT WANT A TELEHEALTH SESSION?

Accepted Answer

Clients of Winnicott accept that Telehealth sessions will be part of their treatment from time to time.
 
Perhaps you or your therapist may have a sniffle, or perhaps the government will put the community into a short lockdown and so you will need to have your session remotely to keep everyone COVIDSafe.
 
We do not want anything to get in the way of you getting your treatment. If you are really not comfortable with this, that's ok, we do not want you to have a treatment that is outside what feels right for you, this decision is yours and it may be this clinic is not the right fit for you.
 
Unfortunately, having this flexibility around Telehealth is a requirement of being a client at Winnicott in COVID times. Please have a think about this, as it is likely that at some point some of your sessions will end up being via Telehealth.

Question 15

CAN I HAVE EMDR TREATMENT VIA TELEHEALTH?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you absolutely can.
 
There is no change to the wonderful outcomes you can expect from EMDR, whether conducted face to face in the clinic, or remotely via Telehealth.

Question 16

WHAT IS THE ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY?

Accepted Answer

The Clinic takes it very seriously if a member of team is treated in an abusive or violent way.

We have a ZERO TOLERANCE approach to any verbal, aggressive and violent abuse and behaviour towards our client care team, psychologists or other clients. Our team have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the team and clients must be in place. Dealing with people who are abusive or aggressive towards our team and our clients, takes us away from caring for you. All our team aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all clients’ individual needs and circumstances. The team understand that clients in distress do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.

However, aggressive behaviour, will not be tolerated. Clients who express themselves abusively will be required to leave the clinic and be asked to transfer their care to another practice. In extreme cases, including refusal to leave the Clinic, will result in the police being called. We have the right to refuse treatment and take further action against anyone who threatens the safety of our team and our clients.

In order for the clinic to maintain good relations with their clients we would like to ask all its clients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:

- Using offensive language, shouting, swearing, aggressive speech actions or threats
- Any physical violence towards any member of the team or other clients, such as pushing or shoving
- Veral abuse towards the team in any form including insulting the team, name calling and put downs
- Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated
- Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to the team will not be accepted.  Please note that requests will be met wherever possible 
  and explanations given when they cannot
- Causing damage or stealing for the clinics's premise, team or other clients

Finally, we ask that you treat your psychologist and the client care team with respect and courtesy in all communications - whether that takes place over the phone, online, via email or on social media.

Question 17

WHAT IS YOUR PRIVACY POLICY?

Accepted Answer

What type of personal information do we collect about you?
The type of personal information that we collect and hold about you includes:
·       Your name, date of birth, address and contact details
·       Your billing and claim information
·       Clinical records and correspondence (eg referrals, letters, reports and forms) that your psychologist receives or creates while providing treatment to you.

Why do we collect personal information about you?
Your personal information is used in the process of:
·       Responding to your enquiries
·       Communicating with you via SMS or email regarding billing and invoices, appointment reminders, questionnaires 
·       Processing your payments and claims 
·       Providing your psychological service, assessment, diagnosis, treatment or preparing reports
·       Complying with obligations to third party insurers enabling you to receive correct claim entitlements 
·       Complying with legal obligations

What sources do we collect personal information about you?
·       Your referring GP, Psychiatrist or other specialist
·       Other healthcare providers on your treatment team
·       Third Party Insurers in relation to billings and claims
·       Your parent or guardian if you are a minor

How do we store personal information about you?
·       Your personal information is stored in electronic form
·       Any information that was collected in paper-based documents is converted to electronic form and the paper copied destroyed.
·       We are legally required hold store your personal information for a minimum of 7 years from your last psychological service, or until the age of 25 if you were a child at the time of your last psychological service.  Please ask for clarification for any exceptions to this.

How do we protect your personal information?
·       Your personal information can only be accessed by authorized employees
·       We only use electronic systems that meet Australian Privacy Standards
·       We maintain security systems, firewall, password systems and 2 factor authentication for electronic systems.
·       We send password protected correspondence 
·       Whilst our clinic is based in Berwick, our trusted team members at times work remotely from their homes.  For some their home is local to the clinic, and for some, that home is overseas, both in the Philippines and Sweden.  All team members are under strict guidelines to protect your personal information when working remotely

When do we disclose personal information about you?
·       When you consent to it
·       In instances where you’d reasonably expect we would, such as to your GP or medical specialist, or the hospital
·       When it is required by subpoena or court order or disclosure is required by law
·       When we believe it is necessary in the case of serious threat to the safety of you, an individual or public health or safety as required by law
·       When engaging professional indemnity assistance for the provision of legal advice and representation

Accessing your personal information
·       You have rights under Privacy Laws to request access to your personal information, and to request that we correct any information
·       Under Privacy Laws there are certain circumstances that allow us or require us to refuse your request
·       If you make a request to access or correct your personal information you will be required to verify your identity, and these requests will be responded to within 21 days and an appointment will be made if necessary for clarification purposes.

What to do if you have concerns or complaints about your privacy
·       You can contact us at any time about our Privacy Policy or how your personal information is being handled.
·       If you have a complaint, you can put this in writing, with as much information as possible to help us investigate and respond to your complaint within 30 days.
·       We will advise you of the steps we will make to resolve your complaint.
If you are not satisfied with our response you can lodge a complaint with the Australian Information Commission by phone on 1300 363 992 or online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-complaints/

Contact us on our Dedicated Text Only Number 0436 353 840

Frequently asked questions