+ "Is this service right for you? (What do we do - and not do)."

As a community based private practice our service provides the following services:

• Shorter term, focussed therapy for 4 to 18 year olds which consists of approximately 10-15 sessions per year and up to 24 sessions of therapy (usually spaced either fortnightly or in therapy "blocks") before we require clients to have a "break" from therapy. The length of the "therapy break" will vary depending on our wait list at the time, however, it will be a minimum of 6 months and usually 9 - 12 months.
• Brief (6 session) intervention for parents/caregivers experiencing parental distress, overwhelm, anxiety and fatigue.
• Supervision for other health or educational child mental health professionals
• Seminars for health professionals, parents/caregivers and adolescents (usually in schools)
• A limited amount of therapeutic liaison with other professionals/workers about the work we are doing with families

This is what we generally are not able to provide as part of our sevices:

• Long term, continuous therapy i.e., ongoing, continuous therapy for several years. We can see families over the long term provided they have 6-9 month therapy breaks after every 24 sessions.
• Extensive and intensive mental health or disability treatment which either requires weekly sessions for more than a 4 week period OR which requires fortnightly sessions throughout an entire year
• More than the very occasional emergency or crisis appointments or responses (i.e., those which need to be unexpectedly provided within a week)
• More than 1 or 2 "out of clinic" treatment sessions - i.e., sessions at home or at school (and please note these 1 or 2 sessions are allowed only under some funding models)
• Less than 50 minute or entirely "play based therapy" sessions (i.e., such as those provided in other settings for non-verbal young people who can't manage a 50 minute therapy session)
• Sessions with more than one clinician (i.e., such as those provided in other settings for young people who are at risk of hurting themselves or others in a clinic setting)
• Intensive case management (i.e., liaison with multiple other workers or liaison which is required more than every 2-3 months)
• Medical or psychiatric care
• Medico-legal, Centrelink, learning or any formal assessments or reports (in order to remain focussed on therapeutic intervention, unfortunately we cannot provide any formal assessments or "letters" for court or any other purposes)
• Therapy for adults which is not directly related to parenting distress

Please let us know if your child/teen or family is experiencing a challenge, disability or set of circumstances which mean they need the kind of services listed above which we cannot provide - and we will try to help you find other services which might be appropriate for you.

+ Where are the clinics located and what are they like?

We have two clinic locations:

• Suite 3/16 Bartley Crescent, Wayville.
• Shop 15, The Hub Shopping Centre, Aberfoyle Park.

Our rooms are designed for children and young people, are not used for any other purpose and are set up to help our clients feel comfortable, have fun and enjoy working with us.

Our clinics are equipped with resources, activities, games and books for teens and children, are private and not used by other medical/educational professionals.

+ Information about Confidentiality

Information disclosed to a psychologist is confidential. This means the psychologist will not reveal, to any other person, any information about the client, or reveal that the client was seeking psychological assistance, unless they have the permission of the client to do so.

There are a few exceptions to this general rule which we will explain to you when we meet you. But as a guide you should know that if failure to disclose information may result in clear danger to the client or to another person, the psychologist may need to disclose minimal information necessary to avert risk. In addition, if the psychologist believes a child or teenager may be or have been subject to physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect, psychologists must by law report this to appropriate authorities. Psychologists and other professionals must also report unregistered firearms.

When working with an adolescent the same limits of confidentiality apply. In other words, unless the adolescent or another person is at risk, information disclosed by the adolescent will not be revealed to any other party, including parents and guardians, without the permission of the adolescent.

However, we usually do want to work very closely with parents/guardians as wel know this is often helpful. This means in most cases, all reasonable efforts will be made to obtain the agreement of the adolescent to involve and discuss information with parents and/or guardians on an ongoing basis.

+ "My Child has Autism Spectrum Disorder, Global Developmental Delay and/or NDIS funding."

We have worked with hundreds of families supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Global Developmental Delay and know the challenges this often involves for families.

Children aged 11 and under with these diagnoses or who have NDIS (self or planned managed only) funding - are seen by our clinicians under our separate Developmental Support Stream. This separate stream ensures we allow an adequate number of sessions for these children, have the "space" to see them for the length of treatment these children generally require and also ensures each of our clinicians have an appropriate number of these children in their caseload (some clinicians are able to take more of these clients on).

Please note, we also see parents/caregivers in their own right who have children with these diagnoses to support them with any parenting related distress which they may be experiencing, understanding that this is more common for parents with autistic or otherly neurodivergent children.

+ Do you conduct assessments, or write reports or letters for third parties?

Unfortunately not

We do not conduct formal learning or educational assessments (sometimes these are called intellectual or cognitive assessments). This means we do not diagnose (or provide written reports about) dyslexia, learning disorders or giftedness - or other conditions / disorders related to learning.

For a learning/educational/cognitive assessment options go to https://developingminds.net.au/referral-options

In addition, we do not do family or "custody" assessments to make recommendations about living arrangements for children.

Due to our focus on therapy and need to ensure other factors do not interfere with our therapeutic relationship with families, We also do not provide diagnostic or formal reports. We are also unable to provide letters for court purposes or to other third parties (eg insurance companies, Centrelink etc).

+ What is the training and experience of your team of psychologists?

All of our psychologist have completed a four-year Bachelor/Honours degree in psychology, and then a two year Masters in Clinical Psychology Postgraduate Degree or 3 or 4 year Doctorate degree in psychology. Most of our psychologists are "clinically endorsed" meaning they have completed an additional two years of intensive supervised practice and training. All of our early career "generally registered" psychologists are currently doing their "clinical endorsement" which means they are spending several hours each week immersed in additional supervision, planning, reading and training meaning their clients/families receive an exceptionally thoughtful level of service.

Regardless of their differing levels of training, all of our psychologists are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and have a wide variety of experience working with children, teenagers, their families and support networks. This means we have all met the high ethical and professional standards required by the Psychology Board of Australia and engage in initial and annual updates of education, training and professional development in the field of psychology.

If you have any questions about the training or experience of any of our psychologists, please don't hesitate to ask.

+ How long do counselling appointments last?

Our sessions last for about 50 minutes (not the full hour). The last ten minute of the hour we spend time reviewing our notes and planning for the next session. If possible, please arrive ten minutes early for your first appointment in order to fill in a brief form. We then ask people to arrive a few minutes early for each appointment after that. We run appointments strictly to time wherever possible.

+ When are appointments offered? Can we be seen after school/outside work hours?

Our psychologists offer appointments at different times during the week. We understand it is not always possible to get time off work or study to come to appointments and therefore all of our psychologists offer one after hours session (3 appointments) each week.

Keep in mind that these "after school sessions" are very popular and so if you want these, normally you will need to book ahead for these appointments. One option is to have your first session or two during the day, and then book a few after school sessions after that. Pleae note that unfortunately if you can only attend during "after schools hours appointments, this may not be the right service for you as we are unlikely to have these available for every fortnight and spacing sessions out until after school times are available may interfere with progress in therapy.

+ Waiting Periods and Waiting Lists

Our waiting times do fluctuate - for current information please call our clinic or send us an email at admin@developingminds.net.au. Please note, once families have made an initial appointment with us and they are automatically placed on our "waiting list".

We have a daily procedure to check for unexpected additional new client availability and families on our wait list are frequently called/texted to be offered these earlier appointments.

Once you have had your first appointment, you will then be seen and prioritised for weekly-fortnightly appointments as needed/discussed with your clinician.

It is not appropriate for families with children/teens who are at higher risk to themselves or others to be waiting for our services - if this is true for you, please contact crisis services (in high risk situations) or other services (click HERE for phone numbers and options) . We also have lower intensity programs which may be appropriate for some families while they wait for therapy services. For example, for primary aged children, we have an online psycho-education program called Calm Kid Central with courses for children on managing emotions and difficult life situations, and text based answers on a Question Centre from our child psychologist panel within 48 hours. Click here if you think this might be helpful for your family.)

+ I've been to Developing Minds before - can I come back?

Of course. However if you/your child has not had a sessions for 12 months or more (ie after finishing treatment), you will no longer be a "current client". This means you will need to be offered a 'new client' appointment, which may be associated with a waiting period. We will ask that you return to see your GP for an updated referral (if your are returning under Better Access Funding -Medicare). Thanks for your understanding about this matter, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Again, for primary aged children, we do have an online psycho-education program called Calm Kid Central which can provide support for young people while they wait (including courses for children and parents, and text based answers on a Question Centre from child psychologists) Click here if you think this might be helpful for your family.

+ How much does it cost to see a psychologist at Developing Minds?

From the 1st July 2023 the full charge for our 50 minute sessions is $251.45 per session, or $191.55 for those young people who meet criteria for our concession category (NOTE: see below for important eligibility information for our concession category). Medicare provide rebates (see below for details) for these fees.

Who falls into the concession category?

Clients are eligible to access our “concession” rates only when the adult responsible for the account (usually a parent/guardian) has EITHER a) a current Pension Concession Card or b) Health Care Card in their own name (ie the Health Care Card can not only be in their child’s name).

Why is a Health Care Card in the child's name not sufficient?

Our ability to offer the low cost concession rates is very limited due to practice sustainability reasons (please note many psychology practices do not offer concession rates at all - and also that the Australian Psychological Society rates are typically 1.5 times the rates we charge).

Given we can only offer a limited number of these concession rates, this means we need to try to ensure our concession rate is only accessed by families the most in need of this rate. The health care card/pension card in the parent's ("payers") name is the best available measure we have available for greatest financial need. While we understand that many families with children with a health care card, also have financial stressors, families where the parents/caregivers have this card are usually those where need is greatest. (Keeping in mind that some higher income families have children with a health care card in the child's name due to the child's illness and not due to financial reasons).

Medicare Rebates for Psychology Fees (Mental Health Care Plans)

If you are referred by your GP (or psychiatrist or paediatrician) then Medicare will cover $137.05 of the fee, meaning there will be a gap of $114.40 for the client to pay (unless the client is eligable for our concession rate, in which case the gap is $54.50). This gap cannot be claimed on private health cover. This rebate is available for 10 sessions within a calendar year and the referral needs to be provided prior to the first session.

Although we require clients to pay in full "upfront", Medicare deposits the rebate into bank accounts within 6-48 hours.

Private Health Cover

If you do not wish to use Medicare rebates, or other funding, you might like to use private health cover to help cover the cost of the consultations. If applicable, please contact your own health fund for information about their rebates. As a rough guide, many health funds offer between $50-110 back from a psychological consultation.

NDIS Funding

We are able to see clients who are self-funded or plan-managed under the NDIS (not agency managed). Please note however that NDIS funded clients need to be placed in our separate "Disability/Early Intervention" stream, see the FAQ above: "My child has autism, global developmental delay or NDIS funding" below.

**I can't afford these fees, what else can you suggest"

Other Gap free or reduced gap services are available via South Australians public mental health services (CAMHS) and also via "Headspace" for families who would like to and are eligible to receive these services.

For the last several years, Developing Minds has provided group, online and face to face services for families under funding from Adelaide Primary Health Network (APHN). Unfortunately, we will no longer be receiving APHN funding from July 1, 2023 which means all families who access our (group or 1:1 or online) services will need to be funded in other ways - for instance this might be Medicare funding, private funding or NDIS funding. Please feel free to speak to our reception staff for other options.

+ How long do you see children/teens/parents for?

Our clinic is committed to providing evidence based, effective therapy to as many families as possible and so we offer shorter term, focussed therapy approach rather than long term, continuous therapy.

Specifically, our policy is that we offer children/teens up to (not all clients will need this many) 24 sessions of therapy (usually spaced either fortnightly or in therapy "blocks") before we require clients to have a "break" from therapy. We see parents with parenting related distress for a brief course of therapy - 6 sessions - before they have a therapy break. The length of the "therapy break" will vary depending on our wait list at the time, however, it will be a minimum of 6 months and usually 9 - 12 months.

We do this for a few reasons:

a) Evidence shows that most of the time, this focussed and targeted therapy works better than long term, continuous therapy.

b) There are some potential drawbacks, costs, and disadvantages for some children/teens when they are involved in long term and continuous therapy (for example, being "dependent" on a therapist, undermining their own skills and talents, focussing on problems rather than their strengths, feeling overwhelmed by too many appointments/different supports).

c) There is a very high demand for child psychology services in our community. This means there is a high level of mental health need in the community and we are committed to supporting as many families as possible. A therapy break of 9-12 months allows for another family to access a course of therapy treatment therefore increasing the equity of our service provision in the community (and also, as above avoids the potential drawbacks listed above for families in having long term and continuous therapy).

We will work with families well in advance of their therapy break starting, to assist them to prepare for the break and/or look for other services to access during their break if they prefer. After 6-12 months, families are welcome to resume working with us again if they wish to do so.

Please note that there may be exceptional circumstances (usually related to high risk situations) in which this policy does not apply.

Let us know if you have any questions and concerns so we can support you to find alternative services if you feel this is not appropriate for your family. Thankyou in advance for your understanding - with a special thanks to almost all of our existing families (and all of our funding bodies) for being so supportive and understanding of the need for this policy on the basis of fairness for all and best practices for families.

+ What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

A psychologist is a registered health professional who is trained in the assessment and treatment of mental illnesses and psychological problems.

A psychiatrist is a specialist medical doctor who assesses and treats patients with mental health problems.

+ Do you work with interpreters?

Yes, all Developing Minds staff are happy to work with interpreters.

The South Australian government's Interpreting and Translating Centre (ITC) provides qualified and experienced interpreters to assist with face-to-face or phone interpreting. Phone: 1800 280 203

+ Do you offer Telehealth Appointments?

Yes, we can offer some telehealth sessions for current clients, however, we do not offer therapy by telehealth only. Please click here to find out more information about telehealth appointments.