Frequently Asked Questions

All provide professional services in the field of mental health but will differ with regard to education and training as well as the services provided. Psychologists are trained to understand the causes and maintaining factors for human behaviour, in theories relating to managing and changing human behaviour and in the assessment and treatment of psychological difficulties. They have completed a four-year undergraduate psychology degree then undergo either a two-year Masters degree, or a one-year Masters degree followed by one-year supervised program or an approved two-year supervised program. On completion of their training, they are fully registered as a General Psychologist. They are trained to evaluate research on the effectiveness of various therapy models and to be able to apply these therapies in a flexible way to benefit the individual. Clinical Psychologists are psychologist who have completed a two-year Master of Clinical Psychology (MCP) postgraduate degree, or equivalent, following their four-year undergraduate psychology degree. After their MCP, they gain full registration as a General Psychologist. They then complete another two-year Clinical Registrar program to earn their Clinical Psychology endorsement and earn the right to call themselves a Clinical Psychologist. In addition to possessing the skills listed above of a psychologist, their training under the Master of Clinical Psychology Degree and Clinical Registrar program focuses their skills on clinical assessment, diagnosis and intervention of DSM-5TR diagnosable psychological and mental health conditions. Psychiatrists are medical doctors with medical training and undergo further specialised training in mental health. Psychiatrists therefore specialise in prescribing psychotropic medication which can assist in managing mental illnesses. Some psychiatrists may deliver long-term psychotherapy.

Yes, at Thought Bubble Psychology, we understand your privacy is important. Hence any information which identifies you or that you share with your clinician will be treated with the utmost privacy and respect. Your information is kept confidential and only disclosed with your prior consent. The only time a clinician is required to disclose your information is if it is demanded by law or if there is reasonable evidence someone is at-risk of harm if we do not share the relevant information to the appropriate authorities.

Contact us by phone, email or with the form at the bottom of our page and we'll have a chat to get you all set up with your first appointment at Thought Bubble Psychology!

We get it! Seeking out mental health support can be daunting, whether it's your first time or otherwise. Before our first consultation, we'll send you some questionnaires and consent forms which will help inform my assessment. At Thought Bubble Psychology, we always allocate 90 minutes for all our initial consultations with new patients. We find this allows our patients to feel more comfortable and to tell their stories to us without worrying so much about any time pressure. We might go through some consent forms to ensure everyone is on the same page or if there are any issues or concerns which need to be addressed prior to starting. We will then ask some questions to better understand you as a person and your support network. Following on from this, we'll start to discuss the challenges you have been facing and your goals for therapy. At the end of the initial assessment, we might propose our plan on how we can help. This first session is a bit of a "try-out" for both of us. I want to make sure I have the skills and experience to support you, and that you feel comfortable with me and think that further sessions will be helpful.

While I hope I am, I might not be the right psychologist for you! If you want to see if I'm the kind of psychologist you're looking for, we can book in a 15 minute consultation where I can tell you about my approach and answer any questions you have. Research shows that the most important factor in determining whether therapy is helpful or not is the working relationship between the patient and the therapist. This means it's important you think I understand who you are and what you're facing, and that the approach I'm taking connects with you. I'm always open to feedback about how I can better support you, but if you don't think my approach is a good fit for you, there'll be no hard feelings on my end. Although it might feel difficult, I'd love it if you'd tell me if this is the case so I can improve my service in future and help you find what you're looking for.

We like to be transparent about our fees so we have this information upfront for your consideration. With a valid referral letter and Mental Health Treatment Plan, you are entitled to a Medicare rebate of $141.85 per consultation for up to 10 consultations in a calendar year when working with a clinical psychologist . This reduces your out-of-pocket cost for initial assessment consultation (90 minutes) to $158.15 and follow-up consultations to $108.15. The full fee for consultations in person or via telehealth without Medicare Rebate is $300 for initial assessment consultations and follow-up consultations is $250. The Australian Psychological Association and Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPI) recommends a fee of $315 per 50 min consultation while the Australian Psychological Society (APS) recommends a fee of $311 per 50 minute consultation . Initial assessment consultations may take up to 90 minutes while follow-up consultations are usually 50 minutes. This ensures a through assessment is completed and follow up sessions have sufficient time to meet your needs. Any services provided for patients covered under NSW Comprehensive Third Party (CTP) Scheme will be charged at APS schedule of suggested fees. See below for a comprehensive table of our fees.

Thought Bubble Psychology accepts both card payment and cash payment. Please note, card payment will incur an additional surcharge (1.8% + $0.75). If you prefer not to pay this surcharge, please inform your clinician you would like to pay with cash at your first appointment.

Thought Bubble Psychology is unable to offer bulk billed consultations. Our fees are below both The Australian Psychological Society and The Australian Association of Psychologists Inc recommended rates ($311 or $315 per $50 minute session respectively). Unfortunately, the Medicare rebates set by the Government for a consultation for mental health care treatment is insufficient to cover the costs of providing high quality psychological services and running a practice. Hence we are unable to bulk bill consultations.

Yes, Patrick is currently an approved SIRA Allied Health Practitioner which means he is able to see patients under NSW Workers' Compensation and CTP insurance schemes. To be eligible for consultations under Workers' Compensation or CTP insurance schemes, please have your GP complete a referral under the appropriate scheme. Following GP referral and approval of funding from the insurance company, please call us and we'll have you booked in for an initial consultation. At this point in time, Patrick is seeing a limited number of patients under WorkCover insurance schemes. If you would like to see Patrick under the WorkCover insurance scheme, please contact us to discuss our avaibilities for this pathway.

Medicare Rebates are processed automatically following your consultation and with full payment for the consultation using our patient management system, Halaxy. Rebated funds will return to the bank account linked to your Medicare card. In the event a Medicare Rebate is not able to be processed automatically, you will emailed an invoice to manually process it using the MyGov smartphone app, or by attending a Services Australia centre.

Under the Mental Health Treatment Plan, you are eligible for up to 10 individual consultations each calendar year. Depending on your presentation, you may not need all 10 consultations. In the event you need more than 10 individual consultations in the same calendar year, you have the option of using your private health insurance fund with the appropriate level of cover to access additional rebates.

Yes if you have a private health insurance fund with the appropriate level of cover, you are able to claim a rebate for your consultation. You will be provided with an invoice for you to claim this manually though your private health insurance fund. Please note, you are unable to claim a rebate for your consultation from both Medicare and your private health insurance.

No, a referral is not necessary to engage with our services at Thought Bubble Psychology. If you are eligible for a Medicare rebate, it is strongly recommended to obtain a referral from your GP, psychiatrist, or paediatrician. This allows you to minimise the out-of-pocket costs of your assessment and therapy sessions. Additionally this will assist you in meeting your Extended Medicare Safety Net Threshold. Once you have met your Extended Medicare Safety Net threshold, it may reduce the out-of-pocket costs for future Medicare Eligible out-of-hospital services for the remainder of the calendar year. There may be many reasons why you choose not to consult with a GP or other health professional prior to seeing a psychologist and we respect your choice in this matter.

Medicare Extended Safety Net have a threshold each calendar year. When you spend certain amounts in out-of-pocket /gap costs in a calendar year, you’ll reach the threshold. Once you’ve reached the threshold, you’ll start getting higher Medicare rebates. This means you’ll receive more money back from Medicare for certain Medicare services, including psychological consultations at Thought Bubble Psychology. The Extended Medicare Safety Net threshold in 2024 for Non-concessional individuals and families is $2544.30 Concessional individuals and families who receive Family Tax Benefit (Part A) is $811.80 Couples and families should contact Services Australia to register their family members as part of a Safety Net eligible family. Registering as a family allows eligible out-of-pocket costs for each individual family member to count towards the family’s threshold. Couples and families need to register even if all family members are listed on the Medicare card.

You should ask for a referral letter and a Mental Health Treatment Plan (Previously called a Mental Health Care Plan). This allows up to 10 Medicare rebated individual consultation sessions each calendar year. A referral is valid for 12 month from date of issue. Referrals do not need to be addressed specifically to clinician you wish to engage with.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be asked to return to your GP/Psychiatrist/Paediatrician for a follow up or review. Such examples: If you need more than 6 consultation sessions, you will be asked to return to your GP/Psychiatrist/Paediatrician for a review and to unlock further Medicare rebated sessions on your Mental Health Treatment Plan. They will review your presentation following 6 sessions and determine if you would benefit from additional sessions. If they do decide you need additional sessions, they will provide you with a letter and review form. Please bring these documents along to your next appointment. OR If our clinicians believe you may benefit from medication or a physical health check up, they may put forth this recommendation to return to your GP/Psychiatrist/Paediatrician for follow up.

Yes! We get it, life gets busy so sometimes a bit of help remembering the important things goes a long way. All patients are reminded via text message (if they have a mobile) of their appointments, three (3) business days prior to their appointment. Patients can respond to the reminder text message to confirm their appointment. If you are unable to make your appointment, please also respond to the reminder text message and call us to reschedule.

We try to be fair here at Thought Bubble Psychology as we know life happens and may take priority. Our rescheduling, late cancellation and no-show policy is we require at least two (2) business days notice for a rescheduled or cancelled consultations to avoid our late cancellation fees. The late cancellation fee for standard Medicare, Workers' Compensation, and CTP funded appointments is set at a 50% sessional fee. This fee will need to be paid before another appointment can be made. If patients have multiple late cancellations, we may take a non-refundable deposit of 50% sessional fee to hold the appointment slot for them. We consider no-shows to booked appointment as a late cancellation. Please contact us (0478 201 069) with as much notice as possible if you know you cannot make an upcoming appointment, so someone else can benefit from your time slot, and to avoid paying a late cancellation fee. In the event of illness or emergency, please contact us as soon as you can or first thing in the morning of session.