Psychology

Unique Brains prides itself on being at the forefront of cutting-edge, evidence-based psychological practice for infants, children, teens and adults with neurodevelopmental, neurobehavioural, and psychological disorders. We have a special interest in the health and functioning of the brain, and provide both assessment and treatment that promote neuroplasticity and optimal brain functioning.

Unique Brains offers breakthrough non-invasive, drug-free treatment to help develop self-regulation and changes in neurological arousal, often lacking in traditional psychotherapeutic techniques.

The following outlines the steps involved in engaging and accessing our services:

You may have decided to seek psychological help, or your doctor, child's teacher, or other healthcare provider may have told you that you, or your child, may have some learning, developmental, psychological, or behavioural difficulties and recommended seeing a Psychologist.

The first step in engaging a Psychologist at Unique Brains is to determine what type of participant you want to be.

There are a number of different referral pathways:

This is where you pay the full cost of the service. This is usually done without a Health Professional referral and is not covered by private health insurance. It can be conducted as private assessment and treatment. The advantage with this method is that there is no limit with the number of times you may see a Psychologist.

You may have access to Private Health Insurance which can cover some or all of the cost involved. You would need to contact your health insurer to determine if your policy covers psychology services, and how you can access this cover.

Assessments may be covered by your private health insurance.

Another method is to obtain a referral from a Health Professional. There are a number of restrictions involved with access to Medicare rebates, and the number of times you may see a Psychologist. Medicare rebates do not cover the full cost of service, and a gap fee will apply.

Assessments do not attract Medicare rebates and will need to be paid in full prior to receiving the final report.

The Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) is part of the Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the Medicare Benefits Schedule (Better Access) initiative and involves the following process:

• Consult with your Doctor (GP, Paediatrician or Psychiatrist). Your Doctor will determine your, or your child's, eligibility and whether a MHCP is required. The Doctor would then put together a MHCP.

• The MHCP would then accompany a letter of referral addressed specifically to Unique Brains. The MHCP entitles you to attend up to 10 sessions with a Registered Psychologist with the ability to claim a Medicare rebate at the time of each service. These sessions are capped by Medicare at 10 sessions for each calendar year.

How MHCP works:

• Your Doctor provides an initial referral for 6 sessions of therapy with a Medicare rebate.

• At the completion of 6 sessions, the Psychologist would then provide the referring Doctor with a written letter commenting on the progress made.

• After this sixth session, you need to make an appointment with the referring Doctor to review the progress made. The Doctor may then allow for a further 4 sessions with a Medicare rebate and provide you with a new referral letter.

• Once all 10 sessions have been utilised, the Psychologist will complete another review letter for your Doctor to determine if treatment should continue.

• At the commencement of a new calendar year you may be eligible for another 10 sessions which can be accessed by a new referral letter from your Doctor.

• To receive a rebate for your session, all referrals must be dated prior to the day of the scheduled appointment at Unique Brains.  A rebate cannot be claimed for an appointment dated before the MHCP. Doctors cannot ‘back-date’ referrals.

Please present all referrals to reception prior to the initial consultation with the Psychologist.

The MHCP will be registered through Medicare under you, or your child’s name – therefore, it is necessary that you or your child attend the practice for every session for the MHCP Medicare rebate to be claimed.

Assessments are not covered by the MHCP and an alternate payment method will be required. Contact your Doctor or Unique Brains to determine the method.

A Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDMP) entitles a client with a chronic/complex medical illness a referral for up to 5 session per calendar year with a range of allied health professionals as determined by your GP, and may include a Psychologist.

A CDMP can only be accessed through a GP as Paediatricians cannot issue CDMP's.

The process is similar to acquiring a MHCP but there is no session review period with the GP for the CDMP.

NDIS Plan Managed Participants:

• Following your consultation, invoices will be emailed directly to your Plan Manager for payment. Please provide reception with the details of your Plan Manager, any invoicing requirements, and your NDIS participant number prior to attending your first session.

• Full payment is required at the time of your appointment, and a receipt will be emailed to you to claim directly through your NDIS portal.

• Unique Brains does not currently work with NDIS Managed Participants.

We recommend that you make an appointment for initial consultation which involves an introduction and review of what psychological services you require.

You will then need to complete the New Client Referral Form found in the main menu above. This form is electronic and will auto send as an email to Unique Brains when completed. No personal data is stored on this website.

On the day of the initial consultation, you will need to bring all relevant documentation. Please contact Unique Brains prior to the day to find out which documents are required.

During the consultation the Psychologist will review the documentation, and will discuss with you what would be the best approach to take to meet your needs. Areas discussed will include assessment and/or treatment options, and making a plan for intervention and therapy.

Typically, the assessment process would involve an interview, the completion of questionnaires specific to the presenting problem/s, individual administration of psychological assessments, and the completion of questionnaires by the client and associated others.

We may also offer individual Brain Mapping as part of each assessment (where appropriate), in order to identify areas of generalised or localised brain dysregulation.

The assessment process may take several sessions to complete, depending on the individual's age and complexity of the referral question.

Following your assessment, a comprehensive diagnostic report with recommendations for intervention will be produced, and copies made for you and others in your treatment team (e.g. referring Doctor or school). A follow-up appointment with Unique Brains can then be made to discuss the results and recommendations, and to answer any questions you may have.

Once the assessment and diagnostic components have been completed by Unique Brains, a collaborative intervention plan will be discussed, and appointment times scheduled for your ongoing treatment.

For further information on the various interventions and therapies at Unique Brains, please click on the following links:

• Neuroscience
• Therapy

For some diagnostic assessments, further consultation with a medical specialist (such as a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist) may be required to confirm a diagnosis and/or to discuss follow-up treatments (such as medications or other therapies). This will be discussed at the time of the assessment.