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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What do I need to do before coming to counselling?​
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Absolutely nothing. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had counselling (or any type of therapy) before or not. There is no preparation required on your side (no paperwork, no referrals etc.), nothing! We will cover off some standard questions in the first 15 minutes of your first session so I can develop a better understanding of your history and contextual details of your issue.

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2. What is the difference between Counselling & Psychology?
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Short answer: You could say psychology is more science-based & counselling is more human-based.

Long answer: Psychologists are trained in the science of how people think, feel, behave, and learn. They have specialised training in diagnostics and psychological assessment, and they tend to work with people experiencing more severe mental health problems.

 

Treatment approaches will more likely lean toward models like CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and they’ll perhaps use psychological testing tools to inform strategies for therapy. Lastly, treatment will often commence with a comprehensive assessment.

 

Counsellors on the other hand, counsellors adopt a more person-centred approach. This means the therapeutic process begins by discussing what your treatment goals are and then listening to what you have to say about the issue: you are the expert of your own life.

A person-centred approach to therapy is non-directive and optimistic, and it assumes that every human being strives for and has the capacity to fulfill their own potential.

 

Counsellors help people by tackling problems by helping them to clarify issues, explore options and develop strategies. So, for myself as a counsellor, I don't tend to do diagnosis or assessment, but I can support people with mild symptoms of mental illness. In the event that I’m working with someone who I feel may need a different kind of support, I would look to refer them to another practitioner who had the appropriate skills and experience to support them – protecting client safety and interests.

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3. What kinds of issues can counselling help with?
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This could really be anything. Some clients simply don’t want to burden loved ones. Others feel like they don’t have someone in their life they trust enough to talk to about more complex feelings. Some people can’t talk about the issue with their friends, because the issue is about their friends.

 

I’ve had some clients who have had struggles with alcohol, trauma, anxiety, and depression. Some others have been dealing with unresolved grief, or stress caused by work or university demands. Others have wanted help building their self-esteem, boundary setting, assertiveness training, or relationship issues.

 

Basically, there are many reasons people seek counselling support.

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4. How many counselling sessions will I need?
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As an initial guide only, I’d say approximately 8 fortnightly sessions.

 

However, this can be less, and it can be more. Some brief interventions can be highly effective, so you simply may not need many sessions to help you through your issue.

 

However, if what you’re dealing with is more complex or ongoing, you may feel that you require more than 8 sessions. More sessions won’t mean you’re “failing therapy”, or that you’re “damaged”. It’s very normal for the process to take some time, and you might find that once you’re in the process, you uncover more things you want to address beyond what you initially came in for. It happens all the time!

 

The overall number of sessions will really depend on each person and the types of issues you want to discuss (i.e. whether the issues are brief or ongoing).

 

The reason I’m providing a guideline number of sessions at all is because ending the therapeutic process is almost as important as beginning it, so it’s helpful to keep in mind that we’re ultimately aiming to reach an end point where you’re feeling equipped to navigate things without my help.

 

The idea is that you’ll be building skills throughout the entire journey that will help prepare you to navigate challenging issues on your own, without therapeutic support. We also want to keep you moving forward toward achieving the outcome you’re looking for, so having a timeframe helps to keep things on track.

 

All that said, the duration of counselling is something we will discuss in the first session, which we can align around your expectations of counselling and your goals.

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6. What is the process for counselling?
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As a generic guide only, here’s what you could expect over 8 sessions: 

 

  • First session: Identify and understand your concerns and expectations from counselling, your background, and clarify your goals. 

  • Sessions 2 - 4: Continue getting to know each other & working towards overcoming your concerns. Some counselling strategies will likely be used to explore and challenge personal difficulties. 

  • Sessions 5 - 6: Continued adjustment of counselling approach as new information emerges. 

  • Session 7 - 8: Discuss continuation or conclusion of counselling dependent on how you’re progressing toward your goals.

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As you’ll see, the beginning and concluding sessions are somewhat consistent across most people, but the middle is very much designed around the needs and unique characteristics of each individual person.  

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7. Can people visit you without a doctor’s referral?
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Absolutely! In fact, having a doctor’s referral won’t be useful at all. This is because counselling is unfortunately not eligible for Medicare rebates.

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8. Is counselling covered by Medicare?
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No, it is not. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Keep in mind that whenever you use Medicare, your sensitive information including diagnosis, presenting issues (reasons you’re seeking support), treatment plan and progress reports will become part of your Health Record.  

 

To access Medicare subsidised mental health services, you’ll require a mental health diagnosis from a GP to obtain a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) that can be used with psychologists (and some social workers).

 

Some other considerations to keep in mind:

 

  1. Mental Health Care Plans only include a limited number of sessions. Initially, people can access 6 sessions. If additional sessions are required thereafter, the treating psychologist would need to provide a report to the referring GP to request that they refer that person for an additional 4 sessions (with a maximum number of accessible sessions being 10 in one calendar year)1.

  2. You can’t necessarily choose who your GP refers you to. It’s most likely that your GP will refer you to their preferred psychologists or social workers, so this may be decided for you.

  3. There are some concerns that having a diagnosis will impact insurance options (life/professional indemnity) or lead to assumptions being made about them by treatment providers.

  4. Following completion of the therapy, your treating psychologist/social worker is required to provide a full written report back to your GP. This can be a concern for some people regarding confidentiality.

  5. One of the other limits to confidentiality (which we will cover in the initial session) if that if your information is subpoenaed by a court of law. In this case, we (whoever your practitioner is –counsellors, psychologists, and social workers) have a legal obligation to provide them with your records. Sessions under a MHCP show up on a Notice of Charge document, which could make it easier for someone to track down what treatment you are receiving and from who. From there, it makes it much easier for them to subpoena your records.

  6. Psychologists/social workers who accept Mental Health Care Plans are limited so you can often expect lengthy waitlists before you can receive treatment. In my experience, these waitlists have been as long as 3 to 6 months.

  7. There are only a few Specific Focussed Psychological Strategies that have been approved for use under Medicare2. These include:

  • Psychoeducation

  • Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)

  • Relaxation strategies

  • Skills training

  • Interpersonal therapy

  • Eye-Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)

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However, counsellors & non-Medicare based therapists aren’t restricted to using only these approaches. This means that strategies from other modalities can be incorporated into your plans to enhance your treatment based on your unique needs.

 

To me, this piece is vital as part of a collaborative approach to treatment and to ensure that I’m able to respond to whatever you need and build plans that address your specific needs based on the unique factors that make you, you. For me, having to work within only a few specific frameworks is too restrictive and doesn’t allow space for much flexibility to respond to everchanging needs throughout individual sessions and the course of treatment.

 

References

  1. https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/better-access-initiative?utm_source=health.gov.au&utm_medium=callout-auto-custom&utm_campaign=digital_transformation

  2. https://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=2727&qt=item

Let’s Work Together

You're welcome to email me anytime via hello@warmwelcome.com.au​

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