We are a busy, little service in the heart of inner west Melbourne, Newport.

We offer a professional service where, WE ARE WITH YOU, being held, every step of the way.

NCPS - SERVICE GUIDELINES

Referrals &  Rebates Although, you do not need to have a referral to see our clinicians. It is recommended that you discuss your needs with your GP (or treating practitioner) to arrange a GP referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan. Your GP, Psychiatrist or Paediatrician can arrange this for you.

A Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) will allow you to access to a total of 10 subsidised counselling sessions per calendar year. This includes 6 sessions initially, followed by an additional 4, If you have a referral and GP MHTP, please forward this to us prior to your appointment as this assists us with your ongoing treatment and support. GP Referrals and Mental Health Care Plans can be faxed or emailed to our service. If you have attended another service (or have utilised sessions with another practitioner) this may affect your billing and eligibility for a Medicare Rebate.

Medicare Rebates (01 July 2023) range from $81.90 (AMHSW/MHOT), $92.90 (Psychology) and $136.35 (Clinical Psychologist) or 80% of the gap if you have reached the Medicare Safety Net for the year.

Our Fees Our fees are based on based on clinicians’ qualifications, experience, skills and expertise. Our clinicians approved under the Medicare program are; Kristen Fawcett (Director, Acc. Clinical /Mental Health Social Worker/Clinical Family Therapist), Tim Jezard (Director, Psychologist), Ian Connop (Acc. Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW), Domenica (Nic) Roperto (AMHSW) and William Kambwilli (AMHSW), Simon Kimm (Psychologist), Graciela (Grace) Lopez (Psychologist), Garry Thomson (Psychologist) and Anthea Barry (Endorsed Mental Health Occupational Therapist).

At this time, Roni Sokolic (Social Worker/Family Therapist) and Matt Dellosa are awaiting Medicare endorsement, therefore, their fees are billed privately. Our Clinician fees range from $120/200 -250+ and will also depend on the time of your appointment. Evening/ Weekend sessions will incur a higher fee (NB: Evening sessions are considered after 5:00pm). We do not offer bulk-billing (free) counselling sessions.

Couple/Family Sessions are billed privately given they are not eligible for the Medicare rebate. Please note, the Australian Psychological Society’s recommended fee per session is currently $280 per consultation and for the Australian Association of Social Workers, the recommended fee per session is currently $240 per hour.

CLINICAL SERVICES

Couple & Family Counselling At NCPS, we have several clinicians who are skilled and experienced in providing Couple and Family sessions (as well as Individual Therapy). These include; Kristen Fawcett, Tim Jezard Psychologist, Ian Connop and Roni Sokolic. We like to offer Extended Sessions e.g., 80 minutes for Initial Session  depending on the presentation issues and complexity. This will be discussed with you at intake and billed accordingly based on the time allocated. Subsequent sessions will be determined by the clinician. Couple and Family Counselling sessions are not covered by Medicare; therefore, you are not entitled to a Medicare rebate for these sessions.

If you have been referred by your GP under a Mental Health Treatment plan, we ask you to utilise this for your own personal, Individual Mental Health sessions.

Group Programs: If you are keen to attend the Being Held Group Program, please email us! Please see your GP for a referral to attend 10 group sessiosn per calendar year.

REFERRAL PATHWAYS Several referral pathways are available at NCPS. If you are unsure as to which referral is most suited to you, please contact us and we can assist you with understanding and obtaining the most appropriate  referral.

GP Referral

·       Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP): (6+4) Better Access to Mental Health Care

·       Pregnancy Support Counselling (3 sessions): for those who are or have been pregnant Pregnancy Support Services

·       Chronic Disease Management (5 sessions): for those with chronic conditions Chronic Disease Management

·       Eating Disorder Referral (up to 40 sessions): some people with eating disorders will have access to an Eating Disorders Plan (EDP) and involves Medicare subsidises up to 40 sessions with a mental health clinician over a 12-month period (plus 20 sessions with a dietitian).Eating Disorders

·       Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ASTI): 5 sessions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI)

If you have other clinicians or other services involved in your care, please let us know so that together, we can coordinate the best treatment for you.

Third Party Organisations NCPS has collaborative working relationships with the following organisations:

·       Workcover WorkCover

·       Transport Accident Commission (TAC) Transport Accident Commission (TAC)

·       Department of Family Fairness and Housing (DFFH) - Treatment Packages

·       Open Arms (Veterans and their families) Open Arms

·       Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT) Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT)

·       Family Reconciliation Mediation Program (FRMP) Family Reconciliation Mediation Program (Melbourne City Mission)

·       National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

At NCPS, we charge an additional gap payment for clients paying privately, this includes: NDIS (Self Funded), TAC and Workcover referrals.

Private Health Psychologists Private Health Funds will cover Australians’ access to consultations for psychology services Please check with your individual Private Health Funds for more information.

Mental Health Social Workers Accredited Mental Health Social Workers Private health insurance funds such as BUPA, HCF, Teachers Health Fund, Uni Health Insurance, St Lukes and Nurses and Midwives Health provide access to clinical services provided by Accredited Mental Health Social Workers. We encourage you to speak with your individual provider about their guidelines. Sessions will be paid for privately and you can claim from you insurer.

SUPERVISION CONSULTING & TRAINING We provide Clinical Supervision Consulting and Training to individuals, groups and organisations. Our fees range from $130 - 250, depending on the type of service provided. Please contact us via email to discuss your needs.

PAYMENTS Full payments for sessions are required at the time of appointment and can be made by credit card (Visa, Mastercard). We will process the payment as close to the session time as possible, including the Medicare Rebate. We request that you have sufficient funds available in your account at the time of your session. As repeated instances of unpaid accounts may limit your access to future appointments. As we are a private practice, we are unable to offer fully bulk billed sessions  (due to financial hardship) and charge an additional (gap) fee at our clinic.

CANCELLATION POLICY NCPS have amended their cancellation policy to reduce the financial burden on our clients for cancellations, whilst still ensuring that our clinician who have reserved an hour of their time for you appointment are not inconvenienced by late cancellation or non-attendances. At NCPS, we follow the Australian Psychological Society’s cancellation guidelines. Clients will be required to pay full fee (100%) of their session fee for cancellations made within 48 business hours (Monday to Friday 9:—5:00pm) of their appointment. If our Client Support Team can fill that session time with another person, we will not charge the cancellation fee, however, this cannot be guaranteed. Cancellation fees are not eligible for the Medicare rebate. Cancellation fees may be waivered on some occasions, due to a medical emergency, on a discretionary basis.

Third Party Referrals will be charged the full fee for non-attended or cancelled appointments (or as per individual organisaitons Service Agreement).

Non-Attendance Clients who do not attend their scheduled appointment without notifying the service will be charged a “no show” fee, which is equivalent to the full cost of the consultation. Cancellation/No-shows due to illness (non-hospitalised) can be waived once. 

Courtesy Reminder To reduce the risk of this occurring; we will send you a courtesy test message via our Halaxy (two-way reminder) Service Messaging System SMS: 0448 817 949, letting you know of your appointment, 48 hours prior.

Outstanding Fees We require all outstanding fees (including cancellation/no show fees) to be paid prior to booking subsequent sessions. If you are having difficulties with your clinical and/or payment issues, please discuss with your clinician and/or the Practice Manager.

Booking your Sessions We encourage you to book a series of sessions at the time of intake and/or following your initial session. This is to ensure that you have regular sessions booked for your treatment and support needs. You can also book your sessions online via our NCPS website (www.newportcounselling.com.au) and click “BOOK APPOINTMENT”.

Telehealth (Video ) Appointments: If you have a video session - you will need to download ZOOM prior to your appointment. Before your appointment you will receive an email from your clinician, with an invitation to join a Zoom meeting. You will need to click on at the time of your appointment. If you do not have a private space for these sessions, please discuss with your clinician. Telehealth

Telehealth (Phone) Appointments If you have a scheduled phone call, your clinician will contact you at the time of the appointment. 

Cancellation List If you need assistance (prior to your booked session)  you may contact us and request to be placed on our weekly Cancellation List. Sometimes we can book you in with clinicians if they get a late notice cancellation. These may be at short notice, and we encourage you to attend if in need of assistance.

Dual Relationship If you have a dual relationship within the practice e.g. family members attend, you know one of the clinicians personally, or your relative attends and you would like your information to remain confidential, please email Kristen (Director) so that we can ensure your confidentiality is honoured and respected.

No longer attending If you are no longer attending the service and would like your treatment to be closed or placed “on hold for now”, please email your clinician directly, so that we can consider your request, notify your GP and discharge you from the service. For clients no longer wishing to attend the service (E.g. have cancelled sessions or have not rebooked, in the first instance your clinician will make contact with you) and/or our Practice Manager.

Keeping in touch We will routinely keep in touch with you via our newsletters and client surveys. This is a great way for us to let you know how our service is travelling and how we can best support you. If you have any feedback or would like us to share some information with you, please let us know. If you have never attended NCPS and have received this in error, please click here to unsubscribe and we will amend our records. If you have any feedback (both positive and of concern), please feel free to let us know as we are always trying to improve our services to you: kristen@newportcounselling.com.au