Frequently Asked Questions

All of our locations are open either after-hours or on a weekend. Contact us to find out the exact opening hours of your desired location.

Fees start from $180 per session for psychologists. Fees vary depending on the qualifications and location of the psychologist and whether the treatment is for an individual or couple.

Counsellors in our network may charge slightly less than Psychologists. Medicare rebates and private health rebates may apply for Psychologist sessions. Treatment by a Counsellor may qualify for private health care rebates.

Call us for a quote on the exact cost of your counselling visit.

We do not provide a bulk billing service. In some circumstances you may be eligible for a rebate reducing the gap payable by you(see below).

You do not need a referral to access our counselling service.

However you will need to see your GP if you wish to claim a rebate from Medicare and if you are seeing a Psychologist. Counsellor sessions are not eligible for medicare whereas Psychologist services can be. See below for more information.

In some circumstances it is possible to claim a rebate from Medicare when you see a Clinical or Registered Psychologist.

To obtain a rebate, you first need to see your GP and obtain a Mental Health Care Plan. This plan will enable you to obtain a rebate from Medicare for your counselling service.

Please note that not everyone is eligible for a Mental Health Care Plan – please discuss your eligibility with your GP.

When claiming a rebate, you will still need to pay the full fee at the time of your booking, after which you can take your receipt to Medicare for partial reimbursement.

Medicare only covers the services of a Clinical or Registered Psychologist, or a Registered Mental Health Social Worker, who provides counselling to an individual. This means that Relationship Therapy for couples is not covered by Medicare, and nor is counselling by a professional counsellor or psychotherapist.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and as part of the government’s mental health response to the pandemic, Medicare now covers the cost of sessions with Psychologists or Registered Social Workers regardless of where the counselling is conducted. This means that Medicare rebates are currently also available for telehealth or online counselling services. This includes sessions conducted over zoom or another video technology, as well as telephone counselling. This is a temporary measure, but is anticipated to become a permanent change.

Remember, you must obtain a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP before you can become eligible for a Medicare rebate.

Eligible patients can typically obtain a rebate for up to 6 sessions initially, and a further 4 sessions (if applicable). As part of the government’s Covid-19 response, that eligibility has increased to 20 sessions per calendar year (although this may change).

When you see a Registered Psychologist, you will be entitled to a Medicare rebate of approximately $85 per session. Sessions with Mental Health Social Workers attract a slightly lesser rebate (of $79). When you see a Clinical Psychologist you will be entitled to approximately $129 per session.

Many private health funds in Australia cover psychology services as part of their Extras cover. Please make your own enquiries with your Health Fund to determine whether or not your policy covers you, and to what extent. Each policy is different.

There is no minimum or fixed number of sessions that you need to attend. Your counsellor or psychologist will make a treatment plan with you and will review this after the first assessment session.

Short treatments often range from 4-12 sessions. Longer term treatment can also help for more complex or longer standing issues.

Most clients attend weekly or fortnight, and will often drop down to monthly sessions when they feel they are ready.

On average couples attend between 4-12 sessions, sometimes coming back for to touch base on an regular basis.

We are not able to book an appointment on behalf of a third party.

We are able to provide you with practice locations, opening times, fees and other general information about our service but the individual seeking counselling will need to call us directly to make the booking.

The information discussed in your counselling session is entirely confidential and will not be released to anyone except with your express permission.

The only time a practitioner may release information to authorities is if they feel your life or someone else’s life is in immediate danger, if they are mandated to report the abuse of a child under 16yrs, or the records fall under legal subpoena from a court of law.

Yes of course.

Couples counselling is for all sorts of couples, including de facto couples, couples living apart, gay, lesbian and transgender couples, parent/child, siblings, friends or work colleagues.

Couples counselling works to improve your relationship, regardless of the nature of that relationship. Mediation can also benefit non-romantic couples who are in conflict.

It is important to determine what your primary goal is. If you are wanting to work together on your relationship then we usually recommend that you meet the counsellor together for your first session, so that you commence counselling on an even playing field.

Some counsellors may then suggest that you book separate appointments before coming together again as a couple.

If you commence counselling alone, and subsequently decide to invite your partner to join you, your counsellor may suggest that you see another, independent couples counsellor for your relationship needs.

Sometimes a person will want to engage in couples counselling because they feel that their partner really needs to work on a particular issue affecting their relationship, for e.g. addiction issues, anger issues or depression. This is fine. The counsellor may continue to see you as a couple, or she may recommend that your partner seek independent counselling.

Couples counselling will help you and your partner develop better communication skills and rekindle lost intimacy. However, couples counselling does not necessarily ‘save’ your relationship.

Sometimes couples counselling helps couples to realise that they should not be together, in which case it can greatly aid the process of separation.

There are no certain tips to encouraging your partner to come to counselling with you. Often, individual persons within a relationship will benefit hugely from seeing a counsellor on their own. You can still talk through your own relationship issues, and learn skills to enhance your communication and intimacy when you are back with your partner.

Sometimes people just need support from a professional and we encourage you to give counselling a go even if your partner won’t come with you.

Associated Counsellors offers an Employment Assistance Counselling Program (EAP) to employees of large and small firms.

Through this program we are able to offer one on one counselling for employees experiencing a wide range of concerns including stress, anger, bullying, trauma and grief.

We are also able to offer on-site trauma response counselling. You can use our service for a singular need, or you can contract with our company to service all of your EAP counselling needs. Our EAP service is customised so that you only pay for what you use.  Please contact us  for more information about our service.

There are many services available for young people who need to talk. Try calling the Kids Help Line on 1800 55 1800. Headspace is an organisation who also specialises in youth counselling. They have several locations across Australia. You can visit their website to find your nearest location at www.headspace.org.au. If you are between the ages of 16 and 18, you can see one of our counsellors without your parent’s knowledge, but as we have a fee associated with our service, this may limit your options. If cost is an issue, try contacting one of the organisations listed above.