Coaching
As a psychologist I can coach you towards diagnosing your relationship problem, explaining why you have problems and solutions to resolve your differences. Coaching is really a technical term to counselling and advising you through a relationship issue. The key to a better understanding of your relationship is quality education, which I am able to provide given I have consulted to 100s of people from all walks of life, with different problems and issues. I have even seen couples in their 70s!!! And they got back together, believe it or not!
Need a referral from my doctor?
NO, you do not need a referral from your doctor. You can just book an appointment if you want. If you are worried about fees, then you could get rebates back from your private health policy. Check your policy and see if you are covered for psychological services. I am a registered psychologist and so you can get rebates on private health and Medicare. If you get your GP to refer to me, under a Mental Health Care Plan, you will get rebates under that scheme as well.
SORRY, I don’t bulk bill. There are some psychologists in Adelaide who bulk bill.
How many times do we see Dr Alex?
That’s a good question … the simple answer is 1 to 8 sessions. It depends really on your problem and how long you’ve had it. It also depends on if your partner and you are serious about tackling the issues. Sometimes one person is not serious about addressing the problem. This means that any efforts you make to resolve your differences will be hamstrung by the other person.
Some couples see me for 1 session, and that’s enough education. Some couples need more sessions because of long standing problems and further education is needed. During the first session, we will give you an idea of how many sessions you will need.
How do I pay and what is the cost?
We have several ways of paying. Most people pay through our EFTPOS / credit card facility. So just bring your credit card / savings card to the session and we can do the billing easily. Some people pay with cash or cheque, which is fine with us. You could also direct debit the fee into our account, but you need to talk to me about this before we go about it like this.
The cost is $160 per hour. An appointment usually lasts 60 minutes.
How do I fund it?
Many people see me when they don’t have the funds or money, or can’t afford it. That’s quite normal. Some people ask family to assist with the payment of sessions. Sometimes you may need that support to get through the problems you are experiencing.
If you are going through the Medicare system, you will get approximately 50% of the consultation fee back. If you have private health, you might get some money refunded under your Extras Cover.
Some people may be eligible for tax deductions on my consultations under training or professional development. Please see your accountant to see if you are eligible for tax deductions due to our consultations.
How do rebates work?
If you have a referral from a GP, then we can organise a rebate off the EFTPOS machine on the day of the appointment. Just bring a card with a savings or cheque account attached. It takes about 5 minutes to bill and get your rebate. The rebate amount lands into your account within 24 hours.
With private health, we don’t have the terminal to get you rebates. I email you an invoice and you can claim from your health insurance company.
Your secrets are safe
Seeing a psychologist is a little daunting because you are telling someone your inner most secrets. Some people can’t even tell his or her partner about the problem. So we harbor the problem and keep it inside. We keep it to ourselves until we can find someone to trust. In my industry, TRUST IS A MUST!
When you see me, you will be greeted by a receptionist but your personal information only I will know about. I keep all your information under lock and key, and nobody else finds out about it, unless I ask you if I can talk or write to your doctor. So my communication channels are very tight. I make special effort not keep your trust. It’s important to trust someone and have that trust supported by actions.
Natural, no medication service
Apart from wondering if secrets will be divulged to others, another fear that clients have is being forced to take “meds” or “happy pills”. Let me get one thing straight:- psychologists are mind doctors, not medical doctors. We are trained to educate you about how your mind works and helping you clear out emotional baggage. We use completely natural approaches and strategies to do so. There is absolutely no use of medication to do this. We also don’t administer electric shock, lobotomies orstraightjackets!!!
You see the three fears that people have about medication is: a) you will be stuck on them until you die (“I will be dependent and addicted!”); b) you will experience side effects (“I put 10 kilos on”); c) you will be zonked on them (“I can’t think straight anymore!”).
