What are the available times and days for counselling appointments?
Bluestone Allied Health has Day, Evening and Saturday appointments. Monday-Friday 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM and Saturday 09:00 AM to 03:00 PM. Other timings can be organized by special appointment.
What are the fees for counselling?
Bluestone Allied Health offers reasonable pricing and accommodates people who have a low income health care or pensioner cards. For further information on the fee and rebate structure for different services please contact us for further information.
What is the difference between a psychologist and psychiatrist?
Psychiatrists are specialist medical practitioners who can prescribe medications and if necessary they can hospitalise people. On the other hand psychologists are not medical doctors and hence cannot prescribe medications. Psychologists work closely with a patient’s GP and/or psychiatrist to ensure he/she gets the best and most comprehensive treatment.
Can I claim my Medicare gap fee on private health cover?
No. Private health insurance ancillary cover cannot be used to pay the gap between the Medicare rebate and the charge for psychological services.
Medicare allows all gap fees on your Mental Health Treatment Plan sessions to count towards your Medicare Safety Net.
How many sessions do I need?
Therapy is a process which is specific for each individual. The duration of counseling is difficult to be forecasted as this depends on the issues a person is dealing with and the rate of their progress. Some clients resolve their issues in a small number of sessions and other clients prefer to work on their emotional development on a long-term basis.
Under the Medicare Better Access to Mental Health Care program an eligible person have 10 rebatable individual services and 10 group therapy services per calendar year.
What is classed as a mental disorder under Medicare?
Mental disorder is a term that describes a number of clinically diagnosable disorders that impact a person’s emotions, thoughts, social skills, and decision-making. These include:
- Psychotic disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Bipolar disorder
- Phobic disorders
- Anxiety disorder
- Adjustment disorder
- Depression
- Sexual disorders
- Conduct disorders
- Bereavement disorders
- Eating disorders
- Panic disorder
- Alcohol use disorders
- Drug use disorders
- Sleep problems
- Attention deficit disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Co-occurring anxiety and depression
Can I see a psychologist without a Mental Health Treatment Plan?
Yes, non-medicare session health rebates are provided by most health funds under their ancillary/extras table. The rebate differs depending on your health fund and level of cover, so check with your fund for details. We are providers for all major health funds.
Can I claim my psychology sessions on my tax?
Executive Coaching: Help with issues pertaining primarily to your career or work performance may be tax deductible. Please consult with your tax advisor. GST will apply to this work and rates may be different.
Do psychologists at Bluestone Allied Health write reports and conduct psychological assessments?
When required our psychologist can write a psychological report or conduct a specific psychological assessments for schools, TAC, Work Cover, and Government organisations. These reports are charged additionally to psychological consultations. Report fee will be discussed with you before reports are written. It is a Bluestone Allied Health policy that reports are pre-paid.
Do psychologists at Bluestone Allied Health write psycho-legal reports?
For documents to be sent to court for any legal purpose please discuss this with us. Psycho-legal correspondence is a fee-paying service offered as per individual practitioners experience. This service is not permissible under the Medicare rebated MHTP sessions as per the Health Insurance Act (1973).