• No. You can make an appointment without a referral from your GP, however the out-of-pocket fee will be the full session rate. If you have a referral, you may be eligible for Medicare rebates (read more about that here).

  • Sessions are 50 minutes long, although longer sessions up to 90 minutes can be arranged. It is important that we stick to the allocated time so that all clients can be seen at their scheduled timeslot. If you are someone who finds it tricky to manage time, please rest assured that in therapy this is my job and I can help you structure and conclude the session in a way that is beneficial for you.

  • It depends! Some people only require a small number of sessions to benefit, however others need longer-term therapy. My therapeutic approach tends to be focused towards longer-term care, building a strong relationship, and with a “go slow to go fast” approach.

  • I have a more detailed article on this coming soon! In short, it’s a chance for us to both get to know each other and work out if we may be a good fit. You are welcome to ask me questions and you don’t need to talk about things that you don’t want to. There’s nothing you need to bring along or prepare for in advance.

THE PRACTICAL STUFF

  • Start by contacting me via email or the contact form letting me know just a little about the care you are after and your availability for appointments. I will return your email and if you would like to go ahead, we can then make a time for an appointment.

  • I offer in-person appointments on Fridays, in Ferntree Gully (outer eastern Melbourne). More information is available here.

  • I am currently only working with adults (21+).

  • In general, yes. It is important however that we have an opportunity to discuss this first, particularly for confidentiality reasons. Ethically, I also need to set boundaries with the support person and be clear that their engagement is as a support person for you, not as a client of mine.

the questions (I’ve been told) people have always wanted to ask about therapy but been afraid to

  • No. No no no no no. Absolutely not. The best advice I can offer is to bring your authentic self to therapy. You do not need to perform or respond in ways that you think the therapist wants you to.

  • Clothing is mandatory. Borat mankinis are not recommended. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in, that may include active wear, office wear, casual wear, pyjamas (particularly for telehealth appointments), flowy summer dresses...

  • I can honestly say without any hesitation, no. The more I sit with and listen to others, the deeper I understand and respect the human-ness of us all. Are there ever times that I may feel frustrated - yes. I am also human and my own feelings of frustration can provide a lot of important information for our therapy together (e.g., are you cancelling our sessions to avoid the difficult emotions - maybe that is something that also shows up in other relationships?)

  • It is absolutely fine if you aren’t sure what to say, it’s actually pretty common and something we can consider together.

    In general, my approach is flexible, with the amount of structure and guidance dependent on what each person needs. I am active during therapy so the intention isn’t that you will talk the entire time while I sit and nod along. I will, gently and curiously, interrupt if needed.

  • For your wellbeing as well as my self-care and sustainability as a therapist, contact between sessions is limited to administrative purposes only (e.g., emailing to reschedule a session).

    See a meme between sessions that reminds you of something we spoke about? Have a question about the work we are doing? Feeling stuck with something? Save it, write down notes, hold it in mind and bring it along to our next session - let’s give it the proper attention it deserves when we have the time and space.

  • Go for it. You also don’t have to swear. I’ll follow your lead.

  • Both of these are absolutely ok and neither of them are “wrong.” If either of them are things you would like to be different, we can work with that too.

  • I am human and therapy is a relationship and I likely will annoy and frustrate you at least once (probably a lot more than that). I regularly seek feedback and if I have really gotten it wrong or caused harm, I want to know, to take responsibility, and to correct it. I also want you to communicate your feelings with me - this is actually such an important part of therapy! It gives us information not just about me, but what may be going on for you.

  • Great question! I will write a longer blog post on this one. Until then, it is absolutely something that we discuss in sessions and regularly review. If I don’t think your work with me is helping you or another therapist may be able to help more, I will always raise this with you.

  • Absolutely not. It would be highly unethical for me to record you during session without your consent. It is also part of your engagement that you agree to not record (video or audio) our sessions.

    The only time our sessions may ever be recorded is if I am pursuing further accreditation and receiving direct feedback from a supervisor; in this case, I would discuss this with you and seek your consent (to which you do not have to agree).

    I do not currently use any form of AI or transcription for clinical note taking.

Have a question you think should be included here? Let me know!