What is an Educational & Developmental Psychologist?

All Registered Psychologists in Australia complete 6 years of foundational training in mental health and behaviour. Educational and Developmental Psychologists complete an additional 2 years of training and supervised practice to further develop their knowledge, skills, and competencies in: learning, development, and social-emotional wellbeing of individuals across the lifespan.
Educational and Developmental Psychologists have deep knowledge and skills in assessment, diagnosis and treatment of learning and developmental differences (neurodivergence) or disorders. A non-exhaustive list of such presentations include: Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs) such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, or Dyscalculia; Intellectual Disability (ID); Global learning delays; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Services and Referrals

No, you do not.

Referrals are only necessary for services delivered under a Medicare rebate scheme.

If you believe you may be eligible for Medicare rebates for psychological services, speak with your GP or psychiatrist prior to making your first appointment.

It may or it may not- We cannot determine this for you and you will need to speak with your private health insurance provider about whether your policy will provide coverage on our services.

You are responsible for determining your eligibility for private insurance rebates and for providing your private health insurance provider with receipts of our services to obtain reimbursement from them. We do not process private health insurance claims on your behalf.

aMAZEin’ Minds Psychology are not an NDIS provider and we provide services to only Self-Managed and Plan-Managed NDIS participants.

The 3 different types of management options for NDIS plans:

  • Self-managed plan: With a self-managed plan, the participant or their representative manages the funding provided by the NDIS. This means that the participant has the most control and flexibility over how their funding is spent, including choosing their own support providers and managing the budget. Participants can also choose to hire a plan manager to assist with financial administration tasks.

  • Plan-managed plan: With a plan-managed plan, the NDIS provides funding for a plan manager to manage the participant’s NDIS plan. The plan manager takes care of the financial administration tasks, including paying support providers on behalf of the participant. Participants still have the flexibility to choose their own support providers, but the plan manager handles the budget and payment tasks.

  • Agency-managed plan: With an agency-managed plan, the NDIS manages the funding and works directly with approved support providers to provide services to the participant. Participants have less control over their plan and support providers compared to the other two options, but the NDIS takes care of the administrative tasks, including paying support providers.

Generally speaking, yes. This is for consistency in your treatment plan, developing a strong therapeutic rapport, and minimising disclosure of your personal information.

However, if you wish to change psychologists, please let us know. We genuinely value and understand the importance of finding “the right fit” and will work our hardest to find a more suitable option for you.

Psychologists in Australia must operate under the Australian Psychological Society’s Ethics guidelines which state, “Psychologists refrain from engaging in multiple relationships that may impair their competence, effectiveness, objectivity, or ability to render a psychological service.“

For this reason, we try to minimise or avoid providing individual therapy to multiple family members.

Nonetheless, there may be times that such overlap won’t present those issues (e.g., impaired impartiality). For example, one psychologist may be able to conduct assessments with all of your children.

Please contact us for more information about how we can help meet your needs.

Psychologists do more work for their clients outside of the 50 minutes of direct interaction.

This work is essential for ensuring adequate client care for clients, and takes at least 10 minutes to complete.

Psychologists are ethically and legally obligated to do the following outside of their interactions with clients:

  • create and maintain adequate progress notes

  • complete important admin tasks e.g., send emails, return calls

  • appropriately store and archive files.

  • appropriately score and interpret test or survey materials

  • prepare for their sessions with clients, often by reading research literature, locating appropriate resources, planning session activities, reviewing client notes.

We offer very competitive prices to make high-quality psychological services accessible to you.

The APS recommend a rate of $280 for 40-60min with psychologists who hold a general registration.

Our general rate of $270 is for receiving services from an Educational and Developmental Psychologist with a PhD, in the area of learning difficulties and educational assessments.

Before your first appointment, the most important things to do are:

  1. Read our Privacy Policy, and

  2. Return the Service Agreement form that was sent to you as a link in your Intake Appointment confirmation email.

If you have any questions about these, please contact us on (03) 7046 4528 or at info@amazeinminds.com.au

Assessment: What to expect?

Our psychological assessments generally follow the following structure:

1 x Intake session, which is intended to help your Psychologist collect all the information they will need to

2-5 x Testing sessions (this will depend on the amount of testing that needs to be completed to meet your needs as well as how long it takes the client to complete these tasks)

1 x Feedback session, which is generally 3 weeks after your final testing session.

Our Assessment page on our website details the types of areas of functioning that we measure and some examples of the test tools we may use to do so.

We find that 2-5 testing sessions is the range of testing sessions required, depending on the client and their needs.

By default, we book all clients in for 1 intake session, 4 testing sessions, and 1 feedback session (i.e., 6 sessions in total).

We choose 4 testing sessions to begin with because we find:

  1. That’s usually how many testing sessions most clients need;

  2. It reserves those time slots for you to finish the assessment in a timely manner; and

  3. It makes adjustments (additions or cancellations) very easy. Cancellation fees do not apply in this scenario.

In accordance with our COVID-19 Safety Plan, our preference is for Intake and Feedback sessions to be scheduled as Telehealth (videoconferencing) appointments. Testing sessions must be scheduled as in-person consultations.

The overall cost of a psychological assessment = Session fees + Report fee

Our Session Fees depend on the qualifications of the Psychologist you are seeing.

Our fee for a Comprehensive Psychological Report is fixed at $1350. This cost covers unlimited surveys; time taken to score, interpret, and present the results in written form; unlimited time taken for speaking with other professionals (e.g., teachers, tutors, employers); unlimited tests and materials administered; and the written report. Essentially, the report fee covers everything except the session fees.

To help ensure high-quality services and reports, all of our Psychologist are under the direct supervision of the Clinic Director/Lead Psychologist, Dr Andrea Sadusky, who holds a doctorate and an endorsement in Educational & Developmental Psychology, with a special interest in the assessment of learning difficulties/differences.

All Session fees are due at the end of each session. The Report fee is due at the end of the final testing session (i.e., before the feedback).

Psychological assessment is a broad “umbrella” label to describe all types of assessments that Psychologists conduct.

Psycho-educational assessment is a type of psychological assessment that involves administering tools that measure academic achievement e.g., Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III), Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV-ACH)

Should you wish to book appointments for a psychological assessment or have any further questions, please feel free to contact us on (03) 7046 4528 or at info@amazeinminds.com.au

Telehealth

Telehealth refers to a videoconference (video + audio) consultation between you and your psychologist.

Click here for further details about telehealth in the context of receiving psychological services.

Yes. Where appropriate for the service and client, telehealth remains the preferred option.

You are responsible for ensuring that you have a device with a speaker, microphone, camera, reliable internet connection, and a quiet and private space prior to the Appointment.

We will provide you with a link to our conferencing platform for the Appointment.

Telehealth services may be subject to the following limitations:

  • Unstable connections that affect the quality of the session.

  • Not an appropriate or effective option for some psychological services.

  • Not an appropriate or effective option for some clients.

  • The client’s privacy may be limited by external factors e.g., the security of the digital connection, the presence of other people in the client’s surroundings.

  • Telehealth services may not funded by the client’s health insurance companies.

  • Limited opportunities for Psychologists to manage risks.

In order to protect the safety of young people, we ask that parents/guardians be in the same location and be available on the provided telephone number at all times during online sessions.

To protect the privacy of young people, we ask that you do not listen into the telehealth session e.g., be in a separate room.

These procedures are intended to mirror those that occur in-clinic.

COVID-19

The Pandemic (Public Safety) Order 2022 (No. 5) commenced at 11:59pm on 22 September 2022 and was revoked at 11:59pm on 12 October 2022. It has now been replaced by Victoria’s pandemic management framework. As such, our COVID-19 Safe Plan and Practices have been updated to be consistent with this framework.

You are welcome to attend your appointments with a face mask, if you wish.

On 12 October 2022 the he Pandemic (Public Safety) Order 2022 (No. 5) was revoked and replaced by the Victorian Government’s Pandemic Management Framework. This framework no longer mandates the wearing of face masks in allied healthcare settings.

The current guidelines on wearing face masks can be found at https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/face-masks

If you are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms, you must not attend the clinic.

If you are unwell – whether it is due to COVID-19 or another illness – please call reception to reschedule your appointment or arrange an alternative option (e.g., telehealth).

Please inform us as soon as possible if you have been in contact with someone who has (or suspects they could have) COVID-19 within 14 days before your appointment.

We will work with you to review your circumstances to determine whether your appointment can proceed in-person, be delivered via telehealth instead, or rescheduled to a later time.

If your appointment is rescheduled due to sickness, we will prioritise giving you options for the soonest appointments available.

No. We no longer need you to check-in or supply proof of your vaccinated status for COVID-19.

Yes. In accordance with legislation, all staff maintain a “fully vaccinated (boosted)” for COVID-19 in order to work in our clinic.

The health and safety of our clients, staff, and visitors is of utmost importance to us.

You can view our currently implemented COVID-19 Safe Plan here.

General

The Pandemic (Public Safety) Order 2022 (No. 5) commenced at 11:59pm on 22 September 2022 and was revoked at 11:59pm on 12 October 2022. It has now been replaced by Victoria’s pandemic management framework. As such, our COVID-19 Safe Plan and Practices have been updated to be consistent with this framework.

There is plenty of unmetered parking available just beside our clinic on Ricketts Road. Let us know if you have any difficulty finding a carpark before your appointment and we will do our best to assist you.

If your psychologist is temporarily absent for unexpected reasons (e.g., illness, carer’s leave), we will notify you of this as soon as is reasonably practicable so we can discuss your re-scheduling options.

If your psychologist will be absent in a known timeframe (e.g., annual leave, retirement), they will discuss and plan with you ways that they can complete their services with you and, as required, how you can continue receiving services from another psychologist.

No. Only medical doctors, such as GPs and Psychiatrists, can prescribe medication. Psychologists are not a medical doctors.

Medicare Frequently Asked Questions

To receive a Medicare rebate for psychology services, you must first obtain a referral from your general practitioner (GP), a psychiatrist, or a paediatrician.

Individual Focused Psychological Strategies: These are tailored interventions under a “Mental Health Care Plan” provided by a psychologist to help manage symptoms of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Techniques can include cognitive-behavioural therapy, relaxation strategies, and psycho-education about mental health.

Eating Disorder Psychological Treatment Services: These services are designed for individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder. Treatment can include psychological counselling and therapy to address the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours associated with eating disorders. A specific treatment plan must be created by a medical practitioner.

Assessment for Children (under 13 years) with Autism or Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), or an Eligible Disability: This service includes detailed assessments conducted by psychologists to diagnose autism, other PDDs, or disabilities in young children. The assessments are crucial for developing appropriate intervention and support plans.

Treatment for Children (under 15 years) with Autism or Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), or an Eligible Disability: Post-diagnosis, this service provides ongoing therapeutic support and interventions tailored to the child’s specific needs. Treatment aims to help the child develop necessary social, communicative, and behavioural skills.

These services require a referral, typically from a GP, psychiatrist, or paediatrician, and must be part of a recognised treatment plan to be eligible for a Medicare rebate.

No. We do not bulk bill (i.e., bill Medicare directly).

All appointments must be paid for in full on the day the service was provided. Rebates are processed only after full payment has been received.

Your rebate amount depends on your referral type and the context of your appointment.

Click here for an overview of some psychological services that are eligible for Medicare rebates and their scheduled rebate amounts.

This depends on the referral type.

Under the Better Access initiative, eligible people can receive:

  • Up to 10 individual sessions in a calendar year (1 January to 31 December).

  • Up to 10 group therapy sessions in a calendar year where such services are available and seen as appropriate by your referring doctor and the psychologist.

Referrals cannot be provided for the full 10 sessions. A referral is for a maximum of six sessions. Your referring doctor will assess your progress after the first six sessions and determine whether further sessions are needed.

The “referral” is the written request from a medical practitioner to the Psychologist, requesting the commencement of psychological treatment.

Referrals are valid for the number of services shown on the referral letter or note. Mental health referrals do not expire at the end of the year.

Services Australia – Medicare: This is the main site for all Medicare-related information, including details on how to claim rebates and what services are covered.

Australian Psychological Society (APS): The APS provides information about accessing psychological services and the role of Medicare in mental health.

Healthdirect Australia: This government-funded service offers advice on health services covered by Medicare, including mental health treatment plans.

Department of Health: Provides detailed policy and guideline documents on Medicare benefits, including those for mental health.

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Unit 11B/475 Blackburn Road
Mount Waverley, VIC, 3149

(03) 7046 4528

info@amazeinminds.com.au

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