ABOUT EMPATHIC’S CLIENT SERVICE PHILOSOPHY
Are you looking for a safe, nurturing therapist in Canberra? Empathic is a women-only practice – I see women of all ages, starting with girls from 5 years of age. Sessions are conducted in person, face-to-face, in our custom-built therapy studio in Watson, Canberra.
PLEASE NOTE: if you cannot find an available time that suits when you click the BOOK NOW Halaxy link, please email with your day and time request – and I will add you to the waiting list.
WHY ATTEND WEEKLY SESSIONS?
As a psychotherapist, I know from experience that the best outcomes are achieved through having sessions together every week, apart from scheduled breaks for holidays. I like to see clients weekly as life outside the therapy room moves quickly and we can achieve a lot in therapy when we examine together what is happening while it is happening, as well as practice new ways of being, all within a timely manner.
Are you looking for short term counselling? For single issue counselling, we would still see each other weekly until the initiating issue is resolved.
Undertaking therapy is a big step: let’s dedicate time and energy to it, and set up a routine for you to have your own regular, dependable, nurturing time and space just for you, in your busy week.
If you are sick and unable to attend in person we can arrange an online session, once you are a regular client. In my experience, having predominantly face-to-face therapy is more effective than purely online therapy as it allows us to truly connect in a shared space. Humans are social beings – there are many subtle cues that can be missed through a screen.
AN INTAKE QUESTIONNAIRE YOU CAN COMPLETE IN YOUR OWN TIME
The majority of psychological therapists use the first one or two sessions walking you through a detailed intake form, which unfortunately delays the true beginning of therapy. I prefer to give you the space and time to note all of your details, history, issues and concerns in your own secure online form before we meet in our first session together. This online form is then printed out, and the electronic record is deleted from the web.
That way you and I can concentrate on getting to know each other, deciding together our next steps and beginning therapy.
PLEASE NOTE: if you cannot find an available time that suits when you click the BOOK NOW Halaxy link, please email with your day and time request – and I will add you to the waiting list.
HOW MUCH IS THERAPY? HERE ARE OUR Fees
If you would like to chat on the phone before deciding whether to book a session, I offer afree 15 minute phone call appointment. You can ask questions, tell me a little about yourself and decide if we are a good fit.
Fees for individual psychotherapy and counselling are $200 per 50 minute session. All sessions begin on the hour and end at 50 minutes past the hour. Our first three to four sessions will be a “getting to know each other” – essentially assessment appointments. This first 50 minute appointment is charged at the same rate of $200. Unfortunately I cannot take cash payments.
Parent Work sessions are longer appointments at 75 minutes and are $275.
Please select either Adult Woman or Parent Work or Adolescent Woman appointment on the booking page and select a time that suits you (once we are in the first session we can discuss if another time suits you better, once you decide to continue attending).
All sessions are pre-paid online so that you are not distracted with financial housekeeping at the end of our time together. This really helps you keep your focus and attention on what was discussed in therapy. See below for our cancellation and full refund policy.
Adolescent and child appointments
For child and adolescent clients I recommend that the initial appointment is with parents only: I call this Parent Work. Then subsequent assessment sessions will be with just the child or adolescent client. At the end of the assessment sessions we will then have another Parent Work session to discuss your child’s concerns, your concerns as parents, and work through what the next step might be. Please see my blog post that explains the way I prefer to work: “Working with teen girls on mental health”.
COVID-19 update and Vaccination Requirements
I am fully vaccinated and boostered, as is my family. The counselling studio is equipped with a HEPA and UV-C circulating air filter. We have a check-in code and are an ACT COVID-Safe business. I request that you wait outside in your car or on the outdoor bench until 1–5 minutes before your session, hand sanitise, then enter the waiting room.
In order to reduce the potential spread of the virus I have made the personal decision to not take on any unvaccinated clients. If you are currently unvaccinated please email outlining your circumstances to see if we can make an arrangement: I do understand that some people are not able to be vaccinated due to their health, and also that the vaccine rollout is dependent on supply issues. I would really like to accommodate you if possible.
If you are newly fully vaccinated please select an appointment time that is at least two weeks after your second vaccination. Thank you for keeping our Canberra community as safe as possible.
I have a booklet outlining Empathic’s full policy around COVID. Please email requesting a copy.
Confidentiality and Record Keeping
As I am not a psychologist but am a registered qualified counsellor and psychotherapist I am not required to add information about our sessions to the Personal Health Record portal – accessible by doctors and other medical staff. In my private practice your records are only ever accessible to you and to me, apart from the exceptional legal requirement of access under subpoena (incredibly rare). My current clients are always welcome to request to view the clinical notes I take in their sessions. I am happy to show you!
Please note: Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plans are not available at Empathic – For some clients a medicalised model can be potentially stigmatising as medical records will show a diagnosis of an “assessed mental disorder” (Medicare) in order to access subsidised treatment under the Mental Health Treatment Plan. In terms of comparing fees, if you were to see a psychologist the Australian Psychological Society recommends a fee of $311 for a 46-50 minute consultation, with a potential initial assessment fee of $451 for an 80-minute session. Medicare rebates are available for individuals with a mental health plan from their GP, offering a rebate of $141.85 per session, plus the additional cost of seeing the GP in the first and review appointments.
This may also need to be declared on applications for some insurance, such as life insurance, or work applications. While the specific detailed content of sessions should not be disclosed, Medicare does require that psychologists write a report to the referring GP at the 6 visits and 10 visit stages. Because I am a psychotherapist and not a psychologist I am not required to do this.
Cancellation & refund Policy
If you make a booking (see below) and change your mind or become unavailable, you are able to cancel the appointment and receive a full refund as long as you cancel more than 24 hours before the time of the session. For example it would be fine to cancel on Sunday at 9am if your appointment was on Monday 10am.
Cancellations with less than 24 hours notice unfortunately cannot be refunded.
If you are sick and need to have a COVID test on the day of your session, I am happy to re-schedule without any financial penalty on provision of the COVID testing centre or your GP’s medical certificate. I am happy to do an online video session for established clients who are unable to make it due to illness.
Our bookings process, step-by-step
- The first step is to use the pink BOOK NOW button below which will open a new tab through Halaxy – a secure clinical booking portal.
- Select a service item: Adolescent or Adult Woman or Parent Work or Evidence Based EFT Tapping
- Choose the date and time of your first session
- Fill in your contact details – this triggers a booking confirmation text to your phone
- Verify your booking code
- Review Payment details: you can do a bank transfer (fee free) or use a credit card or Paypal (which incur a bank processing fee)
- Your booking is confirmed in the browser window
- You will then receive a confirmation email with the appointment category and time
- Another email is sent to you with a personalised link to fill in our Intake Form. Click on the link in the email, Press start.
- Please complete all sections of the Intake Form (or as many as you wish to) which will take between 20-40 minutes as there are around 100 questions. Certainly a good opportunity to make a cuppa and get comfortable before you start!
- Select the Completed checkbox, and Submit
- Once submitted, you will get a confirmation including the street address in Watson of Empathic.
- I look forward to seeing you!
PLEASE NOTE: if you cannot find an available time that suits when you click the BOOK NOW Halaxy link, please email with your day and time request – and I will add you to the waiting list.
Please email tracey@empathic.com.au with any questions, or if you would like to talk on the phone before deciding whether to book a session, I offer a free 15 minute phone call appointment. You can ask questions, tell me a little about yourself and decide if we are a good fit. Just click the pink text above.
