Initial Appointment

Prepare for your Initial Appointment

Time Considerations

Please arrive at the practice 15 minutes before the appointment time. Also give yourself enough time to find parking. Adequate parking is usually found in the streets surrounding the practice. The initial appointment can take up to 1½ hours.

Who Should Come?

The referred young person should come, most preferably with both parents. In the case of single-parent and blended families, the young person may come with the parent(s) with whom he/she lives most of the time. Please alert reception prior to the appointment date if there are questions or difficulties relating to this.

What Do I Bring?

Please bring the following with you:

Referral letter from your General Practitioner or paediatrician. If you were referred from a psychologist or another non-medical practitioner, you still need a referral letter from a medical practitioner.
Medicare card.
Any psychological, occupational therapy or other specialist reports relating to your child’s mental or physical health.
Your child’s school reports, both recent and older.

What Should I Expect?

Most often in the initial appointment the young person will be seen together with the accompanying adults. Some time will be spent getting to know a little about the family; and then the presenting problem and other related information will be explored. As time permits, the young person may be seen on his/her own or the parents may be seen on their own. Often the assessment will require more than one session. At subsequent sessions, other close relatives (e.g. other caregivers) may be invited to attend.

Fees and Payment Options

The practice is not a bulk-billing practice, and payment is requested at the time of the appointment. We accept VISA and MasterCard, and we have an EFTPOS facility. Appointments are partly refundable by Medicare. Information about fees, the cancellation policy and Medicare rebates are available when booking appointments.