You do not require a referral to make an appointment, however, you will need a referral from the GP or Paediatrician to receive a medicare rebate with one of our Mental Health Social Workers. Private Health Insurance rebates may be available. Please check with your provider before your appointment.

The initial consultation is with the parents only and this session takes 1 ½ hours and for sibling groups the session can take up to 2 hours. The Therapist will gather information about the child’s development history, family background, your main concerns and develop some therapeutic goals. The Therapist may use some questionnaires and/or family play assessments to understand the child and family’s needs and to review progress in therapy.

We have a range of costing depending on the services and funding available. Please contact the clinic for information about fees for specific services.

Clients may be eligible for Medicare rebates on Mental Health Social Worker services after obtaining a referral from their GP or Paediatrician, one of the following plans can be used:

• Mental Health Care Plans provide 20 individual sessions per calendar year until 30 June 2022 using ‘Focused Psychological Strategies’. After your first 6 appointments, you need to see your doctor again for a mental health care plan review. They can then decide if you need a referral for further sessions. Click here to see the brochure about what Mental Health Social Workers offer.
• Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Plan (previously known as The Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) Program) provides clients with five partially rebated sessions with an allied health professional per calendar year. To access these sessions through a Mental Health Social Worker be sure to advise your GP to tick the box ‘Mental Health Worker’.
• Helping Children with Autism – Treatment – allows your child to receive up to 20 sessions of psychological treatment before their 15^th birthday (if obtained before 13^th birthday).

No we are not registered with NDIS, however, we accept clients who are self-managed or plan-managed through NDIS.

The Play Therapist has received a high level of training in using a range of therapeutic skills to facilitate emotional growth and change. Normal everyday play has value to a child’s learning and development, however, therapeutic play which occurs in the play therapy relationship allows children to gain a deeper understanding of their feelings, thoughts and behaviours, which facilitates change. Play Therapists have expertise in understanding the child’s play and how this relates to the child’s world.

It is important that the child feels safe and can build trust in the therapeutic relationship. The play therapy sessions are private to maintain the child’s trust, however, play themes are discussed with the parents at Progress Meetings which take place every 4-6 weeks. In addition, the Play Therapist will maintain regular contact with the parent outside of the play therapy sessions through email, phone or parent education and support sessions can be requested.

Adolescents are particularly concerned with privacy due to their age and stage of development.

Confidentiality may be broken when required by a court of law, Department of Families, Fairness & Housing or if a therapist considers a child/young person or other person to be at risk of harm.

The process of play therapy is different for every child. Play Therapy usually requires a minimum of 10 sessions. Each child is unique and some children have more complex concerns than others and therefore it is not always possible to determine exactly how long the child should receive play therapy. The Play Therapist will review the child’s progress with the parent every 4-6 weeks.

The play therapy process is different for every child. Change can be seen in a variety of ways through school, home and in the play therapy sessions. Sometimes small changes can be seen in the school environment e.g. academic progress, improved concentration, reduced meltdowns and more emotionally regulated. In the home environment the child may start to talk about their feelings more or a reduction in the problem behaviour that was identified at the referral.

Play Therapists have special expertise and training in being able to identify the child’s stages of play therapy and some of the play themes to determine the progress that a child is making. Each child goes through a different stage in play therapy. Please speak with your Play Therapist if you have questions or concerns.

In the first session the Play Therapist may complete some play assessments including drawings, sand tray using miniatures, play genograms. These are used to assess the child’s self-perception and view of the world.

Toys and play materials are carefully selected to encourage the child’s self-expression, stress management, build coping skills and develop social competence. There are a range of toys in the play room that fall into different categories:

• Family/nurturing toys: doll’s house, baby, baby bottles, blanket, doll’s house, sand tray, stuffed toys, kitchen set, food and puppets
• Scary toys: dinosaurs, insects, dragons, snakes, wild animals, puppets with fierce expressions
• Aggressive release toys: bop bag, weapons such as swords, soldiers
• Creative expression and emotional release: sand tray, water, arts and crafts, play doh/clay, cardboard boxes, egg cartons, blackboard and chalk
• Pretend/fantasy toys: dress up costumes, props, jewellry, masks, scarfs, doctor’s kit, telephones, walkie talkies, blocks

In Humanistic (non-directive) play therapy the child can choose what and how they would like to play and the Therapist will follow their lead in the play. Initially children may engage in solitary play while the Play Therapist tracks the play also known as ‘say what you see’ and reflects their feelings.  Gradually as the child builds trust in the relationship they may invite the Play Therapist into their play e.g. to take on a role in pretend play or draw a picture together. There are very clear limits provided in the sessions but these are used only to maintain physical and emotional safety, and safety of the toys and environment.

Our Play Therapists are very experienced in working with a range of issues including separation anxiety which is particularly common as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Play Therapist will follow the child’s pace, use playful techniques to build safety and engage with your child. Sometimes the parent comes into the first few sessions if the child is struggling to separate and once the child feels a sense of safety and trust in the relationship we would work towards the parents being in the waiting room.

At the initial consultation if Learn to Play is identified as the recommended play therapy intervention the Play Therapist will conduct a play assessment during the initial session with the child. This is a non-intrusive, informal observational tool to give the Therapist information about the child’s pretend play skills. How children play gives information on children’s understanding and perception of their world.

• Pretend play promotes an increase in social skills. As children learn to use play to explore relationships with peers and adults this encourages social skills such as sharing and empathy.
• Children can develop an understanding of emotions and learn to express these through play actions e.g. role playing friends playing.
• Pretend play facilitates an increase in language skills.
• Problem solving skills are one of the therapeutic powers of play. A problem may be added to the play by the Therapist and the child will be supported to overcome a problem in the play e.g. someone fell down at the park.

Initially the Play Therapist structures the activities for the child but gradually as the child gains more skills in using self-initiated pretend play skills the Therapist will use less structure allowing the child to take more of a lead in the play.

Play is the child’s natural way of communicating. When parents enter the child’s play world in child-directed play they develop a deeper understanding of their child’s feelings, thought and behaviours. Play promotes your child’s self-expression, and they can develop skills in the areas of physical, cognitive, emotional and social development.

Filial Therapy typically requires 20 one-hour sessions for families experiencing moderately challenging problems. Filial Therapy can also be conducted with groups of parents, whereby the parent video records their special play sessions with their child at home. Please see more information in the Parent and Education Support service.

Sessions run for one hour.

No artistic ability is required as the art therapist will gently guide and assist the client to make sense and to make meaning of whatever is being directly or indirectly communicated by the client through their art experience.  Artists and those who love artmaking are of course very welcome.

No, the client is just asked to bring their curiosity!

Creative art therapists are bound by client/therapist confidentiality as per their relevant professional membership’s Code of Ethics and Practice.  This will be explained and referred to in the first session.  When working with adolescents, therapists respect their need for privacy and unless this relates to matters of safety, wherever possible, will ask for client consent to talk about specific content of the therapy session with parents. Parents of younger children will receive short regular updates either by telephone or by email.