Frequently Asked Questions - Therapy for children-adults

If you or someone you know is experience a mental health crisis or emergency please contact 000 and request an ambulance or present to your nearest Emergency Department.

Bright Beginnings Psychology are not a crisis support service. In the instance you require support, please reach out to the following services:

• Lifeline - 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline - 1800 551 800 or webchat
• Mensline - 1300 789 978
• Parent Line - 1300 301 300
• 13YARN - 139 276
• QLife - 1800 184 527
• Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467
• 1300 MH Call - 1300 642 255

You can make an appointment by:

• Contacting our clinic on 3870 4152
• Sending us an email at hello@brightbeginningspsychology.com.au
• Booking online here

You can view information about our services here and fees here.

Each session is typically 50 minutes in length

No, you do not need a referral or diagnosis to see our psychologists. 

If you would like to receive a Medicare rebate for your session, please see your GP for a Mental Health Care/Treatment Plan. With an eligible referral, you are entitled to receive a rebate of $93.35 for up to 10 sessions per calendar year. Following your first 6 sessions, you are required to see your GP for a review to discuss your psychologists recommendations for the additional 4 sessions. 

Please note that Medicare does not cover cancellation fees. 

Our clinic is located within 'Fifth Avenue Lifestle' and is located on the lower level. The address is Studio 3/41 Fairfield Road (corner of Fenton Street), Fairfield 4103. 

There is plenty of free on site parking via the Fifth Avenue Lifestlye car park, as well as on-street parking available in the streets surrounding the clinic. However,  clinic is located within the Dutton Park Parking Control Area, which means that street parking is limited to two (2) hours unless otherwise signed.

Absolutely! Our psychologists practice using various therapeutic approaches to meet the unique needs of each age group, whether it’s early childhood intervention, adolescent support, or adult mental health care. We are committed to offering tailored treatment plans that cater to the specific challenges faced by individuals at different stages of life, including adults

Your first appointment is an opportunity to discuss what has brought you to therapy, as well as explore whether the psychologist is a "good fit" for you. Your psychologist is likely to ask questions to explore your current well-being as well as any relevant background information. The first appointment is also an opportunity to explore and identify what you are hoping to get out of coming to therapy. Towards the end of the appointment, your psychologist will provide an overview of their thoughts on what future session may look like and what therapeutic approach is most appropriate. 

If you have booked a first appointment for your child, we recommend coming alone, without your child, to the first appointment. This allows an opportunity to discuss and explore questions regarding your concerns in a transparent and open manner. Often children can experience a wide variety of emotions when hearing others describe their current functioning and background information. As this can be distressing for some children, we recommend coming alone for the first appointment. If you are unable to leave your child at home, consider whether a support person may be able to attend with you to allow you and your psychologist to meet privately.

Future appointments are likely to involve a parent check in, time with your child and a parent debrief at the end of the session if appropriate.

When introducing your child to the idea of seeing a psychologist, it is important to tell them that psychologists work with lots of other children to help them talk about their feelings, thoughts, any other tough stuff they are going through or answer any questions they have.

It can be helpful to share with your child what to expect when seeing a psychologist. Letting your child know that the psychologist will always have something planned, like activities for them to do during session is a good idea. You can also let your child know that some of the session is spent with yourself and some of the session is spent with the child when they are comfortable.

For your first appointment please make sure you bring:

1.  Medicare card, including reference number and expiry 
2. A copy of your Mental Health Care Treatment Plan or Mental Health Care Treatment Review, if your GP provided you with a copy. 
3. Any previous correspondence you have regarding you/your child's wellbeing and functioning

We understand that life can be unpredictable, and at times unexpected events occur, leading to the need for cancelling or rescheduling an appointment. However, we also acknowledge that this limits access to care for other clients and impacts our psychologists. 

Although Bright Beginnings will provide a reminder of an upcoming appointment via SMS as a courtesy, it is your responsibility to ensure you attend the appointment, therefore failure to receive an SMS will only be considered in waiving the cancellation fee in exceptional circumstances. Bright Beginnings have implemented the following cancellation policy:

1. Two Business Days’ Notice: If you need to cancel your appointment, please provide us with at least two business days’ notice. If you provide at least two business days’ notice, no cancellation fee will be charged.
2. One Business Days’ Notice: If you provide only one business days’ notice 50% of the standard consultation fee will be charged.
3. Same Day Cancellations or Non attendance: If you cancel your appointment on the same day or fail to show up for your appointment, a full fee cancellation fee will be charged.

Bright Beginnings does not provide any reports or letters regarding any legal matters. Bright Beginnings are unable to conduct child custody evaluations, parental capacity assessments, development of parenting plans, or family assessments/reports for family court. 

Bright Beginnings have an obligation to respond to subpoena. In the instance Bright Beginnings receive a subpoena by a court of law, Bright Beginnings will provide to the court directly the required documentations.

Families with current custody and/or guardianship/parenting court orders are asked to provide these to Bright Beginnings at the commencement of engagement with the service to assist in identifying the most suitable psychologist for you and your family.

Bright Beginnings are not a registered NDIS provider. This means we are unable to provide services to clients where their NDIS Plan is managed directly by NDIA.

We do provide services client where their NDIS Plan is self-managed or plan-managed.