At Serene Psychology we believe that no one knows you better than you know yourself. You will always have the option of sharing what brought you along today and what you feel is most important or if you don’t feel like you know where to start Natasha can lead the way.

During session to best understand your experience and determine how best to support you Natasha will ask you some general background questions. It’s important to remember that just because you’re asked a question doesn’t mean you have to answer it so if you’re feeling uncomfortable at all or need to take a break or move on at any stage that is completely ok, its all at your pace and its really important to find the balance between allowing emotional expression and keeping your nervous systems response at an optimal level to minimise your discomfort.

Most importantly at the end of the first session you will confirm what you would like to achieve should you wish to engage in further sessions. These goals could include improving general wellbeing, improving mood, perhaps reducing a challenging behaviour, reducing stress, improving sleep, improving relationship attachment security, boundary setting, improving self-confidence, this list is limitless and absolutely up to you.

Should Natasha believe that she’s not the most suitable service to support you she will support you engaging with other more suitable services. For example Natasha hasn’t completed appropriate gender identity training to support clients that are considering transitioning so treatment wouldn’t focus on gender identity however she could potentially still continue treatment focused on reducing intensity of past traumatic experiences. Once again treatment goals would be discussed and agreed upon collaboratively and can evolve as your needs do.

The initial assessment fee is currently offered at an introductory offer of $330.00 which includes administrative work required for record keeping purposes and any case management duties should alternative referral be needed. The initial assessment typically takes 60minutes.

Note any recommendation letters start at $110.00 however attendance letters indicating that you presented for an appointment at a certain date and time can be provided free of charge on request.

You set the focus in each session which is usually agreed upon at the end of the last session but can of course change if something else becomes a higher priority between sessions for you. It’s all about focusing on what is most important to you and what you believe will make the biggest difference in helping you achieve your treatment goals.

Each session is designed to help you develop greater insight and awareness to resolve the challenge you wish to discuss. Evidenced based coping strategies and skills will be introduced and applied across the 50-60minute session to help you manage any challenges more effectively. Between sessions you will then apply these strategies as a homework task. Following sessions will then discuss and review what worked or didn’t work for you in regards to the homework task and how best to proceed in future.

It’s important to remember that to develop comfort and confidence when trying anything new we do need to practice it so there will be an opportunity to practice these skills in session with review of your comfort and confidence at applying this knowledge to identify any creative solutions should you feel there might be any barriers to your successful application of the strategies.

As suggested above, sessions are charged at the Australian Psychological Associations recommended fee of $330 per session. Should you need to cancel your appointment without providing 48 business hours notice you will be charged the full session fee.

Frequency will always be set by you and take into consideration your support needs and availability. Typically clients need at least two weeks between sessions to have the opportunity to apply strategies learned in previous sessions.

However, if you are experiencing high levels of personal stress or do feel the need to book one session a week this can be provided. Generally, as wellbeing improves time between sessions expands. In alignment with the new 10 session Medicare model most clients have their second session 2 weeks after their first and then push to every 3-4 weeks after this which gives you time to apply strategies while also extending the length of time you have support that is partially rebated by Medicare. This also reduces the impact on the weekly budget.

Some people do like to book monthly sessions to maintain their wellbeing and fit their schedule and help keep them on track at achieving their personal goals outside of session. Natasha will always provide clinical recommendations and support you as appropriate.

Yes, with appropriate referral you can receive Medicare Rebates to cover part for your consultation fee directly from Medicare.

If you would like to access these Medicare rebateable sessions book an appointment with your GP and request a mental health care plan referral to Natasha Laroo, Serene Psychology. Medicare typically refund you a portion of the fee per eligible session. Note per Medicare requirements you will need to see your GP for review and renewal of additional Medicare funded sessions at session 6, 10 and on treatment completion. Should you not have an active mental health treatment plan Medicare will not provide you with this rebate and you will be out of pocket the full session fee.

Engagement with Serene Psychology is always voluntary. If you aren’t sure on accessing services you should book an appointment with your GP to discuss and review your situation and how best to proceed.

Alternatively you might like to get in touch on our contact page to discuss if we are the best service to support you.

Note as Serene Psychology is a health service it does does not provide refunds. Should workshops and training be booked refunds are not provided for change of mind. Refer to specific conditions of purchase at time of purchase.

Refer to our privacy policy. Generally, Mental Health Treatment Plan referral is informed consent for Serene Psychology to engage with your GP and meet Medicare Legislative Requirements.

Consent and confidentiality limits are discussed at initial appointment with legislative restrictions to these. These are explained in your Serene Psychology consent form which should be emailed to you on booking your first appointment.

Support options vary based on business needs. A free 15minute confidential phone consultation to discuss and review current challenges can be conducted with possible recommendations provided via email for business review. Alternatively manager assist sessions can be booked for longer and more formal consultations.

In the past Natasha has conducted Wellbeing Diagnostic Reviews, designed Mental Health First Aid training in alignment with the banking code of practice expectations, built and ran processes, procedures and policies to promote positive return to work expectations, designed and delivered face to face training. This list is limitless, Natasha is very passionate about identifying creative solutions and tailoring interventions to best suit business and customer needs.

No, Serene Psychology only accepts referrals for people over the age of 18.

Unfortunately Serene Psychology is not a crisis service and does not offer 24 hour a day support. Serene Psychology typically responds within three business days. However you can find other alternative crisis supports on the contact page here.

If over the course of treatment concerns do arise Serene Psychology can absolutely help you engage in a more appropriate service that can provide intensive contact and support while in crisis. Treatment can continue at the previous scheduled arrangement or once out of crisis, whatever is clinically appropriate and agreed upon at the time.

At request and confirmation with Serene Psychology following extensive engagement with the service there may be capacity to write letters on your behalf depending on suitability of clinical opinion and the number of sessions conducted to permit this expert opinion.

Cost will vary based on request and time taken to complete the task. Simple attendance letters can be provided free of charge which would indicate you attended an appointment at a particular date and time. Provision of such letters will always be at the discretion and clinical judgement of Natasha Laroo on behalf of Serene Psychology.

Serene Psychology typically requires 48hours notice prior to cancellation of appointments so there is an opportunity to fill your canceled appointment slot. Should you need to cancel your appointment outside of this time frame payment will be required in full for the session.

For example if you have an appointment on Monday at 2.30pm you need to contact Serene Psychology to cancel and re-schedule your appointment by 2.30pm on the previous Wednesday to not incur the full session fee. Sometimes clients cannot keep an appointment because of a sudden illness or unexpected personal emergency. If this happens to you please contact us as soon as possible to explain the problem and we will typically waive the fee.

As we are not a credit provider we cannot enter into arrangements that effectively involve provision of credit. This means accounts must be paid in full before your next appointment.

Serene Psychology may refuse service at anytime should your account payments not be reconciled. If your financial situation changes you can be re referred to an alternative provider via your GP.

General self-care post sessions is always discussed within session as confronting activating events from our past can re-trigger our bodies nervous system response for 24-48 hours after a session. This is just your body working to keep you safe and burn up some of the left over stress chemicals in your body associated with the experience.

Activities such as connecting with a loved one, eating, getting outside for a mindful walk, yoga, emotive writing, emotive drawing and deep breathing are generally helpful when we do have residual thoughts, emotions and physical sensations. Dreams after such discussion are also common.

What is important after waking up from a dream where you re-experience a traumatic event is focusing on being safe in the present moment and the new story of courage and safety you have been able to find for yourself in the present day. Otherwise refer to contact page here for immediate crisis support lines or text Serene Psychology for a follow up call. Alternatively you can present to your nearest hospital or GP.

All of your information is kept confidential per Australian Health Practitioner Regulation requirements.

Consent to receive contact from Serene Psychology is inferred from your GP referral however as best practice guidelines suggest when we do make successful phone contact with you to offer our services, if you would like to make an appointment we will collect your email address to email you a consent form and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (this helps us monitor your treatment progress). We will also use your email to send appointment reminders and cancelations in addition to the text message option. The other benefit of having your email address is that at the end of each session we can email you handouts and information on content discussed so that you don’t have to remember everything and then perhaps in time to come if your symptoms re-emerge you can go back through your emails to refresh your memory on how to best support your recovery with previous strategies learned in therapy.

We will never share your confidential information, including contact information, with third parties unless there is consent to do so (you ask us to speak to a relevant third party to best support your care) or if we are required to do so by law.

Breaking your confidentiality to adhere to legal requirements is only ever done if something is discussed in session which suggests any risk of harm to yourself, someone else, children or if you are about to commit a crime (like rob a bank). In these instances the law stipulates that we must protect you from causing harm to yourself and or others. On the rare occasions your information does need to be reproted by law it best practice to discuss this with you including what information will be shared and why and all parties usually agree it is in the clients best interest to share required information.

If your records are subpoenaed by court for legal purposes Natasha will review the notes before supplying them and also give you an opportunity to review your file should there need to be any adjustments however these circumstances are very rare as they can then negatively impact the therapeutic relationship and treatment outcomes. More often Natasha will complete a report or summary on treatment engagement to best support you and protect your confidentiality to meet these legal requirements.

At the commencement of every first session, the above details on confidentiality, consent and limits to confidentiality are discussed and agreed to. As part of the Medicare rebate process we are required to send a letter back to your GP to confirm that you have engaged in treatment and how we intend to best support you.