The number and frequency of appointments will be discussed with you by Sabrina. This will be based on her professional opinion once she has had an opportunity to understand your treatment needs and goals. In many circumstances it can be difficult to predict a person's response to treatment and therefore the number of sessions they may require. Sabrina will discuss this with you prior to commencing treatment.

Sabrina is happy to accommodate your individual communication needs, whether you would like contact outside of appointments to be via phone call, SMS, or email. As a private provider of psychological services, treatment is provided via prearranged, scheduled appointments and will not be possible via email, SMS or chat services. Whilst she will try her best to respond promptly to correspondence, she has limited availability for contact outside of schedule appointments. She may not have an opportunity to respond to between session contact prior to your next appointment, so this should not be relied upon for emergency matters.

Freedom to Be Psychology is not an emergency service. Sabrina is not able to respond to urgent or emergency matters and her communication channels (Phone, SMS, Email) are not monitored outside of business hours.

For urgent concerns relating to the mental health or other emergencies please contact the appropriate emergency services or attend your local emergency department:

Police, Fire, Ambulance (Emergency): 000

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Suicide Line: 1300 659 467

Your privacy is of utmost importance at Freedom to Be Psychology. All treatment and information shared will remain confidential and will only be accessed by authorised Freedom to Be Psychology practitioners. 

Medicare requires Sabrina to periodically communicate with your referring doctor (eg. GP, Psychiatrist) to ensure continuity of care. By signing this form, you consent to the release of relevant information regarding your mental health, in the form of reports or documentation, to your referring doctor as deemed necessary. 

Besides this, information will not be disclosed to third parties without your explicit consent, except in certain exceptional situations that include:

•  If there is a reasonable belief that you pose a danger to yourself or others, or you are in danger from someone.

•  If disclosure is required by court order, subpoena or other legal obligations. 

• Information may be shared with other health care professionals or third parties with your explicit written consent.

Confidentiality and privacy will be fully discussed during your initial appointment, addressing any questions or concerns you might have.

Sabrina will create and keep Health Record for you. Your Health Record will include all relevant information related to your treatment and may also incorporate key health information from third-party providers like your doctor. These records are managed in strict compliance with applicable state and federal laws, including The Privacy Act 1988 (Australia) and the Health Record Act 2001. Legally, these records must be stored for a certain number of years following the end of your treatment. 

You have the right to request access to a copy of your Health Record. Please discuss this in your session if you would like to better understand the process, which will be in compliance with legal guidelines in Australia.

Sabrina endeavour to be inclusive, affirming and to ask for feedback ongoing. However, she recognises that there may be areas where her service, accessibility, or administration could be improved. She encourages and welcomes people to self-advocate and let her know any accommodations or changes that could help them feel safe and comfortable.

 As a client of an Australian Psychological Society (APS) and Australian Association of Psychologists Inc. (AAPI) registered psychologist, you have certain rights as outlined in the "APS Charter for Clients of APS Psychologists". This also outlines the complaints process, should you wish to do so.

Each session runs for 50-51 minutes and the fee for a session is $280, for which there is a rebate of $145.25 for up to 10 sessions if there is a Mental Health Care Plan, or an Eating Disorder Care Plan.

Payment is due in full at the time of the service. For your convenience, Sabrina encourages electronic payments at booking, or time of the appointment through Stripe. This platform securely processes your payments and any applicable Medicare rebates. Your financial information is handled with the utmost confidentiality and is encrypted. Payment is also possible at the beginning of the session using EFTPOS or with direct debit. Unfortunately, HICAPS is not available, and you will need to claim with your private health insurance once you receive the invoice.

Whilst Sabrina will try her best to keep emails or phone calls short to keep these costs free of charge for clients, any other professional services requiring 15-minutes, or more are billed on a prorated basis (she will break down the hourly cost). 

This will include any letters, emails, statements, report writing, or phone conversations that last longer than 15 minutes, attendance at meetings or consultations which you have requested, or the time required to perform any other service which you may request. This will be discussed and agreed upon before rendering those services and may require you to book in a time with Sabrina.

Freedom to Be Psychology currently see individuals under the following:

• Mental Health Treatment Plans

• Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plans

• Chronic Disease Management Plans

• Self- Managed NDIS

• Private Health Insurance

• Private Fees

Please note, her fees are $280 for all forms of payment. Payment is required up front and invoices sent for individuals to claim under NDIS, and private health.

Sabrina takes pride in committing to your therapy sessions, and will dedicate a significant portion of time, overhead costs and care to session planning and preparation beforehand. And whilst she understands that unforeseen circumstances arise and there are occasionally good reasons for cancellations, consistent attendance is crucial for the therapeutic process. Additionally, it is incredibly difficult to fill a session with short notice, leaving overhead costs and limiting availability to clients.

 To ensure efficient scheduling and to accommodate all clients, she will adhere to a strict rescheduling and cancellation policy that is in accordance with The Australian Psychological Society (APS):

• Cancellations within 24 business hours: Full session fee

• Cancellations between 25-48 business hours: 50% of the session fee.

Please be aware that the business is closed on weekends and public holidays. Cancellations on these days will be considered within the 24-hour cancellation window. These fees become due immediately and must be paid prior to your next scheduled appointment. It is important to note that Third Party funders do not pay late cancellation or missed appointment fees, and Medicare will not provide a rebate. These are your responsibility even if your treatment is normally funded by a Third Party.

 Should you reschedule or cancel appointments twice, prepayment for subsequent sessions will be required. If a prepaid session is cancelled, the prepayment will not be refunded. If you are late for an appointment your session will be less than 51 minutes in duration. Please note you will need to pay the full amount in these circumstances. 

If you provide us with a contact number or email address a reminder message may be sent before your appointment. This is a courtesy reminder only, but we may ask you to confirm attendance. Despite this courtesy reminder it remains your responsibility to remember and attend your appointments. If for any reason you did not receive a reminder message and missed your appointment, you will still need to pay the late missed appointment fee. If ever in doubt, please feel free to SMS or call to confirm an appointment. Emails may not be seen promptly.

Freedom to Be Psychology reserves the right to reschedule appointments without compensation due to unforeseen circumstances like illness, or emergency.