Please bring any relevant documentation or referrals if you have these. Please discuss with us if you would like to have your first session with the parents only or the child involved. Medicare rebates may be relevant, please speak with your GP or psychologist to understand how these work. We also accept private clients, NDIS participants who are self-managed and private health clients.

Spectrum House is a private practice and there is a fee for service. We aim to keep our fees below the Australian Psychological Association recommended fee. You will receive a fee structure in your information pack when you book your first session and our admin angels will discuss fees with you over the phone first.

Life is a journey of learning. We will constantly strive to improve our practice and as such, all constructive feedback is encouraged and will be gratefully received. Our preference is that feedback be given in writing to ensure that it gets actioned and we welcome receiving it either by email or by post. All feedback will be documented and addressed at our monthly staff meetings, or sooner if appropriate. [email protected] is our best email for all feedback.

We have two offices at Spectrum House:

For our Balwyn office, within the Paediatric Health Collective:

There is ample street parking close to the practice, for example in Cherry Road or on Whitehorse Road. The practice is also accessible by public transport. The number 109 tram runs along Whitehorse road and the practice can be accessed from tram stop 47.

For our Ringwood office within Kudos Paediatrics:

We recommend parking across the road opposite First Choice Liquor and Coles and carefully crossing the street.

Please bring your paperwork and a referral from your local doctor (GP) if you have one. Due to COVID restrictions, we currently have limited toys in the practice and therefore ask that you bring something from home to entertain your child during their appointment. If your child or teen is attending for an assessment, please bring some water and snacks to keep up their energy.

All our clinicians are aware that your time is valuable and endeavour to run to time, however, some patients/clients require extra time due to their complexities and sometimes this is unforeseen or unpredictable. We will try wherever possible to inform you if a clinician is significantly delayed.

Psychology appointments are usually 50 minutes of intervention/support time and 10 mins is allowed for note taking and follow up tasks. Psychological tests range from 1 to 3 hours – please ask for more information. You will be informed of the appointment length at the time of booking.

No, you do not need private health insurance. If you have private health insurance, you may be able to claim some rebates for certain psychology consultations – please ask our Practice Angels.

Accounts are payable on the day of your consultation. We accept cash, EFTPOS or most credit cards (not American Express).

To cancel your appointment, we ask that you phone or email our practice as soon as possible and at least 48 hours before your appointment. This is important we allocate that time just for you and given our team are in high demand and it allows us to offer someone else your appointment time. Failure to attend your appointment or cancellation within 48 hours of your appointment will incur a full cancellation fee. This will be discussed with you at the time of booking.

If you need to contact your psychologist between appointments, you are welcome to email [email protected]. Please also note that all of our team only work part-time and they will respond to your email as soon as possible when they are next at work.

Our team do not provide an afterhours or emergency service. For emergencies, please see your GP, go to your nearest hospital emergency department, call 000 or call lifeline on 13 11 14.

We commonly see children with separated parents. We believe that the best outcome for our clients is when we can work together with both parents towards shared goals. Ideally, both parents will be present or have their view represented for all consultations. We do however realise that this is not always possible, especially where there is a high degree of conflict. Parents are required to inform us of any Court Order that restricts access of either parent/guardian to the child’s personal information. We also encourage parents to share with us any history of family violence to that we can provide appropriate support. We have a separate form for separated parents to complete, which acknowledges the complexities which may occur. By completing the form, you acknowledge that we will provide advice and treatment based on what we professionally believe is in the best interest of your child and that it is not our role to mediate any dispute or difference of opinion between parents.

We encourage you to raise you concerns with us directly so that we can address any issues early and hopefully work with you to address your concerns. Open communication is paramount. In addition, with talking to us directly, we welcome and encourage written feedback either by email.

We value team work at Spectrum House. Please call or email us and we can ensure client informed consent is present before communicating with you.

We occasionally have windows of opportunity for psychologists to join us. It’s rare, because our team have a low turn over, but we may be able to find a spot for a wonderful clinician. If you are interested, please email us at [email protected] and let us know why you’d like to join, and we can have a chat.