Frequently asked questions

Start with the enquiry form. It asks who the support is for and what is on your mind, then matches you with the clinicians whose scope covers it.

Portia and Awadia take online bookings, and you book straight into their calendar from that page. For anyone else, the form gives you an address to write to and we hold a time for you.

No. You book the time yourself. The enquiry reaches us so the clinician knows who is coming, but nothing waits on us picking up a phone.

There are two exceptions. If you need an interpreter, or you ask for help filling in the form, we stop the form there and call you instead.

Not to see us. You can book therapy without one.

You do need one to claim a Medicare rebate, and psychiatry needs its own GP referral written to a psychiatrist.

Yes. The form matches you to everyone whose scope covers what you have asked for, and you choose from those. If you want a clinician of a particular gender, or one who speaks a particular language, say so and a person will make the match rather than the form.

Say so on the form. There is an option for it, and it opens up a single session consultation: one longer conversation and a written formulation afterwards that is yours to keep.

Plenty of people take that and stop there. Some come back later. Some move into ongoing work. All three are ordinary outcomes.

We are a virtual-first practice, so most work happens online. If you would rather meet face to face, say so on the form and we will work out what is possible before holding a time.

Across the team we work in Shona, Swahili, Arabic, Tigrinya, Amharic, Urdu, Akan, French and Indonesian, alongside English.

This is not a translation service bolted onto the side. It is clinicians doing the work in the language the family actually thinks in.

Tell us on the form and which language. The form stops there and asks only for a way to reach you.

We arrange the interpreter, then call you and go through the rest together. You do not have to work through three more screens of English first.

Yes. Say who on the enquiry, so the clinician knows who is coming and can plan the session around it.

It depends on which clinician you see and which referral you have. We confirm it with you before your first session rather than quoting a figure we cannot stand behind.

Broadly: individual therapy with a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP attracts a rebate. Portia bills under a GP chronic condition management plan rather than Better Access, and that plan has to name the service. Psychiatry needs a valid GP referral to a psychiatrist. Some registrations here do not attract Medicare rebates at all.

Whatever referral or plan your rebate depends on. A Mental Health Treatment Plan and referral for individual therapy, or your GP referral for psychiatry.

No. Medicare rebates do not apply to family or couples work. Prices show per clinician before you book.

If your plan is self managed or plan managed, yes. We are not a registered NDIS provider, so we cannot work with agency managed plans.

NDIS enquiries go to Hazel, and the plan gets checked before a time is held.

Check with your insurer or your employer's provider first. Cover varies by fund, by policy and by the clinician's registration.

Yes, for adults. The assessment runs across two to three sessions with Portia. Dr Alexander then sees you for a final session, and it is that session which produces his co-signature.

That last appointment is billed under MBS item 291 and needs its own GP referral, separate from any mental health treatment plan you already have. Three to four sessions in total, two clinicians. Worth knowing before you book the first.

Not to stimulants. Nobody here prescribes them. A diagnosis with us can lead to a report and to non-stimulant options with Dr Alexander, but stimulant prescribing has to happen elsewhere.

We would rather say this before you book than after.

Not currently. Portia can screen, which is a different thing and we will describe it as one. If you need a formal diagnosis, for funding, school or work, we will refer you on.

Not directly. You start with a comprehensive assessment with one of our clinicians, and psychiatry is booked from there, so Dr Alexander meets you already knowing your story.

He works with adults only. There is no psychiatric or prescribing route here for anyone under 18.

Yes. Both are active, and both sit with Portia, with Deb also in scope.

Yes. Family therapy and couples therapy are both held by Portia, and they are the throughline of the practice rather than an add-on.

Nine run online, small and closed. They cover parenting, the family you came from, mothers and daughters, eldest daughters, neurodivergent adults, racial trauma, substance use, and intimacy.

Pick one on the enquiry form, or say you are not sure and we will send what is running.

Yes. Consultancy, staff and student training, and clinical supervision. Choose the organisation option on the form and it goes straight to a scoping call with no clinical questions.

We are not a crisis service. There is no after hours or on call cover here, and the enquiry form reaches an inbox rather than a person.

If anyone is in danger, call 000. Lifeline is 13 11 14, any hour. 13YARN is 13 92 76. Kids Helpline is 1800 55 1800.

A name, one way to reach you, and what you are looking for. It does not ask for your date of birth, your address or your Medicare number, and it does not ask for medical history, medication or diagnoses.

Cliniko collects what it needs at booking, where it lands in your client record rather than in an email.

Say so. Any clinician can move you to a colleague after a first session at no cost to you. No approval is needed and no explanation is owed.

Write to us rather than filling the form in again.