Through Medicare, Australians are lucky to have affordable access to not only GPs, hospitals and medicines, but also to mental health practitioners. Under the Australian Government’s Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative, Medicare rebates are available for psychological treatment.

This is great news for people who need help coping with mental health problems giving them more access to psychologists and more affordable mental healthcare.

To qualify for the Better Access program, you need to be suffering from a diagnosed mental disorder arising from:

• Alcohol use disorder
• Anxiety disorder
• Adjustment  disorder
• Attention deficit disorder
• Bereavement disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Conduct disorder
• Co-occurring depression and anxiety
• Depression
• Drug use disorder
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive compulsive disorders
• Panic disorders
• Phobic disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Sexual disorder
• Sleep problems

Before seeing a psychologist, you need a referral from your GP, your psychiatrist or your paediatrician. Find the contact details for your local health professional on Yellow Pages.

Your GP will need to complete a detailed mental health assessment and prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan for you, before they can refer to a psychologist. 

How often can I see my psychologist?

Once you have been referred, you can access up to ten individual treatments in a calendar year, and up to ten group therapy sessions or counselling sessions.

After you’ve used up your quota of sessions, you won’t be able to access any more Medicare rebates for counselling sessions until the following calendar year.

What will it cost me?

Depending on your psychologist’s costs, the cost to you will vary. If the psychologist bulk bills, you won’t need to pay anything. If the psychologist does not bulk bill, you will need to pay the difference between what the psychologist charges and the Medicare rebate. Talk to your psychologist about their charges.

While your doctor will have a list of registered psychologists in your area, you may be able to ask your GP to refer you to your preferred specialist.

Need to make an appointment to see a psychologist? There are more than 8000 psychologists, listed in the Yellow Pages, from right across Australia. Find an expert to help you, today.