I get a lot of questions from prospective clients about whether you can use a Mental Health Treatment Plan to claim a rebate off your counselling appointments. There seems to be a fair bit of confusion around this topic, and I wanted to clear up some of the common questions.

Do I need a doctor’s referral to access counselling?

No, you don’t need a referral from your doctor to book an appointment with a counsellor. You may wish to visit your doctor to let them know that you’re going to be seeing a counsellor and ask for a letter of referral if that’s important to you. I am also happy to provide progress updates to your doctor with your permission.

I’m very happy to accept self-referrals, so if you’d prefer to get in touch with me directly to book an appointment without speaking to your doctor, that option is also available to you.

Can I use a Mental Health Treatment Plan for counselling sessions?

At the moment, Mental Health Treatment Plans can only be used to access psychology services. A Mental Health Treatment Plan gives you access to 10 Medicare-subsidized sessions over the course of a year. This subsidy often doesn’t cover the full cost of the sessions, and you’ll likely have to pay an out-of-pocket fee for these sessions.

Can I claim a Medicare rebate for counselling sessions?

Unfortunately, Medicare rebates aren’t available for counselling sessions. However, when I was setting up my fee structure for my practice, I thought carefully about how to make my sessions affordable without the Medicare rebate.

A lot of folks think that a Mental Health Treatment Plan entitles you to 10 free sessions. This isn’t necessarily the case. The treatment plan allows you to apply a subsidy of $93.35 for general psychology or $137.05 for clinical psychology appointments. That means that if the psychologist that you’re seeing charges more than the subsidy, you will have to pay the gap that’s not covered. As the average cost for clinical psychologists in Australia is $300, that works out to an average out-of-pocket cost of around $162 per session.

My counselling sessions are $120 each. So even though you can’t apply the subsidy, you’re still likely to pay less for a counselling appointment than the out-of-pocket cost for a Mental Health Treatment Plan appointment with a psychologist.

There are certainly psychologists that provide free or heavily discounted services, but they usually have very long wait times or have strict entry criteria.

What are the benefits of seeing a counsellor without a Mental Health Treatment Plan?

There are a lot of benefits to seeing a counsellor even if you don’t have a mental health treatment plan. Firstly, there is no limit to the number of sessions you can access with a counsellor. I don’t contract clients for a set number of sessions, so you can have as many or as few sessions as you need. If you have a mental health plan, you’re limited to 10 sessions over the course of the year, which may not be enough depending on the issue you’re working on.

You may also be able to see a counsellor sooner than you’d be able to book in with a psychologist. I can usually see a new client within 2 weeks of their referral. I also offer after-hours appointments at the same price as my regular appointments, unlike a lot of other clinics which charge an after-hours fee.

There are a lot of issues that are well suited to working with a counsellor rather than a psychologist. If you’re experiencing grief and loss or stress, are defining your identity, exploring your emotions or having interpersonal conflicts, then a counsellor might be the right choice for you. On the other hand, if you’re seeking treatment for a mental illness, then a psychologist might be a better fit for your needs. You might like to read this post that I wrote which defines the differences between a counsellor and a psychologist.

In summary, although you can’t use a Mental Health Treatment Plan to access counselling services, there are a lot of benefits to seeing a counsellor without a referral or plan. Service costs will often work out to be the same or cheaper, and you have a lot more flexibility around the duration and type of support that you can access.

If you’d like to refer yourself for counselling, or just want to ask a question, you can get in touch with me right here.