FAQs

The Psychology clinic is staffed by Provisional Psychologists. Provisional Psychologists are trainees currently completing their Master of Clinical Psychology at UNSW, and are supervised by senior Clinical Psychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists. All clinicians are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

The first therapy session typically goes for 90 minutes, and is a time for your clinician to understand the difficulties you are facing or the issue you’d like help with. The clinician will guide the session and ask you different questions. By the end of the first session, the clinician will be able to discuss with you treatment options and how to proceed from there.

People attend therapy for a variety of reasons so the number of therapy sessions required will depend on each person’s circumstances and the severity of the issues. At the end of the first session, your clinician will be able to give you an estimate of the number of sessions needed to see significant changes. During the course of therapy, your clinician will have regular reviews with you to make sure that you are progressing at a pace that is appropriate to you.

It is very natural to feel nervous or unsure about seeing someone about your difficulties, especially if you’ve never attended a therapy session before. Your clinician will take the lead in this process and will explore these difficulties with you in a safe and supportive manner. By the end of the session, the clinician will give you some ideas for treatment and you can decide whether or not you would like to continue with treatment.

For a neuropsychological or cognitive assessment, you will first be interviewed by your clinician. After this, you will undergo a set of standardised tests. Depending on the tests required, you may be asked to attend further testing sessions on a separate day. When all the testing is completed, your clinician will prepare a full written report and arrange a feedback session with you. You will be given a summary of the key findings from the tests and be presented with the written report at the feedback session.

Please note you require a written referral from a health professional to be seen at our clinic for assessments.

Yes, but assessment for childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is only conducted if the child has fluent speech.

Provisional Psychologist:

For child and adult therapy, you do not need a referral to the Psychology Clinic.

For neuropsychological or cognitive assessments, you must have a referral from a health professional, support coordinator, or school counsellor detailing what you would like to assess for (e.g., ADHD, SLD, ASD) and what are the presenting symptoms (along with onset, severity, and affect on functioning).

The wait times vary for different services across the year. We update our wait times on our website regularly and these can be found here.

You can see your GP for an assessment to see if you are eligible for a referral. Alternatively, some private health insurance policies offer rebates for psychological services and rebates would vary based on the level of cover. Please check with your private health insurer to confirm any rebates available to you.

There are no rebates available for consultations with Provisional Psychologists or for any psychometric testing. 

Group programs hosted by our provisional psychologists are held throughout the year. 

For most services, clients are given the option between face-to-face or telehealth appointments. However, please note that face-to-face appointments require clients to wear face masks and to sign a consent form, in line with the UNSW Psychology Clinic's COVIDSafe plan.