Child and Adolscent Psychology Services

Parent Information (School Counselling Service)

 Parent Information:

In-School Psychology provides free psychological services to children, adolescents and their families. Our unique service is offered on site at primary and secondary schools, in both the public and private sectors.

The psychologists at In-School Psychology are experts in child and adolescent psychology and are professionals dedicated to providing outstanding and comprehensive services to assist children and adolescents, their families and their schools.

Counselling is a very effective way of helping children and adolescents who are struggling with some aspect of their lives, from feeling anxious or depressed, to struggling with bullying or having difficulties controlling their anger.

Our Service:

In-School Psychology counselling service is provided FREE of charge, as our service is bulk billed to Medicare or through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for eligible clients. The psychologists at In-School Psychology see children and adolescents who have a referral from their GP under Medicare’s Better Access to Mental Health Care initiative, which allows the psychologist to provide 10 sessions per calendar year. Children/adolescents eligible under the NDIS do not have a limitation on the number of sessions they can have per calendar year. As In-School Psychology bulk bills to Medicare or through the NDIS there is no out of pocket cost for the family.

As our service is provided onsite at the child/adolescent’s school, during school hours, it is convenient and easily accessible to families.

Our psychologists see children and adolescents with a range of difficulties, from simple problems such as difficulty making friends to more complex mental health issues. Children and adolescents are commonly referred to our services for issues such as:

  • Friendship problems (making and keeping friends)
  • Dealing with bullying
  • Anxiety (including school refusal)
  • Depression
  • Fears and phobias
  • Anger management & behavioural difficulties (at home and/or school)
  • Self-harm
  • Sleep problems (night terrors, insomnia)
  • Alcohol or substance abuse
  • Attention deficit and hyperactivity
  • Social skills difficulties
  • Grief and loss
  • Eating disorders
  • Autism (developing social skills, anxiety etc.)

How can a psychologist help?

The psychologists at In-School Psychology use a range of different evidenced based psychological techniques. Our psychologists will tailor counselling for each child and adolescent so that the most useful and effective treatments are implemented [some text deleted].

Our psychologists use focused psychological strategies:

  • Psych-education (including motivational interviewing)
  • Evidenced based therapy (e.g. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
  • Relaxation strategies (including progressive muscle relaxation and controlled breathing)
  • Skill development training (including problem-solving skills and training, anger management, social skills training, communications training, stress management, and parent management)
  • Interpersonal Therapy

Counselling helps children and adolescents to:

  • Learn practical ways to cope with different difficult or distressing situations
  • Learn to regulate their feelings and emotions
  • Learn to think more rationally and optimistically
  • Learn to control their behaviour
  • Feel more in control of their thoughts and feelings
  • Build resilience
  • Build social skills
  • Develop communication skills
  • Learn relaxation techniques

Parents, where to from here?

If you or the school feels your child would benefit from working with one of our psychologists then you need to complete the following steps.

  1. Complete the GP information form provided to you by the school. In some situations the school will complete the letter for you or with you, depending on what the presenting concerns are.
  2. Take the GP information form along with the child/adolescent to your local GP and request a referral under the Better Access To Mental Health Care Initiative to a psychologist. When making your appointment with the GP let them know it is for a referral to a psychologist, as this requires a longer appointment time.
  3. Complete the consent form and return to the school with the GP referral. The school will then forward the forms on to the In-School Psychology psychologist.
  4. For referrals under the NDIS please complete and return the consent form to the school and include a copy of the child/adolescents NDIS number and plan.
  5. Once the psychologist has received the consent form and GP/NDIS referral they will contact you and let you know when they will commence working with your child.

What do schools have to do?

In order to receive service from In-School Psychology schools have to:

  1. Provide a suitable private space within the school where the sessions can take place
  2. Complete the GP information form where applicable, and provide to the family
  3. Send completed consent form and GP referral (if applicable) to the schools allocated psychologist
  4. Help collect the student from their class to ensure privacy
  5. Liaise with psychologist and family as to the progress of sessions

 

Waitlists

Due to the demand for our service there may be a short wait before the psychologist can start working with your child/adolescent. The psychologist should have an initial appointment within 6 weeks of receiving the referral. If there will be a longer wait the psychologist or In-School Psychology will notify you of the delay and realistic wait time so that you can engage an alternative service provider if needed. We do our best to see new clients as soon as possible.

 

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