Know any good accessible psychologists in Canberra?

+100 for Dr Dev Roychowdhury. I remember going to him when I was a mess and life seemed pointless. But sessions with him changed all that. It was a miracle. Finally I was happy. Anyone looking for a good psychologist should definitely go and see him.
I also agree with @kayem, however I feel it is important to meet a shrink in person and see if he/she is what you are looking for. I also feel that GPs sometime don’t know who to recommend or don’t have good training in mental health themselves.

Yeah I recommend you get a GP referral first. I went to see Dr Dev RoyChowdhury in Civic. In short, he was great. I would definitely recommend him.

Kayem said :

IrishPete said :

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Sally Hughson in Deakin has helped me enormously with anxiety and panic issues. I’m not sure if you need a referral from a GP – that’s how I got in contact with her.

If you want Medicare to help cover the cost, you MUST go through a GP.

IP

True that you need a GP referral under a mental health treatment plan to cover Medicare subsidy of psychology treatment. However, some private health insurance arrangements will subsidise psychology without a GP referral. Check your product disclosure statement if you hold private health insurance.

Maybe, but my private health insurance cover for psychology services is derisory. The only half decent mental health benefit in {my, but I have also examined other people’s over the years too) private health insurance is the coverage for private psychiatric hospitals, which in the ACT means Hyson Green.

It really highlights the “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” approach of private health insurance, rather than the cheaper preventative approach of a fence at the top of the cliff.

PHI should pay for you to attend the GP X times per year (probably once) even when you’re not sick. So should Medicare, in full.

IP

IP

Kayem said :

Every psychologist I have ever recommended to a member of my family has been a member of the APS.

Good on you, but if one were to check the names of psychologists who other people recommend, you’ll often find they aren’t APS members…

IP

IrishPete said :

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Sally Hughson in Deakin has helped me enormously with anxiety and panic issues. I’m not sure if you need a referral from a GP – that’s how I got in contact with her.

If you want Medicare to help cover the cost, you MUST go through a GP.

IP

True that you need a GP referral under a mental health treatment plan to cover Medicare subsidy of psychology treatment. However, some private health insurance arrangements will subsidise psychology without a GP referral. Check your product disclosure statement if you hold private health insurance.

Sorry, mucked up the quoting above. I believe I was quoting IP and responding to that comment.

IrishPete said :

Confusedwouldwe said :

In response to an earlier post, if a psychologist is not a member of the Australian Psychological Society, I’d be wondering why. Either they’re a cheapskate, or they have some opinions which run counter to the profession’s peak body. There’s a lot wrong with the APS, but I’ve maintained my membership through thick and thin for years, even when I disagree with them on serious matters (such as their regular “study tours” to Israel)..

IP

I only made the statement because I had directed OP to an APS website in response to their query, and wanted to make sure I did not imply that all their treatment options might be detailed there as it is not like the Psychology Board where all practitioners need to be registered. I am not a psychologist, so I have no opinion as to why someone with a valid qualification and registration with the board may or may not choose to affiliate with the APS. But that affiliation is voluntary, and I wanted to emphasise that in providing information that is partial but relevant to the OP.

Every psychologist I have ever recommended to a member of my family has been a member of the APS.

Queen_of_the_Bun said :

Sally Hughson in Deakin has helped me enormously with anxiety and panic issues. I’m not sure if you need a referral from a GP – that’s how I got in contact with her.

If you want Medicare to help cover the cost, you MUST go through a GP.

IP

Sally Hughson in Deakin has helped me enormously with anxiety and panic issues. I’m not sure if you need a referral from a GP – that’s how I got in contact with her.

Confusedwouldwe said :

I recommend telling your GP that you want to seriously go down the therapy track and clearly state that anxiety and OCD are what you want to target. Ask for a few names and numbers of psychologists and call each and tell them that anxiety and OCD are you main issues and ask if this is what they focus on, what kind of approach do they take, what is the fee structure and do they have a medicare provider number, and try and guage if they sound like someone you can trust and talk to. Maybe think about whether it will be easier for you to open up to a female or a male.

Anxiety and depression are treated by both registered and clinical psychologists and if you look at the gap between there scehduled fee and medicare rebates, generally regeristered psychologists are cheaper.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is meant to be good for anxiety.

But some clinical psychologists will bulk bill a proportion of their clients, so they end up being free. The medicare rebate is generally insufficient for a non-clinical psychologist to do so.

ACT is meant to be good for everything, but until someone actually evaluates it, I’ll stick with the treatment that has evidence for it – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Despite their training and the Code of Ethics, psychologists are just as quick as any other profession to jump on some new trendy bandwagon.

In response to an earlier post, if a psychologist is not a member of the Australian Psychological Society, I’d be wondering why. Either they’re a cheapskate, or they have some opinions which run counter to the profession’s peak body. There’s a lot wrong with the APS, but I’ve maintained my membership through thick and thin for years, even when I disagree with them on serious matters (such as their regular “study tours” to Israel)..

IP