FAQs

A valid Medicare referral for psychology must include the following information. Please kindly request from your doctor to include this information when providing you with a referral.

• Date of referral and doctor's signature
• Medicare diagnosis
• Patient's Medicare number
• Patient's name (correct spelling as it appears on Medicare records)
• Patient's date of birth
• Patient's residential address
• Presenting problem and previous diagnoses
• Up-to-date list of medications
• Number of rebates (a maximum of 6 rebates in the first referral, followed by a re-referral for 4 additional rebates)
• Doctor's provider number

If you bring a referral letter, you are automatically giving consent for the psychologist to communicate with your GP. As per Medicare requirements, psychologists provide a brief letter to your GP with their clinical opinion.

A gap fee applies to this referral. Please contact the practice directly to discuss the fees, as they vary depending on the service (e.g., therapy, assessment, family session).

If you’d like to discuss your booking, including assessment, therapy, or a report, please consider booking a session with Bita. The phone call is for scheduling purposes only and not for discussing treatment or providing advice. I can answer general questions prior to your first appointment. In the initial phone call, we’ll discuss the topics you’d like to talk about in sessions, how I work, the therapeutic frame, fees, and what you hope to achieve from therapy.

Regular session times assist you in planning activities outside of your therapy, and it is expected that you plan accordingly.

When a specific session frequency is agreed upon (e.g., two sessions per week), maintaining this commitment supports the therapeutic work.

If a planned change arises (e.g., childcare, or travel), please talk about the change so we can discuss it together, as well as the possibility of changing the time to another time in the same week or having your session online. Online sessions are subject to availability so please discuss with me.

If a session is missed, the fee will apply. For illness-related absence, please refer to the relevant FAQ.

This structure support continuity of analytic therapy and creates space to address any obstacles that may emerge during our therapeutic work together.

If you're sick and unable to attend in person, a video session may be arranged. If you’re too sick to talk, we may be able to reschedule within the same week, either online or in person. If you miss the session, the standard fee applies.

I have received training in various therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and play therapy for children.

In addition, I have completed over ten years of clinical psychoanalytic training and continue to engage in ongoing professional development in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy.

I regularly discuss my cases in supervision with a highly experienced Analyst Member, Clinical Psychologist, and former director of the European School of the Freudian Field (Initiative–Forum de l'École de Psychanalyse des Forums du Champ Lacanien, EPFCL). I have also spent more than a decade in intensive personal analysis with multiple sessions during the week, with an analyst from this School.

My commitment to professional learning remains strong, and I continue to be actively involved with the research and activities of the School, the Colorado Analytic Forum, and Lacan UK.

Read more about my research, qualifications and areas of work.

Factsheet for the public about psychoanalysis. 

Psychotherapy

In Australia, Medicare gives $96.65 and only for six therapy sessions. This program was created to encourage Australians who haven't tried therapy before to give it a go. That said, the six-session limit isn't based on scientific evidence. The duration of treatment is not determined by a fixed number of sessions or a predetermined timeline. Instead, it is based on the subjective experience of each person in treatment.

General Information about long term treatments

Most psychological treatment in Australia happens in private practice and isn't adequetly funded by public or private insurance. With psychoanalysis Melbourne, it's important to understand that it's a long-term weekly commitment. It's about working with the unconscious knowledge, which is based in transference taking time to develop through free association, dreams, and other unconscious formations (See the interactive section: Why seek psychoanalytic treatment?). Gradually uncovering how you might be contributing to your own suffering without realising it. While it takes dedication, the insights and changes that come from this mode of working together are worthwhile and liberating.

How do I get my rebates?

To access Medicare rebates for seeing the psychologist in Hawthorn and the psychologist in Belgrave, you'll need to ask your GP to create a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) for you based on a diagnosed mental health condition. In addition to the MHCP, you must also request a valid referral letter from your GP to see a psychologist. The referral letter must include a valid Medicare diagnosis and specify the number of rebates (typically, Medicare rule allows an initial 6 rebates, followed by 4 additional rebates after a GP review).

Please note that the Medicare rebate amount and eligibility for various services are set by Medicare, not by the psychologist. To ensure you meet the requirements, it's important that your referral letter from your GP aligns with Medicare's guidelines. It is your responsibility to schedule the necessary reviews with your GP for further rebates. 

The session fee is settled at each session, and receipts are issued only after payment. Your private insurance provider is responsible for advising you on your level of psychology coverage. Insurance reimbursement is not guaranteed and depends on your individual policy.

To access Medicare rebates for seeing the psychologist in Hawthorn and the psychologist in Belgrave, you'll need to ask your GP to create a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) for you based on a diagnosed mental health condition. In addition to the MHCP, you must also request a valid referral letter from your GP to see a psychologist. The referral letter must include a valid Medicare diagnosis and specify the number of rebates (typically, Medicare rule allows an initial 6 rebates, followed by 4 additional rebates after a GP review).

Please note that the Medicare rebate amount and eligibility for various services are set by Medicare, not by the psychologist. To ensure you meet the requirements, it's important that your referral letter from your GP aligns with Medicare's guidelines. It is your responsibility to schedule the necessary reviews with your GP for further rebates. 

In the early sessions, we discuss how we work together and establish our agreements as you speak and I listen.

Medicare recognises both short and long sessions, and there is a thoughtful clinical basis for session duration.

In psychoanalytic therapy literature, especially in the Lacanian school, much has been written about the value of the variable-length session. This approach is based on the theory that the unconscious doesn’t move by the clock-time. 

Sometimes, a moment of insight, or shift emerges in the session, and it may be more meaningful to end the session at that topic.  We always pick up in the next session, either from where we left off, or from what feels most present for you at that time. You always choose what to say, and what topics to bring to each session. 

If you have questions, I am happy to answer them.

Typically, I first meet with the parents to understand the child’s family environment, school functioning, and social interactions. After meeting with the parents, we’ll have a chat about the suitability of therapy or interventions for the child together.

For child FAQs refer to the child psychologist services page, and see the FAQs section

All electronic data and information will be handled according to the Australian government regulations, Business Victoria standards, and best practice guidelines for private practice psychologists and psychologist in Hawthorn and psychologist in Belgrave. You can find more information about my privacy practices. I'd be happy to answer your questions.

For patients living far from Melbourne, some sessions may be held online via secure video link - if clinically appropriate and agreed upon together by talking about it in the session.

Online Session Checklist

Before the Session:

- Choose a quiet, private space (some use their parked car). You need to be able to speak freely just as you would in my consulting rooms.
- Check your microphone and camera; use headphones for clarity and confidentiality.
- Silence your phone and notifications; let others know you're unavailable.
- Test your internet connection.
- Have your video link ready (e.g., Google Meet).

During the Session:

- Be in a seated position, in a chair.
- Make sure your face is visible.
- Place your device on a stable surface.
- Attend the session with the same presence as you would in person. 

After the Session:

- Take a few minutes before re-entering your day (e.g., Consider going for a walk). 
- Don’t record or take notes / the same frame applies as in-person.
- Make payment at the end of the session.

If the session is conducted in an unsuitable or non-confidential setting, it will be canceled, and the fee will apply. 

Read More About Privacy 

Psychoanalytic therapy is a talking therapy, and it differs from social conversations with friends and family. 

A classical example is Freud's 1909 case of the 'Rat Man,' where his patient expresses ambivalence regarding his father. The tension, between love and hate, may be central to anxiety, which might make it difficult for people to think clearly.

Maintaining the therapeutic frame enables analysis and working through difficulties in subsequent sessions.

The fee is part of the frame and it may be discussed in the analytic work. Rather than a 'transaction', the fee that you pay, may reflect your relationship to money, value, and speech. Psychoanalytic research posit that the fee, symbolically, has a role in enabling speech and desire. Fees in psychoanalysis may be adjusted to make the treatment affordable. 

You're welcome to read the in therapy blog articles, which are updated regularly. The articles are not a replacement for us talking in the sessions.