Therapy (Telehealth & Face-to-Face)

Yvonne has experience working with children, adolescents, parents, adults, and older adults on various issues, including anxiety and mood disorders, emotional dysregulation, behavioural problems, adjustment difficulties, life transitions, and interpersonal relationship challenges. She has a particular interest in the following areas:

PTSD and cPTSD
anxiety disorders e.g., panic attacks, social anxiety, generalised anxiety, phobias
depressive disorders
excessive worry
emotional dysregulation
anger management
grief and loss

Yvonne provides a warm and non-judgemental space where her clients feel heard and supported. She works collaboratively with clients to develop insights into their challenges and enhance and expand their skills, helping them live meaningful lives aligned with their values.

Yvonne utilises evidence-based therapies tailored to individual client needs. Her primary therapy modality is Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), and she integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) as appropriate. When working with children, Yvonne uses behavioural-, attachment-, and emotion-based parent training.

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EMDR

What is EMDR therapy?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a highly-effective, structured therapy designed to help you process and heal from past traumas and emotional distress. By focusing on specific distressing memories and experiences, EMDR encourages your brain to naturally reprocess these experiences, reducing their emotional impact and helping you move forward.

EMDRAA has the following page explaining EMDR: https://emdraa.org/emdr-resources/

The eight phases of EMDR therapy:

History Taking & Treatment Planning – We start by understanding your history, current challenges, and goals. This helps us create a personalised treatment plan.
Preparation – You’ll learn important coping strategies and grounding techniques to help you feel safe and confident before starting deeper work.
Assessment – Together, we identify the distressing memories and beliefs that we will focus on.
Desensitisation – You’ll focus on the traumatic memory while we guide you through bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements or tapping), helping your brain reprocess the trauma.
Installation – We work to strengthen positive beliefs and feelings that replace the old negative ones.
Body Scan – We’ll check in with your body to ensure there’s no lingering physical tension, promoting full emotional release.
Closure – Each session concludes with techniques to help you feel grounded and ready to carry on with your day.
Reevaluation – At the beginning of each new session, we’ll review your progress and adjust the plan as needed.

EMDR may be right for you if you if:

You feel emotionally stuck due to past traumatic experiences.
You’re frequently triggered by reminders of a difficult event.
You have anxiety, panic attacks, or difficulty regulating emotions despite trying other therapies.
You’re ready to release the emotional weight of your past and move toward healing.

However, not everyone may be ready to start EMDR right away. Some individuals may first need to develop coping skills or stabilise their mental health before diving into trauma processing. We’ll work together to ensure that EMDR is introduced at the right time for you.

How long are EMDR sessions?

While most therapy sessions with Yvonne follow the standard 50-minute format, we often recommend scheduling extended sessions (75-minute) for EMDR reprocessing. These sessions, which typically occur after the preparation (Phase 2) and assessment (Phase 3) phases, are longer to allow adequate time for:

Fully engaging in the reprocessing process without feeling rushed.
Addressing complex or deeply rooted experiences that may require more time to process effectively.
Ensuring the client has sufficient time to return to a place of stability and calm before concluding the session.

The duration of future reprocessing sessions may be adjusted based on individual needs and progress, ensuring a personalised and effective therapeutic experience.

FAQs for therapy

See below for our frequently asked questions, if you have any other questions please get in touch via our contact page.

How long and how much is a therapy session?

Standard session (most subsequent therapy appointments)

A standard session is 60 minutes, with the consultation typically running for about 50 minutes. Yvonne 's fee is $280 for a 50-minute consultation ($138.15 out-of-pocket fee if you have a valid doctor referral, with a rebate of $141.85)

Extended session available on request (e.g., EMDR reprocessing sessions)

An extended is 90 minutes, with the consultation typically running for about 75 minutes. Yvonne 's fee is $420 for a 75-minute consultation ($278.15 out-of-pocket fee if you have a valid doctor referral, with a rebate of $141.85)

The remaining 10-15 minutes is for Yvonne to complete her session note, prepare for further appointments, provide progress reports to GPs, and ‘as a buffer’ in case the session runs longer than anticipated and as to not disrupt the next client.

Do I need a referral and/or a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP)?

You don't need a referral to see Yvonne (self-referred). However, you may choose to have your GP involved in your care while you work with Yvonne. If you wish to do so, you may book a long consultation with your GP to discuss your eligibility for a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP). If your GP deems you as eligible for one, you will receive a Medicare rebate for up to ten sessions in a calendar year.

If you have a referral from a Psychiatrist or a Paediatrician under the Better Access Initiative, you are entitled to the same Medicare rebate for up to ten sessions in a calendar year.

Currently, the Medicare rebate for a consultation of at least 50 minutes with a clinical psychologist is $141.85. You will only receive the rebate from Medicare if the session has been attended and paid for. Please send or bring along your referral letter (and the MTHP if you have one) at or before your initial session with Yvonne.

When you use your referral to see Yvonne, your doctor is involved in your care. This means Yvonne will provide a report required by Medicare to communicate with your doctor about your treatment progress after your 6th and the 10th sessions. This report is usually completed in session with you, so you know what is written in the report.

For more information about a MHTP, please visit: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/mental-health-treatment-plan

Can I get a rebate with my private health insurance?

If you have "Extras" in your private health insurance, you may be covered part of the session fee. As different insurance packages may provide different coverage, we recommend that you check with your insurer about the amount you will receive for each psychotherapy session to be sure. If you claim through your private health insurance, you will be provided a receipt after the session to submit a claim to your insurer.

As a general rule, you can only claim rebate from only ONE third-party for each therapy session (e.g., either private health insurer OR Medicare), not both.

Do you accept referrals from any funding bodies?

Yvonne offers support to any who accesses services as a self-referred client, with or without a doctor's referral or a self-managed NDIS plan.

Yvonne currently does not offer services through plan- or agency-managed NDIS, DVA Open Arms or WorkCover.

How many sessions will I need?

How many session you need depends on the a lot of factors, such as what are the issues you bring along, how long you have been having these issues, how significant the impacts of these issues are for you, and what goals you have for therapy. For example, a functional client who brings in a very specific issue that recently arose with a specific goal may only need several sessions; whereas a client who may not be functioning well in different aspects of their life due to the profound impacts of some issues from childhood may need regular treatment for a longer period of time.

Generally, the more complex and the more long-standing the issues are, the longer the treatment usually is.

How often should my sessions be?

Depends on your current functioning, you may want to attend sessions once every one or two weeks at the beginning of your therapy to help build your momentum of therapy, e.g., gaining an understanding of your issues and practising new strategies to help manage them. Once you get in the routine of using the strategies effectively, Yvonne may discuss with you about spacing out your therapy sessions gradually to fortnightly or even monthly. As you attain your goals, you may have new goals you want to work on, or you may decide to conclude the treatment.

How do I book an initial therapy session?

To request an appointment as a new client, you can easily do so here. After you submit your request, you will receive an automated email from Halaxy which will include a link to our online intake form with the Client Information and Consent Form. We may also arrange a 10-minute intake phone call with you to ensure we can provide the support you need, and for you to ask any questions you may have (including questions regarding the online form). You don't need to complete the form unless you have decided to make an appointment with Yvonne; in which case, please try to complete the form (and send through any relevant documents) before your first appointment. Your appointment will only be confirmed after you submit your online form.

Sometimes we may not be able to provide the support you need. If that is the case, we will offer other options if we are not the best fit.

If you can’t find our emails (including in the junk box), please contact us via email or using this form to have another one resent.

What will happen in the first session and subsequent sessions?

Initial sessions for adult clients:

The initial assessment is usually for Yvonne to obtain information necessary for your treatment. As the session begins, Yvonne will go through the consent form with you to answer any questions you have, and give you some questionnaires to fill in.

Yvonne will then ask you questions about yourself, the details of the issues you bring along, as well as your family, educational/vocational, social, health histories and the sorts. You may choose to share as much as you feel comfortable to. All the information you provide will be helpful for Yvonne to make sense of what has happened in your life and where shall you go from here. At the end of the second session, Yvonne may discuss with you about your goals for your therapy, and what is realistic to achieve short (usually the first six sessions), medium, and longer terms. Yvonne may also suggest the frequency for your therapy sessions, but it is your decision to make for your treatment.

Initial sessions for child clients (under 18):

When working with children and adolescents, Yvonne values the involvement of their parents, from having their inputs about their child's situations, to helping their child utilising the strategies. Depending on the age of the child client, Yvonne may also work with the parents to develop new skills to support their child. Generally, the younger the child client, the more need for regular parent involvement in therapy.

Yvonne will have the initial session with the parents and the child client together, to ensure everyone is on the same page in terms of areas of concerns to work on during therapy. This initial session will involve going through the consent form, filling out questionnaires and gathering information about the child in terms of their family, educational/vocational, social, health histories and the sorts. All the information provided will be helpful for Yvonne to make sense of what has happened and where to go from here. Yvonne may then discuss with you about your goals for therapy, and what is realistic to achieve short (usually the first six sessions), medium, and longer terms, as well as what level of parent involvement will be helpful. Yvonne may also suggest the frequency for the therapy sessions, but it is the family's decision to make for the treatment.

Parents are welcome to request a 1-1 session with Yvonne if they wish to have a separate space to share their views, when the child client agrees.

Subsequent sessions for all clients:

Once Yvonne finishes gathering all the necessary information about your concerns/problems, subsequent sessions tends to focus on a specific aspect of your issues by providing you information and practising new strategies to help you manage them bit by bit. While Yvonne will have a rough individualised plan for your treatment to fall back on, she tends to priorities working on the specific issue(s) you bring in to each appointment.

Can I choose to have my sessions via Telehealth?

Telehealth option is available for therapy if it works better for you.

For clients who attends face-to-face appointment regularly, sometimes Telehealth may work better for you instead of attending a face-to-face session. When this happens, you can simply email us and a Telehealth link will be emailed to you.

Sometimes Telehealth may not be a good option for certain age groups and/or presenting issues. Yvonne will discuss this with you if this is the case.

What if I am late or I cannot attend my scheduled appointment?

Once an appointment is booked, that time is reserved for you. Please be mindful of the following:

Late Arrivals: If you arrive late, your session will still end at the scheduled time, and the fee for a full session will be charged. For clients receiving a Medicare rebate, the rebate amount may be reduced depending on the length of time in attendance.
Cancellations & Rescheduling: Please notify us as early as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule. You can do so via the Halaxy link in your confirmation email.
Switching to Telehealth: If you cannot attend in person, you may contact us to request to switch to a Telehealth session (note: testing must be completed in person). A Telehealth link will be sent 10-15 minutes before your appointment.
No-show: A no-show occurs if a client is 20 minutes late or more to their scheduled session.

Late Re-scheduling, Late Cancellation & No-Show Policy:

For no-show, late cancellations or late rescheduling within 24 business hours / 1 business days (excluding weekends and ACT public holidays): 100% of the appointment fee will be forfeited.
For late notice for re-scheduling/cancellation within 48 hours / 2 business day (excluding weekends and ACT public holidays): 50% of the appointment fee will be forfeited.
However, if an unavoidable emergency comes up and you provide appropriate evidence, we’ll do our best to accommodate the situation. However, a portion of the fee may still be kept to cover costs related to holding the appointment time.

The fee and the transaction fee charged by Halaxy (1.9% + $1.00) will be automatically charged to the nominated debit/credit card on Halaxy. If not available, an invoice will be sent via email for payment.

Please note that Medicare does not provide rebate for canceled appointments. Any outstanding fee must be cleared before your next scheduled appointment.

For further information, please see our Cancellation Policy page.

Holding SpaceClinical Psychology Services