Frequently asked questions about starting therapy or a new therapist.
Q: I’m not sure which therapist is best for me, can you help me?
Absolutely. We know the therapist's fit is the most important factor for the outcome of your therapy, which is why we take the time to get to know you in-depth before making a booking. Gabriella will reach out to you within 24 hours to connect you with the best therapist given what you would like to work on and your availability. Provide as much information as you can in the contact form and I’ll make the best recommendation and have you swiftly booked in.
Q: Do I need a referral to see you?
Not at all. Just get in touch and we'll help you set up an appointment time with the best therapist for you. This ensures you are quickly booked in and we respond to you within 48 business hours. private, direct bookings also ensure the utmost confidentiality, as no GP’s or other referrers get involved or require reports or summary letters.
Q: Do you accept Mental Health Care Plans (MHCPs) that provide Medicare rebates?
No. Only psychologists and some social workers can provide Medicare rebates under Mental Health Care Plans (MHCPs).
However, working with a private counsellor means your sessions are strictly confidential, no summary letters need to be sent to your GP and no mental health diagnoses are required or reported on your medical history which is involved in the MHCPs. Life, Income Protection and other insurance may also impacted by mental health diagnoses noted on your MHCPs and Medicare records.
Couples/marriage/relationship counselling is not covered under MHCPs for psychologists either, so all couples counselling is privately accessed in Australia, not through the Medicare system.
Q: Can you provide private insurance rebates?
Yes! Rebates are available if you have the correct policy with counselling included. Please check with your insurer.
Gabriella provided rebates for Bupa, ahm, HCF Medibank, Police Health, Emergency Services Health, St. Luke's and Phoenix.
Sarah provides rebates for Bupa, HCF, Police Health, Emergency Services Health, St Luke's and Phoenix.
Katie Provides rebates for Bupa, HCF, Medibank, ahm and Australian Regional Health Group.
Q: What are your current wait times?
Our wait times are no longer than 2-4 weeks and we promise to be able to see you regularly when you start with us.
Q: Where is your practice location? We’re in Fremantle and online.
Gabriella works from her practice in suburban Fremantle, near the Fremantle Golf Course.
Sarah works from a beautiful holistic centre in South Tce, South Fremantle.
Katie works from Ardoss on Fridays and suburban Fremantle on other days.
Exact addresses are provided upon booking.
Q: What are your session fees?
Session fees depend on whether you book for individual, couples, or family counselling, and which therapist you see.
We’ll let you know the booking fees as soon as we know what service is best for you.
Q: I really want to work with you but I’m not sure I can afford it.
Reach out and enquire about our fees before you assume you can’t afford them.
Our clients use the following strategies to support the funding of their therapy:
Utilise Private Health Rebates for counselling.
Spacing out their appointments to a financially comfortable frequency.
Asking their workplace to cover a few or a portion of their counselling sessions.
Pre-pay for their sessions when they get paid so they don’t stress about finances for their appointment.
Be mindful of their expendable cash expenditure and be intentional with investing it in their health and wellness.
Ask their parents or partner to contribute to their therapy.
Many couples request 50% split payments of the session between each partner, which we’re happy to do.
Q: How many sessions will I need?
We can’t answer this exactly but as excellent psychotherapists, we suggest making a personal commitment to the process. We don’t work with clients looking for 1-3 sessions of quick strategies or a band-aid approach because we want you to have sustainable change., We work with clients who want to deeply know themselves, and transform from the inside out. We work with clients through their life changes and stages who want to have a regular therapist in their corner whom they build a personal relationship with. We’re the type of therapists that remember the names of all your family members, and ex-partners, can track your body reactions and triggers perceptively, and get to know you so well we can see themes, patterns and emotions often before you notice them yourself.
Q: How often should I attend sessions?
This is up to you and is an intuitive process. Take into account your finances and time availability and give yourself a bit of time to process in between sessions. You can book in weekly, fortnightly or monthly and space your appointments out when you’re feeling really good. We recommend you book your first 3 sessions within 10 weeks to get the traction going. Ongoing appointments as part of your commitment to the process see better outcomes than only seeking to book an appointment when you’re in a crisis, which we don’t recommend. Therapy is preventative, keeps you on an even keel and often the best sessions are had when you have the time and space to do the deeper work and aren’t in a crisis.
Q: What days are you available?
We work different days covering Monday=Saturday with morning, afternoon and evening/after-hours appointments available.
Q: Can you make clinical assessments, diagnoses or reports?
No, counsellors do not make clinical assessments, or mental health diagnoses and we cannot provide medical reports. If you would like to see someone from a clinical perspective for specific mental health issues, we’d recommend a psychologist. We are counsellors and work from a non-clinical lens, although we have experience supporting clients with mental health symptoms and presentations.
Q: How do I know I’ve found the right therapist and approach for me?
Great Question! You know you’re with the right therapists when you:
Respect your therapist and develop trust in them.
Their therapy approaches and methods work for you and make sense to you.
You feel safe, supported and empowered in the dynamic and that you can speak up.
You feel they can relate to you, speak your language and are experienced and equipped with what you need.
We see many clients who started therapy with other therapists or psychologists and it wasn’t a good fit because:
You feel the therapist is taking a cookie-cutter approach with you and you feel like a number.
Don’t feel heard, understood or worse, judged, leading you to not opening up and shutting down.
You feel you don’t have control or autonomy over the sessions and can’t speak up on what’s not working for you.
You feel like you’re not getting anything out of it and are ‘just talking.
The therapist acts like they have the answer to everything and are here to tell you how to live your life.
Leave you feeling like you should be able to control all of your thoughts and feelings but your body isn’t listening to your mind.
At Gabriella & Co, we’re intentional, holistic, values-driven and keenly tuned in to our clients. That’s why we ensure:
You’re matched with the right therapist to begin with, or referred to someone else.
We seek to understand your unique experiences of anxiety, depression, emotions stress or trauma. We don’t take big umbrella words at face value and assume we know what you’re experience is.
Check-in with you regularly about how you’re doing in the session, if your goals are being met and continuously seek feedback.
Take a trauma-informed approach to never re-traumatise you, steamroll over your wishes or force you to talk about anything you don’t want to. We track your nervous system, emotional responses, body-movements and resistances and honour them all.
Take a holistic body-mind approach that knows trauma and triggers are stored in the body, not the mind, You can’t control everything you think and feel, but you can make it a calmer, more grounded and compassionate experience.
Q: I’m nervous to start therapy, Do you have any tips?
It’s completely normal! Feeling emotions such as nervousness is part of the human experience that says you’re alive!
The first session is the most nerve-wracking but because we know this, we ensure complete privacy of your session, create a calming environment, and are personable and relatable. Most clients say they feel relieved and so much better after the first session and eagerly look forward to having their next session soon. After the first session, you’ll know your therapist better, become familiar with the practice room, parking and the environment, and feel comfortable in our cosy and inviting counselling rooms.
Respect & admiration
We love that for you and are proud of all our clients who step over the barrier of the familiar comfort zone to start therapy. We treat you like VIP clients because we know you deserve it. Even though you may be nervous, don’t let it get in the way of your healing and the inner whisper you’re responding to by starting counselling. We know it’s a brave step, so celebrate yourself along the way and be proud of your decision to start.
Relatable
We are humanistic and relatable. We aren’t looking down at you from a glass house or here to judge you. We work human to human, here to support you in a jon-judgemental, compassionate and curious way. We often laugh and share jokes and make the process as enjoyable as possible. Even though we are all therapists ourselves, we regularly engage in supervision and personal therapy as part of our commitment to ongoing personal growth, and we still feel nervous sometimes too as clients.
Trauma-Informed
From a trauma-informed perspective, we never force you to talk about anything you don’t want to. We will actively check in with you to see how you’re doing in the session, monitor your nervous system and ask if it’s ok if we talk about certain topics. Where trauma or heightened physical symptoms are present, we navigate this gently and take a slow, sustainable approach. We know therapy isn’t just about thoughts: Your human experiences involve your mind, body, nervous-system, heart and senses, and we check in with all of those aspects during our sessions. You are totally in control of what we talk about, when or if ever. If we suggest an exercise or homework, we seek your permission and interest in the practice, and you can opt-out at anytime. That’s our trauma-informed and experienced promise to you.
Connection
Research consistently shows us that the most important variable for good therapeutic outcomes is the relationship between the therapist and the client, so we go to great lengths to make sure we’re the perfect fit for you, or we will refer you to someone else. If you’d like Gabriella to call you to discuss your questions, request it in the contact form and she will be in touch to set up a complimentary connection call for you to get to know us better.
Encouragement
The main question you have to ask yourself is: Is there any benefit to putting it off? Usually not. Most of our clients wish they started the process earlier, even when they may have had it in their mind to work with us for many months or even a year. You’ll never feel 100% ready, because the nature of the human brain is to seek out safety and certainty. Therapy can be a vulnerable process of self-discovery, but you will soon find connection, authenticity, alive-ness and pride on the other side of your comfort zone.
Each day you’re invited to either evolve or repeat, and we invite you to evolve with us gently, sustainably and with safety and wisdom.
Q: Any other questions?
Feel free to include it in your message to me and I’ll happily respond.
