Where are we located?
Level 1, 134 Willboughby Road Crows Nest 2065.
Click here for details of current location.
Is there parking nearby?
There is meter one hour parking on Albany & Willboughy Rd & free council two hour parking in the Haltermann Council Carpark which is very close to the clinic.
Is there Public Transport nearby?
The clinic is a short 10 minute walk from St Leonards train and bus station. Please see the Transport and Information website for more specific details regarding timetables.
Do you have disabled Access?
The clinic is suitable for wheelchair access. There is a wheelchair/pram access with a ramp and a lift if needed. There is also a set of stairs on entry for those more able bodied. With prior arrangement I provide phone/Zoom/Skype consultations for those who are unwell, disabled or cannot access the building.
Can I have consultation on the phone/FaceTime or via Zoom/Skype?
Yes. I am available for Skype/Zoom or Phone/FaceTime consultations both nationally and internationally by appointment. Please use the contact us page to inquire or booking page to directly book an online or phone/Zoom consultation.
Face to face appointments are only available on Wednesdays in Crows Nest.
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday appointments are available online via Zoom/Skype or on phone or FaceTime.
What are your opening hours?
The practice is open by appointment only. Herbal and Nutritional prescriptions can be ordered and picked up on Wednesdays or at separate times with prior arrangement & with enough notice. Mailing of herbal medicines and supplements is also possible at request.
Consultations with Sally:
Tuesday 2.30– 6pm by appointment (Skype/zoom/phone)
Wednesday 9am- 7pm – Crows Nest (face to face or online)
Thursday 8am – 6pm by appointment (online or phone)
Friday 8am – 6pm by appointment (online or phone)
Is there a fee for missed consultations and late Cancellations?
Yes, as missed appointments and late cancellations prevent me from helping someone else in need. Please provide at least 48 hours notice (during business hours). Missed consultations or late cancellations without 48 hours notice will incur the fee for the full consultation fee. You will receive a courtesy reminder text before your scheduled appointment but it is your responsibility to remember your scheduled appointment.
Rebates on consultations?
Rebates are available for both Psychotherapy & Nutrition consultations through some health funds, not Medicare. Please see below for my provider numbers and check with your individual health fund on your level of individual cover.
COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY CLAIMS:
-Medibank Private Provider # A068712F
-AHM#500 (individual)
-Bupa #J000667
-ARHG Insurance group – Provider #PC24310T (which includes the health funds following – Police Health, St Luke’s Heath, CUA Health, Phoenix Health Fund, Emergency Services Health)
NUTRITION (Naturopathic) CONSULTATION CLAIMS:
– NIB Insurance – Provider # ATMS 6560
– AHM Insurance – Provider #21197521
– ARHG Insurance group – Provider #AT06560U (which includes health funds CUA Health, HBF, MDHF, Queensland Country Health, Westfund health funds).
– Australian Unity – Provider #21197852
Please check with your own health fund provider for details about your eligibility.
An itemised receipt will be given or emailed to you after your appointment with me, which you send or take to your health fund to claim.
NOTE: Counselling/Psychotherapy appointments are not able to be claimed through Medicare, and my Counselling/Psychotherapy services are not able to be included as part of your GP’s mental health plan. I do provide receipts which you may be able to claim on your end of year tax or as above with your health fund if applicable.
What Payment Methods do you have?
The clinic has credit card payment facilities (for Eftpos, Mastercard, Visa – not Amex). We also accept cheque or cash payments. Nutrition/Naturopathic consultations are GST exempt, however all medicines and other prescribed remedies incur GST.
Please note that fees are due on the day of the consultation and we do not offer accounts. For all NEW patients/clients meeting me for online appointments, fee’s will need to be paid prior to the scheduled appointment time.
What do I need to do to prepare for the first Naturopathic consultation?
At the time you make your first appointment, you will be sent a comprehensive health questionnaire to be filled out online prior to us meeting initially.
Please bring copies of any past relevant test results to your consultations or email them through with an attached PDF file, to ensure thorough assessment at the time of your consultation and to prevent unnecessary repetition in testing. You are welcome to email these tests directly to me (only with attached PDF file) prior to the initial appointment.
Do you prescribe herbs and vitamins?
Yes. Many of my Nutrition/Naturopathic clients are very unwell and evidently deficient in nutrients. Therefore depending on your individual situation, as a patient in my care, you may be prescribed individualised therapeutic doses of specific combinations of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids and herbs, in addition to individualised dietary advice.
How long will it take for me to feel better?
This will vary between each individual and your pre-existing health condition. However, you should expect to see some changes in as early as a few days or weeks.
For others it will be longer, and will depend on the nature of your condition and other impacting lifestyle factors – such as your environment, work hours, sleep habits, stress levels, and of course your compliance to follow the eating and treatment program prescribed for you.
The duration of treatment is determined by your pre-existing health condition and desired health goals, and you will definitely get out of this experience what you put into it. An average frequency of meetings may look like 2 or 3 appointments 2-4 weekly apart to gather all the appropriate information and stabilise symptoms. Then meetings can be spaced to 4-8 weekly thereafter as maintenance, until resolution of symptoms. Then lastly 3-6 monthly thereafter if needed.
What kind of counselling do you do?
The formal training I have is a Masters Degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy and Counselling. This type counselling is a holistic somatically inclusive (the body and its symptoms are included and not separately viewed to the mind/mood) form of counselling and therapy. This means I take into account you and your body as a unique person in relationship with your environment, your history, your relationships, your posture, your movements, your body pain and biochemistry etc – in this present moment. We work as a team and I want to understand you in YOUR individual and unique experience.
I also bring to our meetings 20 plus years of working with individuals in a therapist role, plus a lifetime of my own lived experience, personal development, soul searching and curiousness.
Due to my training in the body and body systems, I also bring an understanding of neuroscience and the workings of the brain and the autonomic nervous system; a holistic knowledge of how the gut or digestive system communicates with our brain and mood; and an understanding of the hormonal system and our body’s biochemical “soup”. All of these factors influence our mood & emotions and can often unfortunately be labelled as depression or anxiety – without often looking at the underlying causations or contributions.
What is the difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy?
I am both a counsellor and Psychotherapist.
Although counselling and psychotherapy can overlap, there are also differences. Counselling focuses on enhancing people’s capacity to cope with specific life challenges such as relationship endings, bereavement, and anxiety. Seeing a counsellor helps people resolve immediate crises, reduce distress, develop goals for change and improve their wellbeing. Counselling also assists with problem solving and developing inner resources to move on with life in meaningful ways.
Psychotherapy focuses to a greater extent on achieving change in the personality or self through building self awareness. Often people notice that the nature of their personal difficulties is repetitive. Similar issues arise time and again in different contexts and relationships. Psychotherapy helps people achieve better self-understanding and change long-standing patterns of behaviour that may be disrupting relationships, personal health, work or study.
Both Counselling and Psychotherapy are professional services that support people to develop better understanding of themselves and others, address life difficulties and make the changes they want in their lives.
Counsellors and psychotherapists draw on a wide range of therapy interventions and are highly skilled in working across the spectrum of life difficulties. Both counsellors and psychotherapists work with current problems, crises, and longer term difficulties. They provide both short and long-term services according to people’s needs.
Counselling and psychotherapy take people beyond where they can go by themselves.
Can you tell me more about what Psychotherapy involves?
Psychotherapy is a holistic engagement that focuses on the mental, emotional, relational or spiritual health of the human being. It is useful when psychological, developmental, relationship and wellbeing issues arise in life. A psychotherapist engages with a person in a process of working together to build understanding and acceptance of how the person makes meaning of their life. Together they create life giving solutions to old and new problems.
What does the psychotherapist do?
A psychotherapist and client work together to understand conscious and unconscious aspects of the present lived experience of the client. A key element of the practice of psychotherapy is the relationship between the therapist and the client. This process may include looking at how earlier experiences impact on the person’s daily life and future. Together they may refer to personal story, experiences in family of origin, relationship history, imagination, illness as well as sexuality, spirituality, ethnicity and culture.
What issues does the psychotherapist deal with?
Many people come to a psychotherapist because they are experiencing discomfort, dissatisfaction or suffering in their lives. Some come seeking further development. Psychotherapists work with people who have a wide range of presenting concerns: depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, eating problems, illness, addiction, trauma, abuse, relationship difficulties in personal life or at work, communication, intimacy and commitment problems.
What outcomes may be expected?
Psychotherapy supports a process of change. A person may come to understand patterns of discomfort, dissatisfaction or suffering in their life. They may make meaning from this and be more able to make conscious choices that lead to a different experience of themselves and the world. A person can develop a greater capacity to be in charge of their life, empowered and self-directing, and experience increasing joy, meaning, peace of mind and heart, purposefulness, insight and self-knowledge.
The process of psychotherapy addresses symptom reduction in a person’s life. In addition, it goes further and addresses the causes of longstanding patterns, supporting improved functioning.
What training do psychotherapists have? A psychotherapist will have extensive and lengthy training in one or more psychotherapeutic modalities which draw on a theoretical base that is well recognized. The training will have involved the psychotherapist in their own process of psychotherapy and self-development as well as close supervision during their learning. Psychotherapists continue supervision, professional development and involvement in a community of psychotherapists throughout their professional life. Psychotherapists abide by a Code of Ethics for professional practice.
The training curriculum will have included extensive practical clinical skills and the integration of theories of psychotherapy, human development, and human diversity. A sound familiarity with relevant current research in psychotherapy and rigorous ethical discernment are all important components of training in the profession of psychotherapy.
What modalities of psychotherapy exist? And what is Gestalt Psychotherapy?
There are various psychotherapy modalities…
• Buddhist Psychotherapy • Gestalt Therapy • Psychodrama • Somatic Psychotherapy • Soul Centred Psychotherapy • Transactional Analysis • Transpersonal and Experiential Psychotherapy
Gestalt Psychotherapy is a holistic form of therapy which draws from many of these modalities.
If I choose to see you as a counsellor/therapist how long do I need to come for?
This will depend entirely on you and what your needs are. I work with adult individuals either short term (weeks to months), for life situations that are transient. And I also work more long term (months to years) with individuals for longer pressing stressful situations, developmental traumas, and where existing thinking, behavioural habits and patterns are causing continued distress in life.
I usually suggest you come for 2 or 3 sessions close together (consecutive weeks or fortnights ideally) so we can discover together what your needs are. Please don’t hesitate to call me prior to booking in. I welcome your call. Sessions are for 55 minutes.
