Referrals & Fees

Cause Effect Psychology provide high quality psychology services to the South/East Brisbane community. We offer treatment for adults, adolescents (16+years) and couples.

Sessions run for around 50 minutes and while our Psychologists mainly see clients face-to-face, we also offer web-based (Zoom) and telephone counselling services to those who are unable to make it in-person. Cause Effect Psychology are not a bulk billing practice. We do accept privately funded clients, GP Mental Health Care Plan referrals as well as select Employee Assistance Program services. Please read on to understand the referrals we accept:

Referring to Cause Effect Psychologists

  • Self-Referral / Private Referral

You do not need a referral to see a Psychologist. Many of our clients present privately, with no referral from a GP or medical professional. There is no limit to the number of sessions you may have as a private client however, Medicare rebates are not available.

We provide a receipt for treatment after all private sessions. With this, you may be able to claim a rebate for therapy under ‘Extras’ if you have private health insurance. Please contact your insurer directly regarding rebate amount as this varies between health funds and depends on your level of cover.

  • Mental Health Care Plans (MHCP)

If you do have a current Mental Health Care Plan referral from your doctor, you can receive a rebate from Medicare, which is a minimum of $93.35 for a Registered Psychologist and $137.05 for a Clinical Psychologist. We will process your Medicare rebate directly after payment for your session through our onsite facilities. Under a MHCP, you are eligible for a Medicare rebate for up to 10 sessions in a calendar year.

Your Psychologist will correspond with your referring GP upon treatment commencement, at around your sixth session, and then finally upon your completion of psychological counselling, or your tenth session. It is your responsibility to schedule longer appointments with your treating GP to undertake re-referrals and reviews of your MHCP, as per Medicare guidelines. Our team do our best in reminding our clients of the need to visit their GP’s to assist this process. 

If you possess a MHCP addressed to an alternate practice or Psychologist, you do not need to see your GP to have this changed to a Cause Effect Psychologist. Following an initial appointment, your Psychologist will write to your referring doctor to indicate you are now under our care.

  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Many organisations will have a dedicated Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to allow employees or their families to access a limited number of psychology sessions at no personal cost. Our Psychologists are registered counsellors for a range of national Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers. Please contact your EAP service to discuss a referral to Cause Effect Psychology for short-term counselling.

Cause Effect Psychology provide short-term, confidential Employee Assistance Program support for employees of a range of local schools and organisations. Prior to booking an appointment, please ensure you are aware of your EAP entitlements with your Manager or Human Resources representative/s.

  • Third Party Funded Sessions / WorkCover Queensland

Cause Effect Psychology do not directly accept WorkCover QLD or third party insurance referrals. If you have an approved WorkCover QLD or third party insurer claim, you may access treatment from our team of psychologists. However, you will need to pay privately for these sessions and then seek compensation / reimbursement directly back from WorkCover QLD or your nominated third party insurer.

We are unable to liaise in any form with WorkCover QLD or a third party insurer body regarding payment, funding or form completion relating to your sessions. If we  are contacted for a treatment update or report request, we will first require your signed, informed consent from our office to release any information relating to your personal health given you will be classed as a private patient in our system.

2024 Session Fees

Registered Psychologist: The initial fee for individual sessions with a Registered Psychologist is $235. Subsequent sessions are $225.

Clinical Psychologist: The initial fee for individual sessions with a Clinical Psychologist is $265. Subsequent sessions are $255.

Principal Psychologist: The initial fee for individual sessions with a Principal Psychologist is $245. Subsequent sessions are $235.

After hours’ sessions (5pm+ and all Saturday appointments) attract an additional $20 surcharge on the above rates.

All session fees need to be paid prior to, or at the time of your session. Our practice uses secure automatic payments processing and you will require a credit / debit card to register with our clinic upon intake to ensure automatic payments processing. Please note that we do not have EFTPOS / HICAPS facilities on-site.

Clients and / or their approved funders are legally responsible for the payment of scheduled sessions. Cause Effect Psychology will rightfully remove future appointments should any payments be outstanding according to our payment terms. Fees are reviewed towards the end of each calendar year. Any changes are passed on the the following calendar year to new and existing clients.

Marital and Relationship Therapy

Marital and relationship therapy sessions are charged variably pending the type of couples therapy program determined most appropriate for the relationship. Our Principal Psychologists and esteemed Certified Gottman Therapists (CGTs), Kasia Gordon and Brett Somers, are our in-house couples therapy guru’s who provide couples therapy programs.

Couples therapy with Kasia and Brett is a recommended based on our three core treatment streams: (1) Benchmark Couples Counselling Sessions (2hr+ sessions), (2) Blended Couples Therapy (combination of half/full-day and 2hr sessions in the treatment phase), and (3) Immersive Therapy (2 day initial program + ongoing 2hr+ maintenance) sessions. A comprehensive assessment phase precedes all couples counselling programs. Please see http://www.thecouplesclinic.com.au for more detail regarding fees, therapist information and treatment programs.

Session Cancellations and Non-Attendances

To us, keeping your appointments is a keen marker of personal accountability in the pursuit of recovery and ongoing wellbeing. At Cause Effect Psychology, we encourage our clients to demonstrate a commitment to themselves, their treatment and their Psychologist. An automated SMS reminder and email are sent as a courtesy to your nominated contact details 5 days prior to your appointment. You are able to confirm your appointment by replying ‘YES’ to the SMS reminder.

We understand that this busy life will throw random events and chaos your way from time to time. With this in mind, we ask that you provide our team with a minimum of 2 working days’ notice (48hrs) if you are unable to make it to your appointment. We also offer phone and Zoom sessions as a workaround if you are unable to make it to your appointment in-person.

Our cancellation policy is as follows: 

50% of your session fee may be charged for cancellations or reschedules within 2 business days’ notice. 

100% of your session fee may be charged for cancellations or reschedules with less than 1 business days’ notice. 

The cancellation fee must be paid before another session can be booked, meaning any future scheduled sessions will be removed until your account is settled. Please note that Medicare does not cover cancellation fees related to your treatment.

If you do not attend your appointment or provide sufficient notice to reschedule, this has a real impact on three parties:

  • You. Your treatment progress is delayed and you haven’t prioritised yourself or your therapy.
  • Someone else. Another client on the waitlist who really wanted to see your Psychologist, and could have, if you had offered sufficient notice.
  • Your Psychologist. They were really looking forward to seeing you and they’ve spent time preparing for your session. They might then query your engagement in treatment and ultimately, reflect on others who could have been seen in your allocated session time.

Our cancellation fees are not a revenue-raising activity. Your psychologist does not gain financially from the clinic’s enforcement of cancellation fees.

A final note. We set out clear clinic policies and boundaries at Cause Effect Psychology and these are upheld for all clients. We only accept clients who consent to our policies upon intake, meaning that we ensure values-alignment from the outset. We are very transparent in our expectations that clients attend their scheduled appointments and prioritise time for their treatment. We are a professional practice who value and honour the service we provide to our clients and the local community. 



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