NDIS Info
Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, you may be able to access Capacity Building, Daily Activities – Improved Daily Living Skills – Therapeutic Supports, which includes Assessment, Recommendation, Therapy and/or Training (including AT) by a Psychologist (Support Item Reference Number: 15_054_0128_1_3).
This support is provided to participants of the NDIS to assist the development of, or increase a participant’s skills and/or capacity for, independence and community participation. This support item is designed to deliver progress or change for the participant. Therapy in this context must be aimed at adjustment, adaption and building capacity.
More specifically, the category of Improved Daily Living promotes the increasing of independence, empowerment, and progression towards your individual NDIS goals. Our work together would also include a progress report on outcomes of your goals to inform the NDIS of the work we have done, and recommendations for future psychological supports.
Under this Scheme, there would be NO gap payment (you would not be out of pocket at all), as the standard allocated fee ($214.41) would come out of your NDIS funding for each Individual Psychology session you participate in. You would decide how much funding (how many sessions of counselling) to allocate to this support item at the planning stage.
We see clients under this scheme as frequently, or as infrequently, as they determine appropriate. We think a good rule of thumb is to plan for one session a month, so as to effectively work on the aims as described by the NDIS (above). However, some NDIS participants like to allow for more than 12 sessions per year (just in case), or alternatively, they find that they don't need to use all of the sessions they allocated funding to, once they have a handle on some of the challenges they are facing.
The sessions are 50-60 minutes long. We do all of our work using Zoom, or on the phone. It can feel a bit strange to begin with, but telehealth (especially videoconferencing so we can see each other) works really well and once you get used to it, can provide you with greater convenience and less difficulty in planning and attending appointments.
What to do next-
This support is provided to participants of the NDIS to assist the development of, or increase a participant’s skills and/or capacity for, independence and community participation. This support item is designed to deliver progress or change for the participant. Therapy in this context must be aimed at adjustment, adaption and building capacity.
More specifically, the category of Improved Daily Living promotes the increasing of independence, empowerment, and progression towards your individual NDIS goals. Our work together would also include a progress report on outcomes of your goals to inform the NDIS of the work we have done, and recommendations for future psychological supports.
Under this Scheme, there would be NO gap payment (you would not be out of pocket at all), as the standard allocated fee ($214.41) would come out of your NDIS funding for each Individual Psychology session you participate in. You would decide how much funding (how many sessions of counselling) to allocate to this support item at the planning stage.
We see clients under this scheme as frequently, or as infrequently, as they determine appropriate. We think a good rule of thumb is to plan for one session a month, so as to effectively work on the aims as described by the NDIS (above). However, some NDIS participants like to allow for more than 12 sessions per year (just in case), or alternatively, they find that they don't need to use all of the sessions they allocated funding to, once they have a handle on some of the challenges they are facing.
The sessions are 50-60 minutes long. We do all of our work using Zoom, or on the phone. It can feel a bit strange to begin with, but telehealth (especially videoconferencing so we can see each other) works really well and once you get used to it, can provide you with greater convenience and less difficulty in planning and attending appointments.
What to do next-
- Email or call me to have a chat about your expectations, and to see if you want to employ one of our psychologists as one of your support team. You can ask us lots of questions, or just have a quick chat to see if you think we would work well together!
- Information your support coordinator, or NDIS contact, might want from me:
- Name of Psychologists - Sally Shaw or Seona Ilalio
- Practice address - 54 Railway Rd, Blackburn 3130 (but we are working exclusive through Zoom at the moment)
- Email - hello@focussedhealthpsych.com.au
- Let me know once you are registered with the NDIS, and when you have allocated funds for Psychology within your plan. Call me or email me to let me know how your NDIS plan is being managed (by yourself, or 'plan managed' by a third party agency) your participant number, and your NDIS plan dates.
- Focussed Health Psychology cannot provide NDIS support to those who are NDIS managed (this means that your funds are organised through the Portal). But if this is your situation, we can talk about how to have psychology 'Plan Managed' or 'self managed'. Feel free to ask your support coordinator (if you have one) to call me for information also. (By the way, if you are finding the NDIS way too confusing, or if i am confusing you even more... seek help here. Or call MS Connect. They know what they are talking about!)
- We will then coordinate how and when to meet for the Psychology sessions funded under this scheme.
- Text me or call me to arrange an appointment on 0438 535 990 or email hello@focussedhealthpsych.com.au
