INFORMED CLIENT CONSENT INFORMATION

---

At Compass Psychology Illawarra, we believe it is important that you understand what to expect from psychological services before commencing treatment. This information explains how psychological services are provided, your rights and responsibilities as a client, confidentiality and its limits, privacy and record keeping, telehealth, fees and Medicare arrangements, and other important aspects of your care. Please read this information carefully. You are encouraged to ask questions about anything you do not understand or would like clarified. Your consent is an ongoing process. You may ask questions, discuss concerns, change your mind about aspects of your care, or withdraw your consent to treatment at any time.

About Compass Psychology Illawarra

Compass Psychology Illawarra provides psychological assessment, support and treatment via telehealth to clients throughout Australia. Services are provided by Alex Scagliola, Registered Psychologist.

Appointments are conducted remotely using secure video consultation or, where appropriate, telephone consultation. Compass Psychology Illawarra does not currently provide face-to-face appointments.

Psychological services may include assessment, formulation, psychoeducation, counselling and evidence-based psychological interventions. Depending on your needs, approaches may include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), mindfulness-based approaches, psychoeducation, family-focused interventions and other evidence-based psychological strategies. Treatment is collaborative and will be tailored to your circumstances, needs and goals.

Your Participation in Psychological Treatment

Participating in psychological treatment is generally voluntary. At the beginning of treatment, we will discuss your reasons for seeking support, relevant background information, your current circumstances and what you would like to achieve. Your psychologist will work with you to develop an appropriate treatment approach. This may change over time as your needs, circumstances or treatment goals change.

You have the right to:

• ask questions about your treatment;
• understand the purpose of proposed interventions;
• discuss alternative approaches;
• decline a particular intervention;
• request changes to your treatment;
• seek a second opinion or treatment from another practitioner;
• request a referral to another service where appropriate; and
• withdraw your consent to psychological treatment at any time.

If you decide to discontinue treatment, you are encouraged to discuss this with your psychologist where possible so that any clinical considerations and options for ongoing support can be discussed.

Potential Benefits and Risks of Psychological Treatment

Psychological treatment can provide significant benefits. These may include improved understanding of thoughts, emotions and behaviour; development of coping and communication skills; improved relationships; reduction in psychological distress; and progress towards personal or therapeutic goals.

However, psychological treatment cannot guarantee a particular outcome. At times, therapy can also be challenging or uncomfortable. Discussing difficult experiences, relationships, thoughts or emotions may temporarily increase distress, sadness, anxiety, frustration or other uncomfortable feelings. Your psychologist will work with you to manage these experiences appropriately. You are encouraged to tell your psychologist if you are uncomfortable with any aspect of treatment or feel that the approach being used is not helpful.

Confidentiality

Information you discuss with your psychologist is treated as confidential.

Your psychologist will not ordinarily disclose information about you to another person or organisation without your consent. There are, however, circumstances in which information may need to be disclosed without your consent.

These may include circumstances where:

• there is a serious concern about your safety or the safety of another person;
• disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to life, health or safety and disclosure is permitted by law;
• your psychologist is required or authorised by law to disclose information;
• mandatory reporting obligations apply, including certain circumstances involving the      safety or wellbeing of a child or young person;
• information is required under a valid subpoena, court order, warrant or other lawful      process; or
• disclosure is otherwise required or authorised under applicable Australian law.

Where it is safe, appropriate and legally permissible to do so, your psychologist will generally endeavour to discuss such a disclosure with you.

Communication With Other Health Professionals

With your consent, it may be clinically helpful for your psychologist to communicate with other professionals involved in your care, such as your GP, psychiatrist, paediatrician or another health practitioner. Where you are receiving psychological services under a Medicare referral, certain communication with your referring practitioner may also be required as part of the Medicare arrangements. For example, your psychologist may be required to provide your referring medical practitioner with a report about matters such as assessments undertaken, treatment provided and recommendations regarding your ongoing care. Where practicable, the nature and purpose of communication with other professionals will be discussed with you.

Medicare and Mental Health Treatment Plans

Eligible clients may be able to access psychological treatment under Medicare's Better Access initiative with an appropriate referral. Medicare eligibility, the number of services available and referral requirements are determined by Medicare and may change. Compass Psychology Illawarra currently bulk bills eligible Medicare-referred psychological appointments where the relevant Medicare and referral requirements are met. This means that eligible clients generally do not have an out-of-pocket cost for those appointments. You are responsible for ensuring that the information required to process your Medicare claim is accurate and that any required referral documentation has been provided.

If Medicare does not accept a claim, or you are not eligible for a Medicare benefit, different billing arrangements may apply. Where possible, these arrangements will be discussed with you before further services are provided.

Private Appointments

Psychological services may also be accessed privately without a Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plan where appropriate. Any applicable private fees will be communicated to you before the service is provided. If you intend to claim through private health insurance, you are responsible for checking your eligibility and level of cover directly with your insurer.

Telehealth

Compass Psychology Illawarra is a telehealth practice. Telehealth allows psychological services to be provided remotely by secure video or, where clinically appropriate, telephone.

Telehealth can provide convenient access to psychological care, but it also has some limitations and risks.

These can include:

• internet or technology failures;
• interruptions to the consultation;
• limitations compared with being physically present in the same room;
• difficulties ensuring privacy at the client's location;
• the possibility of other people overhearing the consultation if the client is not in a private environment; and
• limitations in responding to an emergency when the psychologist and client are in      different locations.

You are encouraged to participate in appointments from a private, quiet and safe location wherever possible. At the beginning of an appointment, your psychologist may confirm your current location and appropriate contact details. This information can be particularly important if urgent assistance is required during a telehealth session. If the telehealth connection fails, your psychologist may attempt to contact you by telephone or make alternative arrangements. Your psychologist may determine that telehealth is not clinically appropriate in particular circumstances. If this occurs, alternative services or referral options will be discussed with you.

Emergencies and Crisis Support

Compass Psychology Illawarra is not an emergency or crisis service and does not provide continuous or 24-hour monitoring. Emails, text messages, voicemail or booking-system messages should not be used to seek urgent mental health assistance. If you are in immediate danger, are experiencing a medical or mental health emergency, or believe that you or another person may be at immediate risk of serious harm, call 000 or attend the nearest hospital emergency department. Other crisis and support services may also be appropriate depending on your circumstances. Your psychologist may work with you during treatment to develop an appropriate safety or support plan where clinically indicated.

Contact Between Appointments

Contact outside scheduled appointments should generally be limited to practical or administrative matters, such as appointment arrangements. Email, text messages and online booking systems may not be suitable for discussing sensitive clinical information and are not monitored continuously. Clinical concerns should generally be discussed during an appointment unless another arrangement has been made with your psychologist.

Privacy and Collection of Personal Information

To provide psychological services, Compass Psychology Illawarra needs to collect and maintain personal and sensitive information about you.

This may include:

• your name, date of birth and contact information;
• Medicare and referral information;
• relevant medical and mental health history;
• information about your personal, family, social, educational or occupational circumstances;
• information provided during psychological consultations;
• correspondence with health professionals;
• assessment information;
• treatment plans;
• progress notes; and
• other information reasonably necessary to provide psychological services.

Your information is collected, used, stored and disclosed in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and professional obligations. Further information about how Compass Psychology Illawarra manages personal information is available in our Privacy Policy.

Psychological Records

Your psychologist is required to maintain appropriate clinical records regarding the psychological services provided to you. These records may include information discussed during appointments, assessments, treatment plans, clinical observations, correspondence and other information relevant to your care. Records are stored in Halaxy, which is a secure online platform designed for this purpose.

Reasonable measures are taken to protect clinical records against loss, unauthorised access, misuse, interference or disclosure. Records are retained for the period required by applicable professional, legal and regulatory requirements. You may have rights to request access to personal information held about you or request correction of information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Requests will be managed in accordance with applicable privacy and health-record requirements.

Electronic Communication and Technology

Electronic communication carries inherent privacy and security risks. While reasonable measures are used to protect your information, no electronic communication or internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should consider these risks when communicating sensitive information by email, text message or other electronic means. Psychological sessions will not be audio-recorded, video-recorded, photographed or otherwise recorded by Compass Psychology Illawarra without your prior informed consent. Clients are also asked not to record psychological sessions without first discussing this with their psychologist and obtaining agreement.

Professional Consultation and Supervision

Psychologists may engage in professional consultation, peer consultation or supervision as part of maintaining safe, ethical and effective professional practice. Where aspects of clinical work are discussed for legitimate professional consultation or supervision purposes, your privacy and confidentiality will be protected and identifying information will be limited wherever practicable. Professionals participating in such consultation are also expected to maintain appropriate confidentiality.

Working With Children and Young People

Additional consent and confidentiality considerations apply when psychological services are provided to children and young people. Depending on the young person's age, maturity, circumstances and capacity to understand the proposed service, consent may involve a parent, legal guardian or the young person themselves. Where appropriate, the young person's views and agreement to participate will also be sought. The psychologist will discuss confidentiality with the young person and parent or guardian, including what information will ordinarily remain private and circumstances in which information may need to be shared. It is often important for young people to have an appropriate degree of privacy in therapy. At the same time, parents or guardians may need information necessary to support the young person's wellbeing and treatment. These arrangements will be discussed at the commencement of treatment and reviewed where necessary. Different considerations may apply where parents are separated, parenting arrangements are disputed, or court orders or other legal arrangements affect decision-making for a child. Relevant documentation may be requested before treatment commences.

Family, Parenting and Relationship Work

When psychological services involve more than one person, such as family or parenting work, confidentiality can become more complex. Your psychologist will explain who the client or clients are, the purpose of the service, how information will be managed, and the limits of confidentiality. Information disclosed individually by one participant may have implications for the work being undertaken with other participants. Where relevant, expectations regarding individual communications and the sharing of information will be discussed at the beginning of the service.

Court Proceedings and Legal Matters

Psychological treatment is primarily provided for therapeutic purposes. Clinical treatment and forensic or medico-legal assessment are different professional services. If you are involved in current or anticipated legal proceedings, family-law proceedings, compensation matters or other disputes in which psychological records or professional opinions may become relevant, you should discuss this with your psychologist. Clinical records may in some circumstances be requested through legal processes such as subpoenas or court orders. A treating psychologist may not be the appropriate person to provide a forensic assessment, expert opinion or recommendation about matters such as parenting arrangements, legal responsibility, compensation or other issues requiring an independent assessment.

Fees, Appointments, Cancellations and Non-Attendance

Appointments are reserved specifically for you. Please provide as much notice as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Medicare cannot be billed for an appointment that does not take place. Accordingly, cancellation or non-attendance fees may apply where applicable. Any relevant fees and cancellation arrangements should be understood before commencing treatment.

With a Mental Health Treatment Plan, your standard therapy session will be covered by your Medicare rebate amount, and you will not have an out of pocket fee. Any cancellation under 24 hours or a no show may incur a fee equivalent to that of your psychologist’s registered status, and is not covered under Medicare, at the psychologist’s discretion. This fee will be automatically charged to your stored credit card details. General Registered Psychologist - $101.55.

Any service outside of standard therapy (ie: reports, letters or formal correspondence from your Psychologist to a Third Party) will incur a payable fee modelled off our standard $180+GST/hour report writing fee). The requested documents will only be released when full payment is received. 

Additionally, if your plan expires during your sessions with us, you will be liable to pay for each appointment unless a reviewed plan is provided within the appointment date range.

Professional Boundaries

The relationship between a psychologist and client is a professional therapeutic relationship. Your psychologist is required to maintain appropriate professional boundaries during and after treatment.

This protects the integrity and safety of psychological services and means that some forms of social, personal, financial or other relationships outside the therapeutic context may not be appropriate.

Your psychologist will also generally avoid interacting with clients through personal social-media accounts.

Ending or Transferring Treatment

You may choose to end psychological treatment at any time.

Your psychologist may also recommend concluding or transferring treatment where, for example:

• treatment goals have been achieved;
• psychological treatment is no longer required;
• another practitioner or service would better meet your needs;
• your needs fall outside the psychologist's professional scope or competence;
• telehealth is no longer considered clinically appropriate or safe;
• the therapeutic relationship is no longer effective; or
• other circumstances make continuation of treatment inappropriate.

Where possible and clinically appropriate, this will be discussed with you and reasonable assistance will be provided to identify alternative services.

Feedback and Concerns

You are encouraged to raise any questions, concerns or dissatisfaction about your psychological services directly with your psychologist. Open discussion can often help resolve misunderstandings or concerns and can be an important part of effective psychological treatment.

Ongoing Consent

Consent is not simply something that occurs once at the beginning of treatment. Your psychologist may revisit consent when circumstances change, when a new treatment approach is proposed, when information may need to be shared with another person or organisation, or when another significant issue arises. You may ask questions or withdraw or modify your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent may affect the services that can be provided. If this occurs, your psychologist will discuss the implications with you where appropriate.

Your Acknowledgement

By choosing to commence psychological services with Compass Psychology Illawarra, and by providing consent through the practice's intake or consent process, you acknowledge that you have been provided with information about the nature of the psychological service, including:

• what psychological treatment involves;
• potential benefits, limitations and risks;
• confidentiality and its limits;
• collection and management of personal and health information;
• telehealth and its limitations;
• communication with referring and other health professionals where applicable;
• Medicare and billing arrangements where applicable;
• emergency and crisis arrangements;
• your right to ask questions and participate in decisions about your care; and
• your right to withdraw consent.

You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have before providing consent.

Compass Psychology Illawarra
Alex Scagliola – Registered Psychologist
Telehealth psychological services across Australia