Sophie Burren Psychology

24/10/2024

MEDICARE PETITION FOR INCREASED SESSIONS - We need your help!

This week the Australian Clinical Psychology Association, along with eight other peak mental health bodies, have formed a coalition; and set in motion a petition to address the ongoing shortfall in the Medicare-rebated psychological care available to Australians.

The associations say the 10-session Medicare rebate cap on psychology care robs people of essential mental health services when they need it the most. The coalition is calling for more Medicare-rebated psychology sessions for those who need it, and we need everyone's support in sharing, and signing this petition to give it the best opportunity to effect real change.

Psychology Coalition Members:

Consumer advocacy organisation Lived Experience Australia
Australian Clinical Psychology Association
Australian Psychological Society
Institute of Clinical Psychologists
Australian Association of Psychologists Inc
Institute of Private Practicing Psychologists
Association of Counselling Psychologists
Heads of Departments and Schools of Psychology Association
Australian Educational and Developmental Psychology Association

"It is our ultimate hope as a coalition that the public and all psychologists will support the petition, and send a clear message that more care is required for patients with complex needs."

02/08/2023

Our health, allied health, and veterinarian colleagues are human, and they are often working in environments where their high levels of compassion and empathy are required as a fundamental part of their job, these attributes contribute to why they care so very much and give so much for their patients (human and animal alike) but also why we are seeing alarming statistics around their own well-being.

The su***de rates in our Veterinarian colleagues specifically are immensely concerning, and through awareness, advocacy, and reducing the stigma of accessing supports - campaigns like Sophie's Legacy have the opportunity to create real change in an industry and a time where we could not need it more.

👩🏻‍⚕️‼️WE’RE ONLY HUMAN‼️👨🏻‍⚕️

At the Perth Cat Hospital, we are steadfast in our commitment to creating a safe environment for our furry friends and their humans. Our dedicated team provides exceptional care, unwavering support, and boundless compassion to all our clients.

Every worker in the veterinary industry is deeply passionate about animals and resolute in their pursuit of the best possible health outcome for the pets they look after. Driven by an unwavering love for their patients and a fervent dedication to providing top-notch veterinary care, they approach their work with a sense of purpose and responsibility.

As most of you are aware, the veterinary industry demands a level of emotional resilience that few can comprehend. Our staff navigate through heightened emotions on a daily basis, often working overtime and after hours to ensure the well-being of their patients. This level of commitment sometimes comes at the cost of personal time with their own beloved pets and families, as well as focusing on their own well-being.

Subjecting our staff to abuse, harassment, or bullying will not be tolerated under any circumstances. We firmly believe in promoting unwavering kindness and profound respect in every interaction, fostering a positive and supportive environment for everyone involved.

Let us stand together, united, and embrace a culture of profound understanding and empathy, ensuring the best possible care for your furry companions. Thank you for being an essential part of our compassionate community. 🏩

02/06/2023

🧦 CrazySocks4Docs 🧦

This day is such an important, and fun way to raise awareness about something that I am incredibly passionate about - supporting the mental health and well-being of our health providers!

Health providers are so critical to the well-being of our community, our loved ones, and ourselves; and they do this so phenomenally day in and day out often under immensely high pressure, high stress, and at times with notably limited resources.

This day highlights so beautifully that our health providers are human too, and as is true for us all - from time to time we all need to have a safe space to be cared for too 🧠

So lovely to see the team at Pioneer Health Albany in the Great Southern getting in the crazy sock spirit today! 🧦

https://www.crazysocks4docs.com.au/

🧦 It's CrazySocks4Docs Day!! 🧦

This day is all about raising awareness of the mental health of all doctors and health practitioners around the world, and driving positive change via action!

https://www.crazysocks4docs.com.au/

12/05/2023

What's "normal" in grief? Because we don't usually talk about the realities of grief, most people aren't aware of the many forms grief takes. Normal grief covers a lot of territory. If it's in the body or the mind - grief affects it.

This list covers some of the most common expressions of grief, but it's definitely not everything. While your "symptoms" might feel weird to you, whatever you're experiencing, chances are someone else has felt it too.

Even if you've lived through grief at other times in your life, you've never had to live this particular story before. Your grief might show up in interesting or confusing ways. For more on what's normal inside grief, check out our ongoing series.

16/03/2023

**New Client Availability**

New appointment times are now available with immediate capacity for new referrals, with self referrals also very welcome.

Sophie Burren Psychology is a telehealth only practice based in WA, run by Sophie who is a Clinical Psychologist Registrar.
Sophie has experience working across the public health, not-for-profit, and private sectors and welcomes those who are experiencing difficulties associated with the below to reach out and have a chat to see if she may feel like a good fit for you:

1. Health presentations - Specifically inclusive of adjustment difficulties post diagnosis or injury, end-of-life care, trauma responses, grief and loss related distress, chronic illness, anxiety, and depression

2. Health and Allied Health Professionals - Specifically around the challenges faced by early career and acute care medical, nursing, and allied health professionals such as compassion fatigue, burnout, vicarious and or primary trauma, career related stressors and decision making, anxiety, depression, and adjustment difficulties etc.

3. Adjustment - Specifically distress following permanent or temporary injury, illness, diagnosis, traumatic event, grief and loss, divorce or relationship changes, job loss/career change, moving Country/State, University, transition to parenthood, retirement, end of life etc.

4. Mental Health - Specifically those who may be experiencing ongoing difficulties with anxiety disorders (e.g. social, generalised, panic, specific phobias), depression, adjustment disorders, grief and loss, isolation, career stressors, burnout and compassion fatigue, end-of-life changes etc.

For more information please feel free to:
*have a look at my website www.sophieburrenpsychology.com.au
* send me an email admin@sophieburrenpsychology.com
* or give me a call 0480 366 766

08/02/2023

**How to access a Psychologist, and tips around GP MHTP's**

I often get calls from people who would like to access services but are unsure how to do so, and for those who are eligible, they are unsure how to access a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) under the Medicare Better Access Scheme (MBS).

Firstly, there a few options for how to access psychological services in private practice:

1. Self referral - private fee paying option. You don't have to have a referral to access psychological services if you are comfortable, able, and intending to pay the full fee upfront without a rebate. You can call around and find a psychologist that feels like a good fit for you and access sessions as soon as an appointment becomes available.

2. Self or referral - private health insurance rebate. For those who have private health insurance, where your level of cover allows (please check with your insurer to see if you are covered for Psychology and for how much), you can self refer or access a referral through another professional and pay the full fee upfront, following the session you will receive an invoice which you can submit to your private health insurer for a rebate. Please note the rebate amount depends on your individual level of cover.

3. GP referral under MBS on a MHTP - Medicare rebate. A Mental Health Treatment Plan (previously known as a ‘mental health care plan’) is a plan for people with a mental health disorder. If you have mental health difficulties, your doctor can write a plan for you to access 10 Medicare rebated sessions per calendar year.

*Please note unless a psychologist specifically states that they are bulk billing, upfront payment is usually required on the day of your appointment for the full fee, and for those eligible a Medicare rebate of the eligible amount will be rebated to you post same. Currently, Medicare rebates are $89.65 for all psychologists, or $131.65 for fully endorsed Clinical Psychologists.

**How do you access a MHTP**

1. Schedule a long appointment with your GP, often it helps to let reception know at the time of booking that your appointment is for a MHTP.

2. Feel free to have a look around and get in touch with some of the psychologists in your area or those available to you via telehealth who feel like they could be a good fit for you; as you can take their name to your GP for their referral. Some of the things that are helpful to ask when contacting psychologists are:

- what does your current waitlist look like time wise
- do you work with / have experience working with what I am looking for help with
- what days and times (e.g morning, afternoon, evening) do you have appointments on (make sure their availability realistically fits in with your schedule)
- do you have an appointment available for a time after my GP appointment and can I book in? Or do I wait to hear from you about an appointment

3. If you aren't sure you can ask your GP for their recommendations of psychologists they have worked with in the past and then get in touch with them after you have the referral.

4. Make sure your psychologist has a copy of the referral letter prior to your appointment, this can be sent either directly from your GP or you can send this to them yourself.

5. Referrals require review with your GP after 6 sessions to access a further 4, where clinically indicated, your psychologist should remind you after your 5th or 6th session that you need to book an appointment with your GP to access a re-referral letter before your next appointment.

It can often be quite a lot to know how to access psychological supports especially when we are having a difficult time, so I hope this helps even a little to highlight some of the options you have for accessing services

- Sophie

For more information about accessing services please feel free to have a look at my website:
www.sophieburrenpsychology.com.au

06/01/2023

**New Year....New Me?**

New years resolutions are likely one of those things you come across on every January of every new year, and often they are sentiments to self improvement, focusing our energy in new or more favourable ways, or simply to try to break some of our habits that are no longer serving us.
..sounds good right? ...and yet they often don't stick.

We know that the start of a new year can be a lovely opportunity to review what is no longer working for us and try to start off on a fresh foot. Yet often, we find that the things we put in place with the absolute best of intentions are really hard to continue with longer term.

So how can we make changes that we can continue to enjoy the benefits of past the first month of the year? Some of my tips around this are:

1. Making small measurable goals - often we change everything all in one month to our idea of ideal, and often we are setting ourselves up to fail. We know if we make small realistic changes they are more likely to stick.

- For e.g., If your goal is to 'stop eating takeaway and eat healthier', that's a large and difficult to measure goal - instead you could try setting yourself the goal of two home cooked dinners a week - small measurable goals are more likely to be obtainable, and lead to a long term change.

2. Setting realistic expectations - it can be enticing to change everything all at once in an all out overhaul of the way we are living; however, we know that the cognitive and physical energy any one of these changes will require to achieve long term change is significant. Therefore, changing everything all at once - is not long term sustainable. Setting a realistic expectation of what your body and brain can achieve at one time, can set you up to succeed in your long term goals.

- For e.g., one I have heard often is people trying to implement daily gym sessions, healthy home cooked meals every day of the week, limiting social media time, scheduling time for connection with loved ones multiple times a week, and starting a new online course all at the same time - sounds exhausting right? That's because it is, and it is also entirely unsustainable and ultimately will not stick long term. Picking one small measurable goal at a time, is going to allow your brain and body the space and energy needed to facilitate that new learning without completely exhausting you.

New years resolutions come from a good place, but often we implement them with the utmost gusto in the first month of the year and we cannot maintain the energy required, by setting small measurable goals with realistic expectations we are more likely to succeed in achieving long term changes for the goals we have set.

- Sophie

29/12/2022

**The Therapeutic Relationship**

The therapeutic relationship is one of the major drivers of change, and it is so incredibly important that the mental health professional you are working with feels like a good fit for you.

If you feel seen, understood, connected, heard, and valued by your psychologist - you are going to have better outcomes. We are all human and we all gel with some people better than others, if you don't feel like you gel with your psychologist it is absolutely okay to say this, and if it still isn't working, it is absolutely okay to ask for help to find someone you have a better fit with.

It is part of our job to ensure you get the most out of your time, whether that is with myself or another psychologist. I want you to feel like you are working with someone who "gets you".

- Sophie

21/12/2022

**Christmas and New Year**

Sophie Burren Psychology wishes everyone a safe and gentle holiday period. The holidays can be a time of both joy and immense difficulty for people, and despite all of the celebrations of this time of year for a lot of people it can be a time where we find it really hard to cope.

During the holidays the following tips can help to manage some of these difficulties and give you a little reprieve when you need it the most:

1. Take a break for you - It is okay to need space, rest, and self care at this time. Go grab that cuppa, or take that walk, or read that book.

2. Connect with loved ones - Reach out to those around you that help you to feel safe and loved.

3. Set realistic expectations - If you cannot manage a full day, or have sensory overload, or cannot afford to purchase a whole wish list; it is okay to navigate only what you can do. Sometimes this can be made easier by discussing it with others beforehand.

4. Plan ahead - If you know where you are, and what you are doing or needing beforehand, it can help you to set realistic expectations and set boundaries that might reduce your sense of overwhelm on big days.

5. Setting boundaries - Your needs matter too, and it is okay to say no, or set limits of what you feel comfortable with. This could be around physical, emotional, financial, or time needs, but setting boundaries will help you to navigate some of your non negotiables.

6. Go gently - this is a time where we need our self compassion, and compassion for others more than usual. Go gently with yourself, your loved ones, and those around you; for we never really know what others may be dealing with.

7. Ask for help - when we are having a difficult time it can be extremely isolating, lonely, and overwhelming. When things get tough we know that asking for help from others can help to share this load.

- Sophie

16/12/2022

**Findings from the Better Access Review 2022**

The findings from the Better Access Review did find that waitlists grew as the extra 10 sessions a year became available as has been publicly and politically discussed, while existing clients attended further sessions.

However, what has been less politically discussed is the outcomes for those clients who were receiving the extra supports were shown to be largely improved by having access to these extra sessions as well. Which is incredibly encouraging, and in line with what the research tells us, that clients make more reliable long term changes by accessing more sessions and longer support periods.

The decision to cut these extra 10 sessions whilst potentially reducing waitlist times, is disappointing in that it also reduces the potential efficacy of intervention that existing clients may have by keeping them.

Client care and evidence based intervention should always be at the forefront of what we do, and unfortunately cutting access to the extra Medicare rebated sessions is not supported by the research or by this very specific Better Access Review (2022) in terms of outcomes for clients accessing supports.

15/12/2022

**Medicare rebated sessions reduced from 20 a year to 10 in 2023**

This week you have most likely seen or heard conversations happening about the slashing of Medicare rebated sessions for psychological services in Australia, and may have wondered what this means for you or your loved ones who may have used and continued to need this incredibly beneficial resource to be able to access psychological supports.

It has been a very disappointing outcome for our field with fierce advocacy in the lead up to this decision from peak governing bodies, mental health professionals, agencies, consumers, and politicians themselves for the retention of these extra 10 sessions in the context of access to appropriate care.

With the 2022 Better Access Review itself recommending the continuation of access to these extra 10 sessions, it has been a surprising and disappointing outcome. Whilst the field and consumers continue to advocate for the need for better support to access mental health services under Medicare, I think for clients it is important that they understand what this means moving into 2023.

As of the 31st of December 2022 as it stands, clients will no longer be able to be referred by their GP for the Covid-10 extra ten Medicare rebated sessions a year. These sessions were added in 2020 to help assist with the ongoing distress associated with the pressures of the pandemic on mental health and have been critical to the appropriate care of many Australians seeking psychological services. These sessions were on top of the pre-existing ten Medicare Better Access Scheme sessions per year, resulting in a total of 20 MBS sessions available per year for the last couple of years.

The Better Access Review 2022 itself presented many findings of the positive impact of these sessions on accessing evidence based psychological intervention and we know that this reduction in available funding will likely result in many not being able to access appropriate levels of care.

If you yourself are unsure what this will mean for your access to supports, please reach out to your psychologist, GP, or care team to discuss what options you may have.

- Sophie

Medicare rebated psychology sessions are going back down to ten, following their pandemic boost to 20. But we know ten isn’t enough for most mental health disorders.

08/12/2022

What makes a Clinical Psychologist Registrar / Clinical Psychologist different to other mental health professionals?

There are many different mental health practitioners available to you and you may be wondering what it is that makes us all so different and so similar all at the same time.

Often it can be quite confusing and not always clear why fees / memberships / ways of working therapeutically may look different when you are looking for mental health support; so it can sometimes be helpful to have some idea of what the training and memberships look like for the practitioner you are considering reaching out to and or working with.

Psychologists and Psychiatrists are distinct from other mental health practitioners in that they are both regulated health professions with accredited University degrees, mandatory continuous professional development, periods of mandatory supervision, and strict codes of ethics.

Psychologists are distinct from Psychiatrists in that they are not medical practitioners and do not currently have prescribing rights here in Australia. Psychologists work with the therapeutic treatment and diagnosis of mental health and wellbeing, human behaviour, cognition, and emotion. Often psychologists will work collaboratively with your GP or Psychiatrist when pharmacological and medical treatment may be indicated.

Within the field of psychology there are further training pathways post registration as a psychologist (often referred to as general registration) called endorsements, these endorsements are protected titles with the practitioners holding them going through rigorous training programs to ensure their competency and practice prior to obtaining their endorsement.

The Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) explains that an area of practice endorsement on a psychologist’s general registration is a legal mechanism under section 98 of the National Law which enables a notation to be included on the public register for that psychologist.

"The notation identifies psychologists who have advanced training in a specific area of practice, having completed a postgraduate qualification and a registrar program in an approved area of practice...To be eligible for an area of practice endorsement a psychologist must have undertaken education and training over and above the minimum level of psychological training required for general registration. Area of practice endorsement is not based on experience derived during the course of a professional career." - Psychology Board of Australia.

There are currently nine approved areas of practice in the psychology profession for which psychologists with general registration may be endorsed:

1. Clinical Psychology
2. Clinical Neuropsychology
3. Community Psychology
4. Counselling Psychology
5. Educational and Developmental Psychology
6. Forensic Psychology
7. Health Psychology
8. Organisational Psychology, and
9. Sport and Exercise Psychology

Sometimes the world of psychology can be a lot to navigate, and I hope this helps to understand what some of these terms, titles, and trainings mean when you come across them in your search for support.

Should you wish to discuss these further, or are looking for more information please feel free to have a look at my website www.sophieburrenpsychology.com.au or get in touch today

* admin@sophieburrenpsychology.com
* 0480 366 766

- Sophie