Frequently Asked Questions

No. We do not require a Mental Health Care Plan, since currently we cannot offer a Medicare rebate. We accept new clients by referral and self-referral.

Yes. We can work with self-managed and plan managed participants.

As part of our commitment to keeping overhead costs low and fees affordable, we do not have a physical premise. Because of this, we can't offer individual therapy appointments face-to-face. However, we will launch our first group program in mid-2024. Group sessions will be held in person in a central location in Adelaide, South Australia.

You can access our service two ways:

1. Self referral. Simply book an appointment through Carepatron. If you don't see any open appointments on Carepatron, this means our books are full. You can still contact us and ask to be added to our waitlist. 
2. Referral from a GP or other provider. Once we receive your referral, we will respond within two weeks. (This means we'll let you and your provider know whether we can accept the referral, if we have a waitlist, and how long the wait is expected to be, if there is one.)

We offer sliding scale fees on an honour system. Choose the fee that is most appropriate to your situation.

Suggested individual annual income levels for our fee options are:

• Regular fee: $79K AUD or higher (this is the Australian median income level)
• Reduced fee: $45K AUD to $79K AUD (a full time working wage)
• Concession fee: less than $45K AUD

If your situation changes (for example, you are unemployed and then become employed), we reserve the right to amend our fee. However we will always give you advanced notice of this, and negotiate a fee that is fair to you.

We get it! Life happens. If you can't attend your appointment, please let us know 24 hours in advance whenever possible. This allows us to offer your appointment time to other people. We reserve the right to charge a fee for missed appointments with late or no notice, depending on your reason for cancelling or not attending. Currently our late/no cancellation fee is $35 per appointment.

Thank you for your referral. Please send it through to kai@transform-counselling.com.au.

In your referral, you might consider including:

• Your name and contact details
• The person's contact details (phone and email if possible)
• The person's basic demographic details
• Any relevant health/mental health history
• Any relevant medications the person takes
• A recent risk assessment (ideally conducted within the last two weeks)

Kai completed a Master of Social Work from Flinders University in 2022, and is an Accredited Social Worker with the Australian Association of Social Workers. This means they maintain regular professional development and clinical supervision (oversight from a more experienced social worker). You can find their listing on the AASW Find a Social Worker website here: https://www.aasw.asn.au/find-a-social-worker/

It's your right as a person accessing mental health services to make a complaint when a mental health worker has treated you unfairly or unethically. When lodging a complaint, you have a few different options:

1. You can make a complaint to us directly. This is usually the quickest and easiest way to resolve an issue. Whether you are seeking an apology, clarification on an issue, a specific problem to be solved, or a specific change in the service, we are open to hearing from you. We'll respond and try to find a mutually agreed on resolution. You will not be penalized or lose access to support for making a complaint. We are not perfect, and we welcome your feedback.
2. You can make a complaint to the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner (HCSCC). The HCSCC is an independent body that handles complaints when they can't be resolved between an individual and a service provider. If you aren't satisfied with our response to a problem, you can contact the HCSCC. https://www.hcscc.sa.gov.au/making-a-complaint/raise-a-complaint-with-hcscc/
3. You can make a complaint to the professional body we are registered with. (In this case, the Australian Association of Social Workers.) If you believe it would be unsafe or unsuitable to contact us directly about an issue, you can make a complaint to the AASW. You can find more information about the process here: https://www.aasw.asn.au/about-aasw/ethics-standards/making-a-complaint/