Andrea Schwede - Clinical Psychologist

PSYCHOLOGY SERVICE AGREEMENT


Your Clinical Psychologist

Andrea Schwede provides Telehealth Clinicial Psychology therapeutic services to people over the age of 18 years.

Andrea Schwede does not provide emergency or crisis services. If you require immediate assistance, please call 000 or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 for urgent counselling.

Psychological Online Consultation (Telehealth)

As part of providing a psychological service to you, Andrea Schwede (Clinical Psychologist) needs to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your situation, such as your name, contact information, medical history and other relevant information. This collection of personal information will be a necessary part of the psychological assessment and treatment that is conducted.

A detailed description of how your personal information is managed, how you can access your personal information, and how to lodge any concerns or complaints about this service can be found on the Privacy Policy - Psychology Consultation page on my website.

Disclosure of personal information

Personal information gathered as part of this service will remain confidential except when:

  • it is subpoenaed by a court; or
  • failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
  • your prior approval has been obtained to:
    • provide a written report to another professional or agency. e.g., a GP or a lawyer; or
    • discuss the material with another person, e.g. a parent, employer or health provider; or
    • disclose the information in another way; or
  • you would reasonably expect your personal information to be disclosed to another professional or agency (e.g. your GP) and disclosure of your personal information to that third party is for a purpose which is directly related to the primary purpose for which your personal information was collected; or
  • disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law.

Provision of a telehealth service (online consultation)

Where appropriate the service may be provided by telephone or videoconferencing. You are responsible for the costs associated with setting up the technology needed so you can access telehealth services.

Andrea Schwede (Clinical Psychologist) will be responsible for the cost of the telephone consultation call to you, and/or the cost associated with the platform used to conduct telehealth services.

Andrea Schwede (Clinical Psychologist) is not responsible for any equipment, service or connection costs related to the equipment you use to participate in a telehealth service.

Telehealth consultations need to be conducted in a private and confidential space, in a secure room where you are the only person present.

To access telehealth consultations you will need access to the appropriate device, i.e. smartphone, laptop, iPad or computer (laptops or desktops are preferred); with a camera, microphone and speakers; and a reliable broadband internet connection and telephone reception.

No recordings, screen shots, capture through photographs or by any other means, broadcasting or redistribution of any part of your session may occur without explicit written consent from both parties.

The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. To support the security of your personal information this practice uses the telehealth platform 'Coviu' which is compliant with the Australian standards for online security and encryption.

Limitations of telehealth

A telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection which may affect the quality of the psychology session. In addition, there may be some services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your psychologist will consider and discuss with you the appropriateness of ongoing telehealth sessions. If the network connection is lost during the session, Andrea Schwede (Clinical Psychologist) will call you on your mobile phone to continue the session.

If, for whatever reason, Andrea Schwede (Clinical Psychologist) is unable to contact you, the appointment will be rescheduled.

Telehealth Requirement to Provide Contact Details and Location

When conducting a telehealth consultation, your psychologist needs to be able to contact support people in your locality should any emergency situations arise.

When completing the Client Intake Form you will be required to provide the names and contact details of at least two people known to you before the commencement of treatment. Because you may be in varied locations for each of our phone or video-conference sessions, you are required to provide your location and contact telephone number at the commencement of each session.

Appointments

You may book an available appointment through the booking page on Andrea Schwede's website: www.andreaschwede.health This will take you to the online booking platform "Halaxy."

Appointment bookings are not taken over the phone or by email.

Appointments are offered on an “as-available” basis.

You will receive both an SMS and email reminder of the appointment as a courtesy. Any reminders sent are provided for convenience and you must not rely on reminders exclusively as your means of tracking when to attend an appointment.

Contacting your Psychologist

My clinical hours are Mon-Fri 8:30am to 2:30pm AEST. With the exception of Queensland public holidays.

As a Psychologist participating in sessions with clients throughout the day, it is often not possible to answer incoming telephone calls or respond to emails as they arrive.

My preferred method of communication is to email (admin@andreaschwede.health), however if you prefer to contact the practice by telephone, you are welcome to leave a voicemail with your contact details on (ph: 0468 388 565).

Andrea Schwede will endeavour to reply to emails and phone messages by the end of the next business day.

Andrea Schwede does not provide psychology consultation outside of booked session times. She cannot discuss matters relating to personal concerns or mental health via email. As such, any emails containing personal information will not be responded to electronically. Rather, the content will be discussed as part of the treatment during your next scheduled appointment.

Fees

The cost of an online consultation (approximately 50 minutes) is $250.00 (AUD), which is payable in full at the time of the session by Credit/Debit Card.

If you are eligible for a Medicare Rebate, this will be processed following the session.

You will need a Mental Health Treatment Plan and referral from your GP or Psychiatrist submitted to your psychologist prior to the session to be eligible for Medicare Rebates.

This service does not bulk bill.

If you have private health insurance, please check with your provider to confirm that you are covered for rebates on Telehealth Psychology services. We will provide you with an invoice and you can claim any eligible compensable funding with your Private Health provider.

Cancellation Policy

It is important to provide as much notice as you can to allow others, who may need the services of a Clinical Psychologist, to access support.

If you need to cancel or postpone your appointment, please give the psychologist at least 48 hours notice.

Cancellation with less than 48 hours but more than 24 hours notice, incurs a cancellation fee equivalent to 50% of the session fee ($125.00 AUD).

If less than 24 hours notice, no cancellation notice is given, or non-attendance of the appointment occurs, a cancellation fee equivalent to the full cost of the appointment will be charged ($250.00 AUD).

Please note, rebates cannot be claimed from Medicare for cancellation fees.

The process to cancel an appointment is:

  • send an email to appointments@andreaschwede.health
  • include the words 'appointment cancellation' in the subject line of the message
  • include the date and time of the appointment to be cancelled

The timestamp on the receiving email server documenting when the email arrived determines how much notice has been given.

To reschedule an appointment:

  • first cancel the appointment by email
  • then, visit the website to book a new appointment

Refunds

You may obtain a full refund for cancelled appointments where notice greater than 48 hours before the scheduled appointment start time, has been given.

Late Arrival

You will be charged for the entire appointment timeslot provided, regardless of late arrival or early departure. For example, if you have booked an appointment from 10.00am to 10:50am and arrive at 10.10am, you will only have 40 minutes remaining, but will be charged for the full session. If you have not arrived within 20 minutes of the scheduled start time, the Psychologist reserves the right to cancel the session and you will still be charged for the full appointment.

Rescheduling of Appointment by Psychologist

The Psychologist has the right to reschedule appointments for any reason at their discretion.

The Psychologist will endeavor to provide you with as much notice as possible if rescheduling is necessary.

Report Writing

Andrea Schwede does not provide medico-legal, or court reports.

Andrea Schwede does not conduct cognitive testing or neuropsychological assessments.

Termination of treatment

You may participate or decline to participate in the treatment proposed or withdraw from the treatment in future by telling your therapist.

Cancellation fees apply as set out above. Your psychologist will discuss with you any potential consequences of declining or withdrawing from treatment.

We may terminate your treatment if it becomes clear that you are not benefiting from the services, if we are no longer able to deliver the services or if we form the view that we are not competent to deal with your problem or situation. If we terminate the services, we’ll explain why and take all reasonable steps to safeguard your ongoing welfare, including by making reasonable arrangements for another service provider to assist you.

APS Charter for Clients of Psychologists

The Charter linked here explains your rights as a client of a psychologist.

Jurisdiction

As we are based in Queensland, Australia, these terms will be governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia. In the event of any dispute, we ask that you first contact us, and we’ll do our best to resolve the dispute to our mutual satisfaction quickly, cheaply and efficiently. If we do end up in court, you agree that the exclusive venue for resolving any dispute will be in the courts of Queensland, Australia and courts of appeal from them.

This document was last updated: 23/05/2022