Yes. There are psychiatrists who can assess for ADHD and provide medication treatment (if appropriate) and psychologists/social workers who can provide therapy for ADHD.

You first need to see your GP to organise a referral. Without a referral we cannot help you. Please ask your GP to address the referral as ‘Dear Doctor’ and email it to referrals@melbournementalhealth.com.au

If you are looking for a 291 assessment your referral must state ‘291’ otherwise your Medicare rebate would be lower.

Our admin team will process your referral and forward it to the appropriate clinician to review.

We absolutely understand how important your mental health is and due to the extreme amount of referrals we receive it may take 2 weeks before we are able to process your referral. Please only contact us if you have not heard from us after 2 weeks. We appreciate your understanding and promise you we are doing our best.

The approximate wait time to see most psychiatrists is 2-4 weeks depending on the psychiatrist. Some have a longer wait.

The approximate wait time to see a psychologist/social worker is about 1-2 weeks.

Please note these times are just a guide as they can change significantly from a surge of referrals.

As we receive more referrals than we have capacity not every referral can be allocated. Each clinician is independent and they make their own decisions on which referrals they accept.

Clinicians do not have capacity to explain why a referral has not been accepted as it's simply not feasible to write an explanation for the hundreds of referrals received each month.

When a clinician has accepted a large volume of referrals they often close their books temporarily to ensure they have enough remaining appointments for their current patients to be seen so this why sometimes we cannot allocate referrals.

If you organise a referral please be prepared that it may not be allocated. If this is the case, we will write back to your referrer and it is the responsibility of your referrer to contact you to organise an appointment to discuss further options.

Each independent clinician sets their own fees so this will vary depending on who you are seeing and the type of assessment you are having.

Review appointments may vary in length so this will also affect the fees. Sessions with psychiatrists and psychologists may be eligible for a Medicare rebate.

As a general guide, out of pocket costs for an initial appointment with a psychiatrist ranges from approximately $1031.10 to $1032.55. For psychologists the out of pocket costs is approximately $170.95-$190.50. Psychologists are open to accepting NDIS patients who are on a self-managed plan.

Please note fees are subject to change. For more information please see our Fees table on our website.

Once your referral has been processed and accepted, we will text you to call us to book an appointment. When you call, please have the following details ready to ensure we can book your appointment:

Medicare card

Credit card (for paying the booking deposit)

Each independent clinician reviews their referrals and makes their own decisions in regards to accepting the referral or not.

Unfortunately, Melbourne Mental Health only provides consultation rooms and administrative services to clinicians and we do not have any input into the clinical decisions made by each clinician.

If your referral was not accepted, your referring doctor will be notified and we encourage you to speak with them to plan your future treatment and care.

Unfortunately, many patients simply do not turn up to their appointments which causes further delays in helping other patients and is unfair to each clinician’s time. Rest assured, the deposit amount will be deducted from your consultation fee on the day of your appointment. The deposit is non-refundable so please only make a booking if you are committed to attending. You are able to reschedule your initial assessment appointment if you provide at least one week’s notice otherwise the deposit is forfeited and additional cancellation fees will apply if you provide less than 3 business days notice or do not attend.

After you have booked your appointment, you will receive an email confirming your appointment time and a link to complete the Intake Forms. It is important to complete all these forms BEFORE your appointment so that your assessment can be as comprehensive as possible.

You will also receive a separate email inviting you to sign up to the patient portal (Halaxy) and we strongly recommend you do this. Your patient portal will allow you to check your appointment times, book review sessions, update your contact details and upload additional documents (e.g., school reports, other clinical reports).

Please note we do NOT communicate clinical matters via email.

Your first appointment will be an assessment only. The psychiatrist will ask a series of questions to gain a better understanding of your mental health.

You will be asked questions about your family, medical history, substance use, etc. You will then be given brief feedback about your mental health and treatment options.

Sometimes to complete an assessment you might require more than one session especially if you have not completed your intake form or there are other important mental health issues that need exploring.

If your referral was for ongoing treatment, once your assessment is complete, we will make another review appointment where you and your psychiatrist will discuss treatment in more detail and if medications are involved, you may receive a prescription.

If your referral was for a 291 assessment, once your assessment is completed your psychiatrist will write a detailed report to your GP (usually within 2 weeks) and you will need to see your GP to start treatment. The psychiatrist will NOT be providing you with any prescriptions.

A 291 assessment means that your GP is referring you to see a psychiatrist for a ‘one-off assessment.’ After the psychiatrist has completed your assessment, they will write a very detailed report and treatment plan that will be provided to you and your GP (usually within 2 weeks).

It is then your GP’s responsibility to provide you with treatment and you will not be receiving any treatment/prescriptions from the psychiatrist.

You are only eligible for one 291 assessment every 12 months so if you have already had a 291 assessment with another psychiatrist in the last 12 months you will not receive the Medicare rebate.

For a 291 assessment to be comprehensive is it absolutely vital that you complete the intake forms prior to your appointment (ideally at least two weeks prior) as your psychiatrist will need to review the answers to your questionnaires BEFORE your appointment day. If you do not complete your forms in a timely manner it may not be possible to assess your mental health properly.

All psychiatrists offer ongoing care so if after your 291 assessment you change your mind within the next 12 months and would prefer to see your psychiatrist regularly for care, all you need to do is get your GP to send a new referral for this and the psychiatrist can book you in for regular review sessions.

A 293 review is when you have had a 291 assessment with one of the psychiatrists within the last 12 months and your GP feels it would be a good idea to have a review to provide further advice on your treatment. A new report will be written and forwarded to your GP with updated advice and you will continue to receive treatment with your GP.

Absolutely. All clinicians provide long-term treatment to patients.

Patients who choose to have ongoing treatment will obtain prescriptions for psychiatric medications from their psychiatrists and not their GPs.

At Melbourne Mental Health we take your care very seriously. Each clinician provides comprehensive assessments because an accurate assessment will allow them to provide you with accurate treatment. We cannot vouch for the quality of external assessments and external assessments may not capture all the required information to plan your care.

No. Your first appointment involves a comprehensive assessment of your mental health that goes beyond just assessing for ADHD so other potentially important areas of your mental health are not missed.

Also, it important that you understand how medications can help, what doses to use, their potential risks and the laws surrounding their use so this requires a review session to ensure there is adequate time to go through these details.

We are glad to hear you are already receiving treatment. If you would like therapy you need to see your GP to organise a ‘Mental Health Treatment Plan’ previously known as a ‘Mental Health Care Plan’ and email it to referrals@melbournementalhealth.com.au

The mental health treatment plan allows you to receive a Medicare rebate of between $96.65 to $141.85 per session for up to 10 sessions per calendar year with a psychologist. However, after your 6th session, the psychologist will write a report back to your GP and you will need to see your GP again to organise another mental health treatment plan to the psychologist to receive the Medicare rebate for the final 4 sessions.

If you have private health insurance, you might be able to receive ongoing rebates after the 10 Medicare sessions are used up, but you will need to check with your health insurer as each person’s policy is different.

We believe in taking a holistic approach to your wellbeing so healthy lifestyle activities and psychological therapy are equally important. As the saying goes “Pills don’t teach skills.” Psychologists/social worker therapists will be able to provide you helpful strategies and coping mechanisms to manage ADHD better. They will also be able to explore deeper emotions such as shame, guilt, grief and poor self-esteem that can often come from having undiagnosed ADHD.

A psychologist is a mental health professional who has undergone extensive university and real-world training with formal qualifications that are official recognised by The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) which is the same agency that regulates medical doctors such as psychiatrists.

They possess a wide range of skills to help patients manage many mental health issues that go beyond ADHD such as depression, anxiety, trauma and relationship issues to name a few. Due to their professional standing, there are strong checks and balances regarding the quality of care. You can receive a Medicare rebate when seeing a psychologist.

An ADHD coach can provide you with support to manage ADHD only and whilst they might have received some training, this is not professionally recognised by AHPRA and technically speaking, any individual can call themselves an ADHD coach. You will not get a Medicare rebate when seeing an ADHD coach. However, an experienced ADHD coach can still be helpful.

Unlike GP clinics where they share notes and patients, all psychiatrists at specialist mental health clinics practice independently with their own patients, treatment plans, fees and policies. They cannot access each others’ notes.

Melbourne Mental Health simply provides administrative support and services for independent clinicians.

If you would like to see a different psychiatrist at Melbourne Mental Health you will have to organise a new GP referral and go through a new assessment with that psychiatrist as you will be a new patient to them. This will also ensure you receive the appropriate Medicare rebate. It is the same process as seeing a new psychiatrist at a different clinic.

We strongly recommend discussing any issues you have with your psychiatrist directly as often misunderstandings can be resolved through clear communication and it can build a stronger therapeutic relationship.

GP referrals by default expire after 12 months so if it has been more than 12 months since your GP referral, you will need to organise a new GP referral to ensure you receive your Medicare rebate. This is a government requirement.

If you are planning to see your psychiatrist long term, it is best to get your GP to write on the referral that it is an INDEFINITE referral so that it does not expire.

For patients who have only ever had a 291 assessment, whose last consultation was more than 12 months ago, or have been discharged, you will need a new GP referral to ensure your psychiatrists has the most up to date clinical information about you and for you to receive your Medicare rebate.