Referring Clients To A Psychologist

Most people who are struggling with their mental health present to a GP first. This makes GPs an essential part of the referral process. 

And because we like making things as smooth as possible for everyone, we’ve put together a quick guide on all the things you need to do/know in order to get your patients in as quickly as possible by our team. 

Below is a checklist of questions to work through, as well as, some handy information/FAQS, to ensure you’re sending your patients to the right place.

1.

Is our clinic the perfect match for your client?

Our small team of psychologists work with:

  • Children (5 yrs - 12 yrs)

  • Adolescents (13 yrs - 18 yrs)

  • Young Adults (19 yrs - 30 yrs)

  • Parents (only if related to supporting a child or teenager)

2.

Decide on the type of referral needed

Our team provides appointments under:

  • Medicare Better Access Mental Health Care Plan 

  • Eating Disorders Management Plan 

  • Private pay (no GP referral needed)

  • National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) - Self Managed or Plan Managed. 

*Accepted referrals differ per team member. Please contact our friendly admin team for more specific information.

3.

Complete the referral

In order to bill appropriately a referral letter must include:

  • A diagnosis of a mental health disorder

  • A request for service under the appropriate referral i.e., Better Access

  • Specify a number of sessions before a review is required

4.

Address the referral

Address the referral to us as:

{Treating Clinician}, The Wattle Tree Clinic 

email: hello@thewattletreeclinic.com.au

The Hierarchy Of Clinical Need For Youth Mental Health

We’ve also put together this handy graphic to help GP’s understand the local landscape of youth mental health, because it can be confusing understanding where to send a family and how all the services compliment one another. 

It also illustrates how we position ourselves; as a clinic with specialist expertise in adolescent and young adult care.

Frequently Asked Questions - For Referrers

  • We get it. Deciding where a young person needs to be referred can be tricky.  So we created this graphic to help you understand the local landscape of youth mental health and how (we think) all the services compliment one another. It also illustrates how we position ourselves; as a clinic with specialist expertise in the youth market.  

  • The answer is you shouldn’t, unless you think they would be a great fit for our team. Really good child, adolescent and young adult work is all about relationships - if the patient AND the family feel comfortable with our approach, then things will go well.  If we tick that box, then, well, you should absolutely introduce us! 


    Alongside this we pride ourselves on our inclusivity and breadth of experience. Collectively, we have worked in almost every sphere of adolescent and young adult mental health care (meaning we can match presentation to expertise well) and we understand the necessity of always keeping our referrers (and parents) in the loop.

  • Unfortunately, at this stage we only provide counselling and psychotherapy. However, we are happy to provide some recommendations for where clients can access this locally.