Frequently Asked Questions
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General Enquiries
Counselling services are available to anyone, either adult or child, in Australia who is seeking individualised support. We offer one-on-one sessions either face-to-face in Chinchilla and Pittsworth, or online via Telehealth.
People seek counselling for many reasons. Some examples are: depression or anxiety, workplace or financial stress, parenting or family concerns, grief, and relationship problems. If you are willing to give us a brief description of your presenting issue when you enquire, this will help us to connect you with the most appropriate available counsellor in our team.
Our office is contactable between 8:30am and 4:30pm Monday-Friday. If you state that your need is urgent, we will always do our best to link you to the next available counselling session. However, we are nota crisis response service.
If you are in crisis and are unable to contact us, we strongly encourage you to call Lifeline on 13 11 14 for immediate support, or present to your local hospital for urgent mental health care.
Unfortunately, Medicare does not cover counselling sessions in Australia.
This also means that our counsellors are unable to access funding through a GP-referred Mental Health Care Plan. This funding is only available to psychologists and some other approved allied health professionals.
Our practitioners have qualifications and extensive experience in their field and are registered with their industries relevant national peak body. These include: Australian Counselling Association (ACA); Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA); Christian Counsellors Association (CCAA); Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA); and the Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA).
Yes, the content of counselling sessions remains strictly confidential unless a practitioner is legally required to disclose information for any of the following reasons:
∙ I may either do harm to myself or others
∙ Information indicates a crime is likely to be committed
∙ Information indicates a child is in danger
∙ A court order for disclosure of information
∙ Supervision for the therapist
Client records are kept securely according to best practice and industry guidelines.
We have sessions Monday-Friday in our Chinchilla office and online from 9am to 5pm. Sessions outside of these hours are available on request incur a $15 after-hour surcharge.
Our Chinchilla office is located at the rear of 3 Burbank St(Country Hope Centre). Follow the side carpark around to the back of the building to available parking. Our door is opposite the cream water tanks.
Our Pittsworth office is currently being finalised. Details will be available shortly.
Referrals are always welcome, however you do not need to be referred by a doctor or specialist in order to receive counselling.
Your feedback and complaints are important and valuable to us, and will be taken seriously. Please contact our office via our email hello@equipped4life.com.au to have your say about your experience with our practice.
Services
NDIS clients can access counselling and music therapy through their NDIS plans' funding. We view NDIS as high priority clients, which means that we will work harder to ensure their sessions fit into the therapists' schedule. Therapists also require allocated admin time in order to write their notes etc., in order to work towards that client's goals.
"Music therapy is a research-based allied health profession in which music is used to actively support people as they aim to improve their health, functioning and well-being. It can help people of all ages to manage their physical and mental health and enhance their quality of life."
- Australian Music Therapy Association (https://www.austmta.org.au/about-us/what-is-mt/)
Sessions
The number of sessions you will need depend entirely on your unique circumstances. The therapeutic process is not ‘one-size-fits-all’.
You do not need to be referred by a doctor or specialist in order to receive counselling.
Our services are open to anyone.
You can book an appointment on this website by using the form provided, or by calling the office number of 0490 054 991.
Payment is completed by bank transfer at the time of the session. Your therapist or a member of the admin team will provide our details at the end of your initial session.
Give yourself plenty of time, arriving 10-15 minutes before your counselling session can assist in managing some of the anxieties you may be experiencing before the session. It is often parking, travel arrangements, and finding office locations that can add to the stress of your first appointment.
Before your appointment, write down some of the things you would like to explore during the session. You may want to write them down in order of importance to you.
What do you hope to get out of the counselling? Sometimes it can be challenging, sometimes cathartic or a release, sometimes revealing and sometimes demanding. These are all quite normal thoughts and feelings to be having and the counsellor will support you through this process. Practice defining how much you feel something; for example on a scale of 1 to 10 how happy/sad/anxious/depressed and so forth do you feel at any given moment.
If something is said during your appointment that you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask the person to explain what they mean. Feel free to check - it is your session after all.
You will be sent an access link before your appointment, as well as an information form to fill out if it’s your first time. You won’t need to download any additional software and only need to click the link to be joined into the meeting room with your counsellor.
We understand that circumstances can change. If you need to cancel your appointment, please notify us with at least one business days’ notice. If not, then 50% of the session cost with be charged as a late cancellation fee (depending on your agreement with Equip Country).
Workplace Wellbeing Partnerships (WWPs)
Can I only access WWP counselling if my issues are work based?
The idea of WWP counselling is that an unbalance in an employee's wellbeing or lifestyle will influence all areas of their life, including their work (decreased productivity, increased days off, etc.).
Counsellors provide emotional support and explore possible strategies that will assist you re-balance your life as soon as possible. Counsellors are also trained to provide support to those who may have experience, or be experiencing domestic and family violence. The cost to the employee is free, as it is the employer who pays for the cost of the therapy for their employee.
Employers pay different amounts per session depending on their agreement with Equip Country. For more information, please see our Workplace Wellbeing Partnership Packages.
Employers will decide to pre-approve a certain number of sessions per employee, per year, as outlined in their unique agreement with Equip Country.
Employees do not necessarily need to utilise the maximum number of sessions.
Unused sessions will rollover into the next 12 months; some employees will need more counselling and some less.
Employees may sometimes transition into a private client with their therapist to continue longer term psychotherapy if needed, or be referred to external mental health services for further treatment and support.
A WWP is a Workplace Wellbeing Partnership which can include therapy that is paid for by an employer on behalf of their employee (it can also include business resources, health and wellbeing alerts, and quarterly employer wellbeing sessions, depending on the package chosen).
Equip Country's WWP packages are a way for employers to support their employees’ mental health, by providing access therapy to improve their overall wellbeing, with the purpose of the employee remaining well and productive at home and in the workplace.
WWP clients are always offered a session within two business days of reaching out.
General Enquiries
Counselling services are available to anyone, either adult or child in Australia who is seeking individualised support. We offer one-on-one sessions either in-person (face-to-face) or online where experienced practitioners will talk with you via Telehealth (video conferencing).
Common issues that may be addressed in counselling sessions include: feelings of depression or anxiety, workplace or financial stress, parenting or family concerns, etc.
Medicare does not cover most counselling sessions.
All our practitioners have qualifications and extensive experience in Counselling and are registered with either the Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (CCAA), the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), or the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), which are the national peak bodies.
All client data is stored securely. The content of counselling sessions will remain strictly confidential (unless a practitioner is legally required to disclose information) and are conducted following ethical guidelines.
We have sessions across weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Sessions outside of these hours comes with a $15 after-hour surcharge.
Our offices are located in the Country Hope Church centre on 3 Burbank St. If you follow the carpark around the back, our door is opposite the cream water tanks.
No, you do not need to be referred by a doctor or specialist in order to receive counselling. Our services are open to anyone.
Please contact our office via email: hello@equipped4life.com.au
We have sessions across weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Sessions outside of these hours comes with a $15 after-hour surcharge.
Services
NDIS clients can access counselling and music therapy through their NDIS plans' funding. We view NDIS as high priority clients, which means that we will work harder to ensure their sessions fit into the therapists' schedule. Therapists also require allocated admin time in order to write their notes etc., in order to work towards that client's goals.
"Music therapy is a research-based allied health profession in which music is used to actively support people as they aim to improve their health, functioning and well-being. It can help people of all ages to manage their physical and mental health and enhance their quality of life."
- Australian Music Therapy Association (https://www.austmta.org.au/about-us/what-is-mt/)
Sessions
The number of sessions you will need depend entirely on your unique circumstances. The therapeutic process is not ‘one-size-fits-all’.
You do not need to be referred by a doctor or specialist in order to receive counselling.
Our services are open to anyone.
You can book an appointment on this website by using the form provided, or by calling the office number of 0490 054 991.
Payment is completed by bank transfer at the time of the session. Your therapist or a member of the admin team will provide our details at the end of your initial session.
Give yourself plenty of time, arriving 10-15 minutes before your counselling session can assist in managing some of the anxieties you may be experiencing before the session. It is often parking, travel arrangements, and finding office locations that can add to the stress of your first appointment.
Before your appointment, write down some of the things you would like to explore during the session. You may want to write them down in order of importance to you.
What do you hope to get out of the counselling? Sometimes it can be challenging, sometimes cathartic or a release, sometimes revealing and sometimes demanding. These are all quite normal thoughts and feelings to be having and the counsellor will support you through this process. Practice defining how much you feel something; for example on a scale of 1 to 10 how happy/sad/anxious/depressed and so forth do you feel at any given moment.
If something is said during your appointment that you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask the person to explain what they mean. Feel free to check - it is your session after all.
You will be sent an access link before your appointment, as well as an information form to fill out if it’s your first time. You won’t need to download any additional software and only need to click the link to be joined into the meeting room with your counsellor.
We understand that circumstances can change. If you need to cancel your appointment, please notify us with at least one business days’ notice. If not, then 50% of the session cost with be charged as a late cancellation fee (depending on your agreement with Equip Country).
Workplace Wellbeing Partnerships (WWPs)
Can I only access WWP counselling if my issues are work based?
The idea of WWP counselling is that an unbalance in an employee's wellbeing or lifestyle will influence all areas of their life, including their work (decreased productivity, increased days off, etc.).
Counsellors provide emotional support and explore possible strategies that will assist you re-balance your life as soon as possible. Counsellors are also trained to provide support to those who may have experience, or be experiencing domestic and family violence. The cost to the employee is free, as it is the employer who pays for the cost of the therapy for their employee.
Employers pay different amounts per session depending on their agreement with Equip Country. For more information, please see our Workplace Wellbeing Partnership Packages.
Employers will decide to pre-approve a certain number of sessions per employee, per year, as outlined in their unique agreement with Equip Country.
Employees do not necessarily need to utilise the maximum number of sessions.
Unused sessions will rollover into the next 12 months; some employees will need more counselling and some less.
Employees may sometimes transition into a private client with their therapist to continue longer term psychotherapy if needed, or be referred to external mental health services for further treatment and support.
A WWP is a Workplace Wellbeing Partnership which can include therapy that is paid for by an employer on behalf of their employee (it can also include business resources, health and wellbeing alerts, and quarterly employer wellbeing sessions, depending on the package chosen).
Equip Country's WWP packages are a way for employers to support their employees’ mental health, by providing access therapy to improve their overall wellbeing, with the purpose of the employee remaining well and productive at home and in the workplace.
WWP clients are always offered a session within two business days of reaching out.