Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This will depend on if you are seeing the psychologist for Psychological assessments or therapy.
For therapy generally a referral form your GP/psychiatrist or Paediatrician is required. You will also need a referral if you wish to claim the Medicare rebate or rebate from private health funds.
For Psychological assessments you do not require a referral but can be helpful to provide additional information to your psychologist.
For NDIS patients a referral is usually not required to see the psychologist.
Yes, you require a referral from your GP, Obstetrician or another specialist to see our psychiatrist. Please check our appointment process.
Referrals can be made to one of our psychiatrists, can be open to 'any psychiatrist' or can be for another named psychiatrist if you already have one. Referrers, please see here for further information.
A psychiatrist is trained in both general medical, psychiatric and psychological treatments which allows them to prescribe medication as well to provide therapy. While there are many psychiatrists that do not provide psychotherapy, psychiatrists like Dr Makielan at Dolphin Tribe does provide Psychotherapy for all age groups.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors with specialist training in psychiatry. The treatments provided by a psychiatrist can include medication and general medical care, including checking your physical health and the effects of medication, psychological treatments and brain stimulation therapies. Psychiatrists can also order a full range of medical laboratory tests which help provide a comprehensive view of patient's physical and mental state.
Psychologists have a Bachelor’s degree and two years of work experience– the study of the human mind and behaviour. They can provide psychological treatments, but cannot prescribe medications. Generally, you need a referral from your GP or a medical specialist to see a psychiatrist, but not for a psychologist. Some psychologists may also hold a Masters or Doctorate level qualification in psychology. If they have a Doctorate (PhD), a psychologist can call themselves ‘Dr’, but they are not medical doctors.
You can read more about the difference between Psychologist and Psychiatrist in this page.
Dolphin Tribe does not provide crisis or emergency services. For urgent care, the following services can help:
Lifeline - 13 11 14
Mental Health Line - 1800 011 511
Kids Help Line - 1800 55 1800
Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467
In an emergency, or if you are/someone else is at serious risk of harm to themselves or others, please:
Call the police on 000.
Go to a hospital emergency department, where there will be an out-of-hours mental health team or psychiatrist contactable.
Your referring practitioner may note your need for semi-urgent care on your referral. However, we have a fixed number of available appointments and cannot often accommodate requests for urgent appointments.
See our Psychiatry Referrals page for more information.
Generally, for psychiatrists, initial assessment appointments are 45-50 minutes. Subsequent appointments vary depending on the nature of the problem and ongoing treatment but are either 30 minutes or 45 minutes.
For Psychologists, all therapy appointments are generally 50 minutes. Psychological assessment appointments are longer and vary depending on the assessment.
Yes, our booking system will send an email with relevant information around five days prior to the appointment and an SMS reminder three days prior. However, we cannot guarantee the successful delivery of reminders – it is the patient's or parents' responsibility to remember their appointment time.
Our practitioners are often busy with patients in the clinic, so they generally cannot take phone calls. If you have specific questions about your treatment, we encourage you to book an appointment to discuss them in detail.
For Psychology therapy appointments, you can book an appointment by calling us at 02 7202 7747 or by visiting our website and using the online appointment request form. For Psychiatry appointments, please read the psychiatry appointment process and you can request appointments here.
All other appointments please email us or request appointments via this form.
If you need proof of your appointment or any forms filled out, please discuss this with your practitioner during your consultation and depending on the request they can complete these during the appointment or advise on ETA etc. These may incur additional fees.
Yes, your school or psychologist may contact us for information. Please ensure that requests are made via email or fax and include written consent from the patient or their parents (and the child, if necessary). We will only share clinical letters or reports that were completed during your consultations.
Payment is required in full on the day of consultation by cash, EFTPOS or credit card. If eligible, you can submit the receipt to Medicare for a rebate or we can lodge the claim online with Medicare on your behalf. Medicare will deposit directly into your nominated bank account within 24 - 48 hours.
Payments via credit cards (VISA, Mastercard, American Express) will attract a surcharge of 0.5% - 1.5% (depending on card type), whereas payments with EFTPOS cards will not incur any charges.
For psychiatrist appointments, you will get back around $263 for an initial consultation and $184 for subsequent standard consultations.
However, Medicare also has a concept of Safety Net, which provides higher rebate once your out-of-pocket expenses (‘gap fee’) have reached a certain threshold. Once reached, Medicare will refund almost 90% of your out-of-pocket fees. This means most costs will be rebated after approximately 6-8 sessions for psychiatry appointments.
For individuals and families registered for Safety Net, the threshold is $2615.50 (for 2025). For concession card holders – Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card or a Commonwealth Seniors Card, and people who receive Family Tax Benefit (Part A) – the threshold is $834.50.
If you have a mental health care plan from your GP, or referral from a psychiatrist or referral from eligible specialist, Medicare will rebate up to 10 sessions in a calendar year. You will get around $98 in rebate.
Medicare rebates do not fully cover the cost of providing safe and effective mental health treatment. Our fees help cover all operating costs, including staff, rent, medical and computer equipment, and insurance. This is why we do not bulk-bill and have a 'gap fee' to ensure we can continue offering high-quality care.
We accept various payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, and online payments. All transactions are conducted in AUD.
Please see here for our practice policies.
At Dolphin Tribe, we take a holistic and family-centred approach to treatment. Our clinicians are trauma-informed and neurodiversity-aware, ensuring compassionate and inclusive care. We prioritise talk therapy and only use medication when it's clinically necessary. Our team considers biological, psychological, and environmental factors to create personalised treatment plans tailored to each patient.
At Dolphin Tribe, we offer a variety of assessments, including IQ testing, Giftedness assessments, Educational assessments, Autism (ASD) assessments, ADHD assessments, Behavioural assessments, and Speech assessments. All our assessments utilise gold-standard, evidence-based tools to ensure accurate and comprehensive results.
Your doctor will discuss your assessment and treatment options and give you an opportunity to ask questions. You will be asked to consent to before undergoing any treatment.
You will also be asked if other relevant people (such as school teachers or counsellors) can be contacted.