Sessions

Standard appointments are scheduled for 50 minutes.  In addition to this, 10 minutes are required for your therapist to write up notes and carry out other administrative tasks, so the total billable time for a standard session is 60 minutes.

For some forms of therapy the recommended session length is 90 minutes (80 minutes of scheduled therapy and 10 minutes for notes and administration).  This will always be discussed with you beforehand as 90 minute or other non-standard sessions are scheduled in advance with mutual consent.

When arranging your first session, your therapist will advise you of the current hourly rates that are applicable.  GST at 15% is charged in addition to the hourly rate.

Attendance and Cancellations

Missed appointments and cancellations with less than 24 hours notice are charged for fully. This is because we are usually unable to fill one-off slots at late notice. When an agreement has been reached to commence therapy, the spirit of this agreement is that the psychologist will protect the session time for you at the agreed frequency (e.g. weekly/fortnightly), and that you will reliably attend the sessions that have been planned for you.

Reasons that may be considered valid for cancellations with more than 24 hours notice remain at the psychologist’s discretion (e.g. severe illness, sudden bereavement etc.), and a partial payment for cancellation may potentially be agreed. There is a late payment fee for accounts that have more than two unpaid sessions (unless a payment schedule has been agreed upon in advance and is in place). If the psychologist needs to cancel an appointment due to sickness or annual leave, you will be informed as soon as possible and of course not be charged.

WCPP reserves the right to stop offering treatment if two sessions are missed in a row, or if the pattern of attendance becomes patchy and inconsistent with the spirit of therapy agreement mentioned above. You will be informed in writing if treatment has been ended due to non-attendance.
Should payment not be received following repeated requests and within reasonable time frames, Baycorp Debt Collection agency will be employed to recover the unpaid amount. Fees arising from the debt collection will be added to the cost owing by the client.

Note for ACC clients that ACC allows for five paid DNAs (Did Not Attend) across a year for each client, beginning from when ACC receives the engagement form completed in a client’s first session with their Psychologist. After five missed appointments ACC will no longer pay for missed appointments, but instead allows for the therapist to charge the client directly for any further missed appointments that occur before the allocation of the next five DNAs from ACC.
Wellington Clinical Psychology Practice will be charging individual clients for missed appointments with 24 hours or less notice who have used all five of the allocated ACC DNAs for the year and who have to wait for the subsequent allocation of five new DNAs. This charge will be at the current ACC rate at the time of the missed appointment.

Crisis Assistance

Please be aware that the Wellington Clinical Psychology Practice is NOT an acute service. We do not have the capacity to work with clients who are experiencing acutely poor mental health which includes those who are suicidal. If you fall into this category you should contact your GP and/or seek assistance through Te Haika 0800 745 477. If at any point you feel you are at immediate risk of harming yourself, you should dial 111. If during the course of therapy with WCPP your mental health deteriorates and your ongoing safety is at risk, WCPP staff will refer you onto your GP, Te Haika and/or a Community Mental Health Service.

Covid-19

We are committed to providing clients with a service as safely as possible in the context of COVID-19 and the ever-evolving guidance, and will require both clients and therapists to follow the guidance and requirements that are in place at the time of each appointment.

In order to protect our clients and staff we ensure to disinfect contact surfaces between appointments as well as airing out the clinic room regularly. We wash glasses/mugs in hot water, however, please feel free to bring your own vessel for drinking if that would make you feel more comfortable. Our clinic space allows for our chairs to be socially distanced, however, a decision will be made collaboratively with you based on your/our preference/comfort and clinical rationale if closer proximity is required (e.g. for EMDR processing sessions).

If you are experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19, please do not attend your session in person, and inform us immediately. In this case, or if either you or your psychologist are required to self-isolate for any other reason, you will be offered sessions via video conference instead of sessions in person. You may be asked to provide evidence that you have been asked to self-isolate; please don’t be offended if we ask. If you are too unwell to engage with sessions via video conference, please let us know as soon as possible. Similarly, if your psychologist is too unwell to attend, you will be informed as soon as possible.

For Health and Safety purposes, we may require clients to disclose their vaccination status so the appropriate safety measures can be put in place. Again, please do not be offended if we ask.