Sleep difficulties can arise at all stages of life and due to many reasons. We work with individuals of all ages including:

• infants (approx. 6 months onwards)

• toddlers

• children

• teenagers

• young and older adults

By working with the individual and/or their families, we provide evidence-based treatments that are personalised and appropriate to each age group.

At our clinic, insomnia and similar sleep disorders can be the major difficulty that individuals are faced with and seek treatment for. In other cases, sleep disorders can occur together with other psychological and psychiatric disorders. Sleep difficulties are often overlooked and unaddressed by most health practitioners due to the time constraints in dealing with the main issue and the assumption that the sleep difficulty is a secondary issue. Research has shown that sleep problems become semi-independent overtime and can worsen other disorders and treatment outcomes if not addressed. We work to improve symptoms of other difficulties (e.g., anxiety, depression and alike) by focussing on effective sleep interventions.

Sleep difficulties manifest in many ways. Sleep treatment may be for you, if you (or your child):

• take too long to fall asleep.

• have difficulty falling asleep at the desired time in the evening.
  

• have difficulty waking at the desired time in the morning.
  

• sleep in excessively, and particularly on days off, like the weekends.
  

• fall asleep too early in the evening.
  

• wake too early in the morning.
  

• wake throughout the night and have difficulty returning to sleep.
  

• wake feeling unrefreshed.
  

• experience difficulties during the day due to poor sleep (e.g., feeling fatigued or unwell, unable to concentrate, low mood or similar difficulties that impact you/your child’s functioning).
  

• worry excessively about sleep.
  

• rely on medications to fall asleep.
  

• have unhelpful bedtime routines (e.g., use technology prior to or in bed).
  

• have trouble managing sleep due to previous or current shift work.

In addition to the above reasons, parents and caregivers of children also seek our help if their child:

• Needs their parent to fall asleep or remain asleep.

• Takes a long time to settle and resettle.

• Sleeps in the parent’s bed.

• Refuses bedtime.
  

• Has nightmares or night terrors.

• Impacts the parents’ sleep quality and resultantly, daytime functioning, mood and alike.
  

We focus on using evidence-based approaches and predominantly what is called “Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia”, as it is the first line of treatment for insomnia above and beyond pharmacological interventions (medications). This is in accordance to extensive research in the area and resultantly the Royal Australian Collage of General Practitioner’s (RACGP) guidelines.

While sleep medications can show immediate improvements, they often come with a myriad of side effects and some medication types result in dependency. Without the use of prescribed medications, people with poor sleep continue to struggle due to their inability to manage their sleep in other ways.

We aim to equip individuals with fundamental knowledge regarding general sleep and their specific sleep problems to enable them to manage their difficulty long term, therefore providing a more effective and long term solution to their problem.

Prior to each consultation, you will be asked to complete a 7-day sleep diary and/or questionnaires regarding your (or your child’s) sleep and wellbeing. The completion of these forms throughout therapy is extremely important to provide the best quality diagnoses, management and treatment of the sleep issues. Non-completion of these forms significantly hinders treatment progress.

Your first session will be an assessment to assist in the determination of the sleep problem through a general interview and chat about the presenting sleep issues, and reflection of the completed sleep diary and questionnaires. Accurate determination of the sleep issue will assist in formulating and tailoring an evidence-based intervention that is appropriate to treat the presenting problem in ways that suit your beliefs and lifestyle.

In successive sessions, you will learn about sleep in an approach that is tailored to your sleep concern. By teaching you about sleep, we can work together to develop a sleep intervention that would be most effective for your circumstances.

The number and frequency of consultations varies depending on the presenting sleep problem. Once again, we work with you and your progress to decide how often consultations are needed to manage and improve your sleep.

Please contact our clinic on 0401 165 050 to discuss your booking, referral, treatment options and/or current consultation fees.

There are four options of payment to attend the sleep clinic:

1. Medicare rebate

Medicare rebates enable you to pay a smaller out-of-pocket expense, hence tend to be the preferred payment option for clients.

Medicare cardholders can obtain a referral called a “Mental Health Care Plan” from their General Practitioner (GP). Children have an alternative option to be referred by their Paediatrician under “Focused Psychological Services”. 

Prior to your first appointment at the sleep clinic, please book an appointment with your GP (or Paediatrician) to obtain this referral. Some Practitioners require a longer appointment with you to appropriately discuss this referral. 

After your GP or Paediatrician appointment, please email/fax the referral to us (some GPs or Paediatricians will fax it for you) or bring it along to your first appointment. This is extremely important as, unfortunately, without an appropriate referral we cannot process Medicare rebates, and you will be charged out of pocket for the full consultation fee if you wish to go ahead.

With both types of referrals, you can receive up to 10 rebates off your full consultation fee in one calendar year (January to December).

Payment for the full consultation amount is required at the time of the appointment. At that time, a $136.35 Medicare rebate can be processed which will then be deposited back into your nominated account.

2. National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

We can see clients who are self- and plan-managed via NDIS but are unfortunately not registered to see NDIS agency managed clients. Prior to your first appointment, please check whether you have NDIS funding for psychology consultations to be eligible for this payment method.  

3. Private health insurance

If you have private health insurance, you may be able to claim rebates through your insurer. Please check whether your health insurance covers you for psychology consultation. Rebate amounts vary between insurer and cover policies, so please check with your insurer prior to your first appointment. Medicare and private health rebates cannot be used at once, you may claim Medicare rebates or private health rebates but not both.

4. Full payment

If you prefer to forego the above payment options or are ineligible, you may choose to pay the full fee out of pocket.        

For all payment, we accept Master Card, Visa and EFTPOS

Cancellations and missed appointments

Our clinic requires at least 24-hours’ notice to reschedule or cancel your appointment due to the high patient demand for sleep clinic services. Missed, rescheduled or cancelled appointments within 24-hours of the booked time will incur a cancellation fee equivalent to the amount of the full consultation fee. Medicare and private health providers do not cover cancellation fees.