Information About our Assessments

Why Our Assessments and Treatment are Different

Our service is for the assistance of young people aged 5 to 16 years old and their family.  Unfortunately in Australia, treatment for child and adolescent mental health is generally provided to the young person in relative isolation from their family.  

However, our service aims to involve the family system, to increase engagement with treatment and the potential for greater improvement in the young person's mental health.

After the assessment phase (1-2 extended consultations) we will provide a plan to support your child and your family which will address the current issue and offer the opportunity for your child/family to access brief-intervention.

Why include family?

Young people don’t exist in isolation, they exist in a rich system of family, community and services.

Understanding how all the parts of the system interact with the young person, and whether changes to the system (even minor ones) may be helpful, can be extremely beneficial to a family and to the young person’s mental health journey.

Based on many reviewed research articles, the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) notes that 'When young people are supported to include their family, it can lead to a higher likelihood of continued treatment, reduced rates of relapse, reduced anxiety, improved satisfaction with care and increased overall
wellbeing'.

Do you provide families with any documentation after our assessment?

Yes, we do.  We will provide you with a summary document which will outline what you and your family members can do differently to change your current situation and put you on your desired trajectory. It will also outline what future help may be useful to you, should you wish to access it.  You may wish to keep the summary document for future reference or share it with your paediatrician, psychologist or other treating health practitioner.

What else is included in the summary document?

Your summary document may provide information such as useful on-line resources, books to read, local services that may be able to assist you or recommendations of programs that may be helpful for your child and/or your family. The information provided is tailored to your family (informed by your assessment), and anything we suggest or recommend is because we genuinely believe it may assist you.  We do not profit financially or otherwise from the recommendations we provide to you.

Our assessments are therapeutic in nature.

This means that the assessment is the starting point for your therapeutic intervention.  It provides the background information that allows us to provide you with a holistic therapeutic intervention.  The information obtained during the assessment informs your treatment intervention plan and also provides you with a pathway forward for further treatment if needed.

Will there only be one psychologist involved in our assessment?
Generally, only one psychologist will be in the room undertaking your assessment, but in some cases there may be two psychologists in the room with your family, with the second psychologist co-facilitating your assessment.

AIl family assessment information will be looked at by either the Clinical Director or presented at clinical supervision where psychologists meet to discuss clinical cases and ensure you are provided with the best clinical care (you and your family members will be de-identified to ensure your privacy in these instances) .

This added step of involving additional psychologists is to ensure that every family assessment is over-seen by a senior clinician who is highly experienced, and to ensure that multiple minds are considering your family, so that you are provided with the most suitable support and intervention.  Please note that a senior clinician may also undertake your assessment.

01

Contact our Centre for an intake call to ascertain if a family assessment is the most suitable help for your child and family.

02

Book a date and time to have your family assessment, or book in two dates if you are having the combined family and diagnostic assessment.  You will also book in a time for the post-assessment feedback session at this point (which will be approximately one week after the completion of your family/diagnostic assessment).

03

Fill in your pre-assessment questionnaires prior to attending your assessment.

04

Attend the Centre for your family assessment.  The assessment will be broken up into various allocations of time you spend with the psychologist which includes time with all family members together, parents together, and your child on their own.  The assessment is structured this way so that more delicate issues do not have to be discussed in the presence of all family members, and so that family members have to opportunity to talk confidentially and freely to the psychologist.

05

Roughly one week after your completed assessment your family will attend the Centre for a feedback session (alternatively this may be conducted on-line).  Your feedback session will provide information as to whether brief intervention sessions may be of help, who should attend, and what type of issues would be discussed and worked through during these sessions.

06

If you decide to engage in the treatment phase, contact our Centre to book in up to 6 treatment sessions for your child and/or other relevant family members.

07

You will be provided with a summary document at the completion of your assessment (or after the brief intervention sessions should you undertake them) outlining the issues your family has discussed with your Psychologist, any recommendations made and any other help or useful information that may be of benefit to your family.  Strategies and information provided in the brief intervention sessions may also be listed in the summary document.

08

Your referrer will either be contacted by phone or with a letter (provided you have given consent) to advise of the outcome of your assessment and to provide information on how they can help your child and family going forward.