FAQs

What are the consultation fees?

Our 2022/3 fees schedule can be found here.

Fees are payable at the time of the consultation, EFTPOS facilities are provided.

As a Southern Cross Affiliate provider, we can claim directly on your behalf should your health insurance plan include Clinical Psychology. Please check directly with Southern Cross to confirm, and note that this is typically a part-payment.

We typically have an Intern Psychologist working with us, under the close supervision of our Clinical Director (or other senior clinical psychologist). As Interns are in their final year of applied psychology training (typically 7/8/9th year of university), appointments carry a 20% fee reduction.

What is the cancellation policy?

Due to the high demand for our services, fees apply to late cancellations (including late notice re-scheduling of appointments).

Late cancellation & missed appointment fees give recognition to the time clinicians have held aside for the appointment, and time they have spent preparing for the appointment. Additionally, they recognise clients on a wait list, who have insufficient time to re-arrange their schedules to attend a short-notice appointment.

Where an appointment is missed, or a late cancellation/change is made with less than 24 hours notice (within working days), the full consultation fee will be invoiced. Please note cancellation time frames exclude weekend days and public holidays. 

Where a late cancellation/change is made between 24-48 hours (within working days) before the scheduled appointment, a fee of $50 will be invoiced. Please note cancellation time frames exclude weekend days and public holidays.

Cancellation fees may be waived in cases of sudden significant illness or emergency (such as hospital admission, with GP or doctor letter), at the clinical directors discretion.

How long will treatment take?

The duration of individual treatment varies considerably.

Some clients with mild difficulties may find that a 6-12 session brief intervention is sufficient to meet their treatment goals. For others, more ongoing work over months or years may be indicated at varying levels of intensity (weekly/fortnightly/monthly).

As a general average, we see many of our clients for approximately 20 sessions over a 9-12 month period.

Appointments are weekly in the first instance (& typically weekly for the majority of treatment), in order to build momentum and make a strong start with treatment.

Do you offer free or low-cost treatment for eating disorders?

Free treatment is available via the public mental health services within Te Whatu Ora (previously the DHB) - talk to your GP about a referral if this is your preferred option. The specialist eating disorder service within Auckland is called Tupu Ora.

Free parent support is available through a volunteer helpline run by parents with a lived experience of having a child with an eating disorder, see the Eating Disorders Association of New Zealand (EDANZ).

As a private clinic, Nurture Psychology does not receive any government funding. Therefore the running of our clinic is fully funded by our consultation fees. We understand that private treatment can be a significant investment.

In order to increase access to specialist private treatment, we offer a low-cost treatment package for adults (18+) that are not underweight, and have concerns about overeating or binge eating. Please note that this is a light version of treatment, and not appropriate in all situations. Feel free to email us to request more details.

We often have an Intern Psychologist working with us, under the close supervision of our Clinical Director (or other Senior Clinical Psychologist). As Interns are in their final year of applied psychology training, appointments carry a 20% fee reduction.

How long are appointments?

Standard consultations are ~55 minutes long.

The initial assessment/consultation is up to 90-minute long, to give extra time for your psychologist to understand your history & current situation, and start a discussion about your individualised treatment plan toward the end. This also gives time for you to both get to know each other, allowing you to see if you feel comfortable working together.

Parent Consultations are up to 90-minutes long.

Do I need a referral from my GP?

No, as we are a private service you can self-refer using our online form.

Your GP or specialist doctor can also refer you to us using our website referral form, through their GP referral system, or by emailing a written referral directly. We typically liaise with your GP as standard practice.

Why choose a specialist Psychologist as my mental health professional?

Registered Clinical Psychologists and Counselling Psychologists are highly trained Doctoral-level or Masters-level mental health professionals that have completed a minimum 7 years of university training in psychology, and the application of psychology to mental illness. This starts with a 3-year undergraduate Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (theory), and a 4th year “Honours” degree in Psychology. They have then gained a place in a highly competitive postgraduate training program in either Clinical Psychology (Master’s or Doctorate degree), or Counselling Psychology (Master’s degree) which is a further 2-3 years of training focussed on the application of psychology to the assessment & treatment of mental illness. Some of our Clinical Psychologists have additionally studied a research PhD, meaning they have completed ~10 years university study. 

Psychologists are trained as generalists, meaning that they qualify with the knowledge and skills to work with all types of presentations from general life distress to mental illness presentations. Psychologists at Nurture Psychology have completed significant additional post-registration training, to develop specialist knowledge and skills in working with eating disorders. The team takes part in ongoing in-house and external training, together with regular supervision with our clinical director (a Senior Clinical Psychologist & Academic) or other Senior Clinical Psychologist, to ensure best practice & ongoing professional development in the treatment of eating disorders.

As clinically-trained psychologists have expertise across the full mental health spectrum, treatment approach at Nurture Psychology is not “one size fits all” approach but is tailored to the presentation of each individual; for example taking into account length of illness, client support systems, client goals & motivation, and any co-occuring difficulties such as anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, clinical perfectionism etc. Whilst eating disorder work may be at the forefront of treatment, your psychologist will work with you to make a tailored treatment plan that supports wider, long-term mental health and wellbeing. Where we believe additional concerns fall outside our scope of practice, we can support to refer to you to colleagues with the required expertise.

There are a number of different types of psychologists in New Zealand, that have varied focusses in their training and therefore different scopes of practice (see the NZ Psychologists Board website). Two types of Psychologist work at Nurture Psychology:

Clinical Psychologists apply psychological knowledge and theory derived from research to the area of mental health and development, to assist children, young persons, adults and their families with emotional, mental, developmental or behavioural problems. Clinical Psychologists use psychological assessment, formulation and diagnosis based on biological, social and psychological factors, and applying therapeutic interventions using a scientist-practitioner approach. Such practice is undertaken within an individual’s area and level of expertise and with due regard to ethical, legal, and Board-prescribed standards. (language from www.psychologistsboard.org.nz)

Counselling Psychologists similarly apply psychological knowledge and theory derived from research to the area of client empowerment and enhancement, to assist children, young persons, adults and their families with personal, social, educational, and vocational functioning by using psychological assessments and interventions, and preventative approaches that acknowledge ecological, developmental and phenomenological dimensions. Such practice is undertaken within an individual’s area and level of expertise and with due regard to ethical, legal, and Board-prescribed standards. (language from www.psychologistsboard.org.nz)