FAQs

All appointments at Talking Sleep Psychology are conducted via Telehealth using Zoom, booked and managed through our secure practice platform Zanda. You don’t need to download anything in advance — Zanda will send you a link before your appointment that opens your session directly in Zoom. Zoom sessions are encrypted and secure, and Zanda is a fully HIPAA-compliant platform designed specifically for health professionals. Your privacy is protected at every step. To get the most from your session, find a quiet, private space where you won’t be interrupted — somewhere you feel comfortable speaking openly. A pair of headphone

You can book directly through our online client portal via the Book Now button on this website, or contact us by phone on 1300 366 306 or email at admin@talkingsleep.com.au. No referral is required, though a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan will allow you to access Medicare rebates if that is relevant to you.
Once your booking is confirmed, you will receive a link from Zanda with everything you need to join your Telehealth appointment on Zoom.
We’re here to help. If you’re unsure about whether you need support, book a free, no obligation call. One of our team is able to offer a free 15 minute phone consultation to discuss your needs and to determine if our service is a good match for you. Call our friendly admin team on 1300 366 306 if you would like to arrange a free consultation

Prior to your first appointment, you will automatically be issued an intake form and client services agreement via email. Depending on the nature of your appointment, additional forms (e.g., psychometric tests) may also be attached to your intake form.

Each session is allocated a total time of 50 minutes. 90 minute appointments are also available for EMDR focused sessions

Telehealth appointments are available Tuesday to Thursday during business hours (10:00am – 6:00pm). Limited afterhours sessions are also available by arrangement — please contact reception if you require an appointment outside standard hours.

Yes. Typically, the clinic has a 1 – 2 week waiting time for available appointments. However, if you wish to be seen as soon as possible you can be placed on a waiting list to be given an earlier appointment when/if there is a cancellation. If you are experiencing an emergency or crisis situation, please contact emergency services or any of the crisis hotlines below.

Emergency services: 000

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Kids Helpline: ​​1800 55 1800

Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467

Yes. You can make an appointment with us at any time without a referral. Please note any sessions booked with us without a referral are typically not eligible for rebates and you will need to cover the full cost of the session yourself.* This cost may then be claimed back from your private health insurance if your policy covers psychology.

*This does not apply to NDIS clients

We appreciate that cancelations happen – that work and life gets in the way – you are welcome to reschedule your appointment at any time and also cancel – however if you cancel on the day of your appointment and as our Service Agreement states – you will be charged the full fee of your session.  If you are unable to attend your appointment and do not give adequate notice, someone else in need of an appointment cannot be offered that time. Medicare and Private Health insurers do not rebate for appointments that have been canceled. We automatically deduct cancellation fees on the day of the scheduled appointment. 

Medicare will reimburse you up to 10 sessions per calendar year. In most cases, we can lodge your Medicare Rebate Claim for you after the session is completed. Medicare will then take 48-72 hours to deposit your rebate into the account you have registered with them. If we are unable to lodge Medicare Claims on your behalf, you will be given a paid invoice via email that you can take to your nearest Medicare office for claiming. Only individuals with a Mental Health Care Plan issued by their GP are eligible for the Medicare reimbursement. With a GP-approved mental health care plan, patients can receive a Medicare rebate of $93.35 a session with a general psychologist and $137.05 a session with a clinical psychologist

Please contact us directly for current session fees. Medicare rebates are available with a valid Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP — this allows you to claim a rebate on up to ten individual sessions per calendar year. Private health rebates may also be available depending on your level of cover; we recommend checking with your insurer. We do not currently offer NDIS-funded sessions.

Yes, our psychologists can write a letter or report covering your situation. These may be required for university, school, employers, insurers, court, or other purposes. Additional charges may apply to these reports, and they are not covered by Medicare. The cost will depend on the purpose and content of the report, however we provide some estimates on our fees/rebates page.The first session is devoted entirely to listening. Before anything else, I want to understand what sleep has been like for you — not just recently, but over time. What it was like before it became difficult. What the nights actually feel like, and what they cost you in the days that follow.
There are no worksheets, no sleep hygiene handouts, and no homework. The assessment itself is the work. By the end of the session I will have a much clearer picture of what’s happening for you, and we’ll begin to discuss what a tailored treatment approach might look like.
Most people find the first session feels quite different from what they expected — less clinical, more like a conversation in which they finally feel heard.

This is one of the most common questions I hear, and it deserves an honest answer.
CBT-I is the most evidence-based treatment available for insomnia, and it works for many people. But it doesn’t work for everyone — and when it doesn’t, or when the improvement doesn’t last, that’s rarely a failure of the person or even of the treatment itself. It’s usually a sign that treatment was working at the level of managing the sleep problem, rather than at the level of what originally created it.
The approach at Talking Sleep looks underneath CBT-I — at the nervous system, the history, the particular way this person’s relationship with sleep broke down — and builds the foundation that allows CBT-I to actually land and last. For people who have tried CBT-I before without lasting results, this integrative approach is often where things finally shift.
If you’ve been through a sleep programme and found yourself back where you started, that experience is worth talking about — not as a failure, but as important clinical information.

No referral is required to make an appointment at Talking Sleep Psychology. You are welcome to book directly at any time.
However, a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) from your GP does allow you to access Medicare rebates for up to ten individual psychology sessions per calendar year. If cost is a consideration, it is worth speaking with your GP before your first appointment. They can assess your eligibility and prepare the plan — a straightforward process for most people.
If you’re not sure whether a MHTP is right for you, feel free to contact us and we can help you think it through before you book.

Yes — and for sleep psychology specifically, Telehealth often works particularly well. Sleep is deeply connected to home, routine, and the particular environment where the difficulty is happening. Working via Telehealth means the conversation is happening close to that context, rather than in a clinic that is removed from it.
The evidence base for Telehealth delivery of CBT-I and related approaches is strong and growing. A secure, private Zoom session conducted from your own home can be just as therapeutically effective as an in-person appointment — and for many people, more so.
The most important thing is that you have a quiet, private space where you feel comfortable speaking openly. If you have any concerns about how Telehealth works before your first session, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.