Frequently asked questions.

No. You are welcome to book directly without a referral and pay privately. However, if you would like to access Medicare rebates, you will need a Mental Health Care Plan and a referral letter from your GP. Booking a longer GP consultation gives them adequate time to prepare the plan with you.

Make an appointment with your GP and explain what you have been experiencing. If they consider it appropriate, they will complete a Mental Health Care Plan with you and provide a referral letter. Please bring both documents to your first session at Sage so the rebate can be processed correctly. Full detail is on our fees and rebates page.

There is no threshold you need to reach. People come to therapy for acute crises and for persistent low-level difficulties that have simply gone on long enough. If something is affecting your wellbeing, your relationships, or your ability to get on with life, that is reason enough.

Sage works exclusively with adults aged 18 and over. If you are seeking support for a young person, your GP can refer you to a psychologist who specialises in that age group.

The standard consultation fee is $180. With a Mental Health Care Plan, Medicare rebates $101.55 per session, bringing your out-of-pocket cost to $78.45. This gap is deliberately kept low, well below the Australian Psychological Society’s recommended fee of $300 per session.

Medicare covers up to ten individual sessions per calendar year for eligible clients. Your GP will typically refer you for six sessions initially. After those six, you return to your GP for a review to access the remaining four.

Sage processes your fee and lodges the Medicare claim on your behalf after each appointment. The rebate usually appears in your nominated account within 48 hours.

Rebates may be available depending on your fund and level of cover. Amounts vary considerably between providers, so it is worth contacting your health fund directly before your first session to confirm what you can claim. Note that you cannot claim both a Medicare rebate and a private health rebate for the same session.

Fees for these pathways are set according to each organisation’s current schedule and may differ from the private fee. Veterans holding a White or Gold Card can access up to twelve sessions initially with no out-of-pocket cost, bulk billed to DVA. Please let us know which pathway applies before your first appointment so we can confirm the details.

Sessions run for approximately 50 minutes. If you arrive late, your session may be shorter, and the full fee still applies, with any rebate potentially reduced.

Most people begin weekly or fortnightly, then space appointments out as things improve. There is no fixed schedule, and Jacob will discuss what is likely to suit you at your first session. Our what to expect page explains how therapy typically progresses.

We ask for at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule. With less than 48 hours’ notice and no reasonable explanation, 50% of the consultation fee applies. If you do not attend and give no notice, the full fee applies. Please note that Medicare and other third-party funders do not cover cancellation fees, so these remain your responsibility.

Yes. Jacob offers telehealth sessions by secure video across Western Australia, and Medicare rebates apply exactly as they do for in-person appointments.

Jacob draws on a range of evidence-based approaches, with particular focus on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and EMDR, alongside Schema Therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, DBT, and ACT. Rather than applying a single method, he selects and blends approaches to suit what you are working through.

Common areas of work include anxiety, trauma, depression, grief, stress, and difficulties with confidence or relationships.

Yes. As a registered psychologist, Jacob is bound by strict professional and legal obligations regarding your information. There are narrow legal exceptions, principally where there is a serious and imminent risk to safety, or where records are subpoenaed by a court. These will be explained clearly at your first session.

If you were referred under a Mental Health Care Plan, Jacob provides your GP with a brief progress letter after the initial sessions, as Medicare requires. These letters summarise progress and treatment direction rather than the detail of what you have discussed.