TAYLOR McCOMBE HOF
Clinical Psychologists
16 Francisco Crescent, Bull Creek WA 6149
Phone (08) 9310 3254
Fax (08) 9310 6048
e-mail admin@taylorhof.com.au
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Many people haven't consulted a Clinical Psychologist before, and the aim of this information is to provide you with some information about the way we work, and the Conditions of Service which are a part of our working together. If you have concerns about any of these conditions please don't hesitate to contact us, because they are not rigidly set in concrete, and we are willing to discuss any concerns you have so that we can arrive at something mutually acceptable. Put aside any reservations you may have about doing so, and call the principal of the firm, Graham Taylor, on his after hours number ((08) 9332 4094) if you want to discuss any points with him directly. It is difficult to contact Graham, Alexandra, Lisa or Helen personally during the day because, as you will learn when you come, we very rarely break a session with a client to take phone calls.
There are a number of different approaches to counselling and therapy, and we adopt only those approaches which have a sound foundation in psychological science and which have been shown to be effective in appropriate outcome research studies. Our main orientation is grounded in a cognitive-behavioural framework (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy), and we also make use of solution-orientated therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). (EMDR is a specialised treatment for the rapid resolution of trauma related problems). To see someone with a different orientation (e.g. psychoanalysis, dreamwork, Jungian therapy, Gestalt therapy, etc) we should be able to assist you with a referral.
We hope you find this information useful, and if there are any aspects of it which you would like to discuss before your initial consultation, including our Conditions of Service, please don't hesitate to contact the office. We look forward to meeting and working with you.
Graham was born in New Zealand in 1949 and completed his Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology in 1972. This was followed by two years work in alcohol treatment programmes before being appointed to a position as Research Clinical Psychologist, the first position of its kind in any New Zealand hospital. This new post enabled him to develop and evaluate new treatment programmes in many areas. His interests led him to develop programmes for anxiety disorders, shyness, weight problems, smoking cessation, and many other non-psychiatric problems. He came to Perth in 1979, and for three years worked in the Social and Preventive Medicine Unit of the Medical School at the University of Western Australia. Following this, he was Rehabilitation Manager at Good Samaritan Industries before commencing full time private practice in 1984. He was on the Executive of the Institute of Private Clinical Psychologists for over ten years, and was Director of Training for the W A Branch of the Australian Society of Hypnosis for seven years. He is currently on the Executive Committee of the Anxiety Disorders Foundation. He is heavily involved in therapist training and supervision, and regularly conducts workshops throughout Australia and overseas. For details of the areas in which he provides training see www.therapist-training.com.au
His main clinical interests are anxiety problems (including panic, agoraphobia, simple phobias, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder), low self esteem, depression, marital therapy, addictions, communication and assertion skills, and habit problems.
Lisa was born and educated in Western Australia, completing a Masters of Applied Psychology (Clinical) in 1998 at Murdoch University. Prior to completing her Masters degree Lisa gained experience working in Vocational Rehabilitation and as a Registered Nurse in the areas of General Medical / Surgical Nursing, High Dependency and Terminal Care.
Lisa’s special interests are adjustment to illness and injury, trauma, anxiety, depression, relationships, chronic pain, grief and fertility issues. Lisa also has extensive experience in Employee Assistance Programmes and the Worker’s Compensation sector.
Alex was born in Western Australia and studied for her degree at University of W.A, completing her Masters Degree at Curtin University. She has worked for more than twenty years in government and private enterprise before entering private practice in 1996. She has a wealth of experience on matters related to anxiety and stress, depression, problems with alcohol and other drugs, marital counselling, and rehabilitation issues. She has particular experience in workplace stress. For many years she worked for Woodside Energy in the occupational health field. She continues to consult to industry, and her clients include BHP, Woodside and a number of mining companies.
Helen worked in the Northern Territory as a Psychologist for over 10 years – working with unemployed adults and youth; in a hospital setting, dealing with a range of psychological issues for adults and children; and with welfare services assessing and assisting families who had experienced abuse and neglect.
She currently works part-time at Woodside Energy, providing staff counselling on work place stress, relationships, anxiety, and depression. Helen is available at the practice on Tuesdays (school hours). Her special interests include working with children and parents, particularly in the area of anxiety. She is also interested and has extensive experience in working with trauma, anxiety, workplace stress, depression, relationships, personal development and self esteem.
Bruce is the newest member of our team. He holds a Doctor of Psychology from Murdoch University and has worked as a Psychologist for 8 years. Bruce’s special interests include anxiety, worry, depression and the subsequent health implications. Bruce’s psychological experience is derived from work within multiple hospital teams, Worker’s Compensation and disability settings.
Bruce is highly skilled in assisting children, adolescents and adults identify and manage their anxiety, stress and relationship conflict. These challenging emotions and conflicts can lead to feelings of emptiness, loss of direction, and the breakdown of otherwise well functioning relationships. Negative psychological states can also reduce self-esteem, confidence, self-identity and / or the capacity for scholastic ability and employment.
Bruce works 2 days per week at Woodside in the Employee Assistance Programme and is available for consultations on Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Bull Creek practice.
Your Consultations AND HOW WE WORK WITH YOU
Appointments are spaced at hourly intervals, and you will be seen for about 50-55 minutes, with the extra time devoted to making case notes, and other administrative matters. If your therapist is running late, you will still receive full time, or some similar arrangement will be made, to be fair to you. It's not unusual for us to be a little late towards the end of the morning and afternoon sessions.
Clinical Psychology shouldn't be a mysterious affair, and we don't want you to feel anxious about coming to see us. Your initial consultation will begin with getting a description of what is troubling you. We are interested in aspects of your behaviour, thinking, emotions and relationships which are creating difficulties for you now, how these difficulties have developed, and how you have attempted to manage these up until now.
Before you first attend we invite you to think forward to the time when you don’t have the problem. What changes do you want to make in your behaviour, emotions, ways of thinking and (perhaps) relationships. Take some time to reflect on what you really want in your life, what values you ideally want your life to reflect. Try to be as specific as possible about this. Bring any notes you make along to your first appointment. We will listen carefully, clarify the issues, then share with you our understanding of the problem, and how it can be overcome. We will also try to give you an indication as to how long this might take. At the first session we will almost always get to the process of your starting to learn how to take charge of your problem and to make changes.
Our therapy has an emphasis on the short term resolution of problems, and your therapist will encourage you to make use of home practice between sessions. This work will involve such things are reading, audio or video tapes, doing structured exercises to identify and change the patterns of behaviour, thinking or feeling, keeping a record of events which trigger off the problematic reactions, and the like. This work is a vital part of your therapy programme. One of the aims of therapy is to teach you skills you have not had the chance to learn before, so that you can overcome your problems by using new information and skills in your own life.
In a nutshell, the therapeutic contract is that you learn how to solve your problems, and the therapist's task is to teach you how to do so, so that they become redundant. The more effectively you can work on your side of the contract between sessions, the more rapidly we will both achieve our goal. If you are having problems with doing the homework between sessions, please feel comfortable to call.
As you can see, we encourage you to take an active role in changing, and if this is something you are not willing to take on, then you will not like our approach to therapy. We will not ignore your past, as it is often very important in understanding how you have got to the present, but we will not spend long hours discussing it. What you learned from the past; the emotional pain, your perspective of yourself, life skills, relationship skills, etc. are important, and issues from the past can be resolved, and your life now and in the future can be different. The focus of our work together will be on what you can do to overcome the effects of the past, and to develop beliefs and behaviours more useful to your life and relationships now.
One of our favourite quotes sums up our approach to therapy; “If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. For a change do something different, and do something different for a change.” Thus, we focus on short term therapy that will promote change in a systematic way. Once the agreed change has been achieved, we will conclude our work with a consideration of the strategies necessary to maintain and extend that change.
Our rooms are at 16 Francisco Crescent, Bull Creek, opposite the Child Health Centre, which is situated in the grounds of Bull Creek Primary School. We are 5 minutes walk from the Bull Creek Shopping Centre where the Circle Route bus passes every 15 minutes. The rooms are in a normal residential house, used exclusively for the practice. There are no signs indicating the nature of the business. Please park off the street - there is ample room for this. Come straight into the waiting room and take a seat. Our Receptionist is here from 9.00am to 4.00pm, Monday to Thursday but if you have an appointment after that time you will be expected, and we will attempt to keep on time.
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All information and records regarding you are kept strictly confidential. We will not release any information about you to anyone except with your authority. There are some qualifications to this. If you were referred by a Medical Practitioner (or some other professional) we will usually send them an initial report, and provide regular reports of your progress. This report is a normal professional courtesy to the referring doctor or agency. It may be appropriate to liaise with them regarding related medical issues and medication.
Where the cost of your consultations is covered by an insurance company, regular reports are required by them. You are welcome to a copy of any report that is written concerning you. If there are particular issues that come up in your therapy that you do not wish to have written about, please indicate this to your therapist.
If you are involved in a Court case and a psychologist appears on your behalf, or if we are subpoenaed to appear in Court, psychologist's records have no special legal privilege. We would not be allowed to withhold from the Court any information you have given us.
If you have Ancillary Cover with a private health insurance fund, you may claim a rebate for Clinical Psychology services. Clients should contact the relevant health fund for the latest rebate rates quoting the item code for an individual consultation of AO70.
Medicare rebates are only available if your GP has prepared a Mental Health Care Plan, Item No. 2710. Please consult your GP regarding this matter if required.
These Conditions of Service cover the matters of Fees, Broken Appointments, and Services paid for by a Third Party. Your acceptance of your initial appointment is taken as your Acknowledgement and Agreement to these Conditions of Service. Any variation must be made before your first appointment.
The current fee at this practice is $190 for a standard session of 55 minutes. Shorter or longer sessions are charged proportionately less or more. No charge is made for telephone time to clear up homework problems. Payments may be made by cheque, cash, EFTPOS, Mastercard or Visa. We can accept credit card payments by phone.
If your account remains unpaid after 14 days we will attempt to contact you. Outstanding accounts unpaid after 30 days are referred to our lawyer for collection. A legal and administration fee is added to your account to cover our initial costs referring the matter to our lawyer.
If you fail to keep your appointment without giving any notice, the full session fee will be charged, with the normal discount applying for payment within 7 days of the date of the invoice.
If you want to change or cancel an appointment, we require two full working days notice, to give us reasonable time to fill that time slot. Our “working days” when the Receptionist is in attendance are Monday to Thursday, from 9.00am - 4.00pm. The practice phone (08) 9310 3254 is diverted to an answering service at all other times, and messages are not collected until 9.00am the next working day.
Cancellations or changes made on the answering service will be deemed to have been made at the start of the next working day.
Occasionally people are prevented from keeping an appointment because of sudden illness or unexpected emergencies. If this happens to you, please contact the rooms or after hours number as soon as possible, and the fee will be waived. If you do not notify us of your inability to attend before your scheduled time, we will treat your non-arrival as a broken appointment, and the standard fee will apply.
SERVICES PAID BY A THIRD PARTY
If you were referred under Worker’s Compensation or Motor Vehicle Accident insurance our practice is to bill direct to the insurer, but you are still ultimately responsible for meeting your account. Thus it is important that you ensure that (1) your claim has been accepted by the insurer, and (2) that they will pay for psychological services. If these conditions are not met, the account will be your responsibility.
Please note that insurance companies will not cover fees for short notice cancellations and missed appointments, which will be charged to the individual, at the standard rates.
Workcover have set a fee per standard consultation, and this is normally paid by the insurer. If there are additional fees, for example, weekend consultations, tapes or CDs to assist in your therapy, extensive photocopying, they may not cover these. Any gap is payable by yourself.