FAQs

A mental health treatment plan is a Medicare-directed process that involves a GP creating a plan for people experiencing mental health issues, so they can receive government rebates to support the cost of their treatment. You may also receive a specific referral to a psychologist or program, including the Executive Psychology burnout program.

If you have a mental health treatment plan you will receive Medicare rebates for the Executive Psychology residential retreat, wellbeing seminars, and individual consultations. 

Visit your GP and explain your symptoms of burnout and your doctor will assess whether you have a mental health condition. If your GP decides a mental health treatment plan is the best option to support you, your doctor will work with you to fill in the plan and set your treatment goals. Ask for a longer appointment when you make your booking, you usually need at least 20 minutes.

We suggest that you book a longer appointment with your GP (at least 20 minutes). This will allow you plenty of time to discuss your symptoms and general health and wellbeing with your doctor.

This list includes common symptoms of burnout:

• Fatigue, exhaustion, overwhelm

• Low mood, flat mood, reduced pleasure in the activities you used to enjoy

• Lower concentration, motivation, or performance

• Excessive worry, rumination or anxiety

• Lack of social interaction

• Irritability and anger

• Sleep issues

• Neglect of self-care

• Procrastination

• Physical signs like headaches, digestive issues, tight chest

• Pessimistic or cynical thinking

• Decreased appetite, drive, or sexual desire

• Increased alcohol and, or drug use.

There may be symptoms of your burnout that are not included in this list.

For participants with a mental health treatment plan, Executive Psychology will process the Medicare rebates on your behalf on the day of your appointment and the rebate will automatically be sent to the bank account you’ve nominated with Medicare, usually on the same day. 

Rebates are given on a per session basis. You can’t receive Medicare rebates for all the sessions upfront. After your first six appointments, you need to visit your GP again to review your mental health treatment plan, and if your doctor decides that you will benefit from further sessions you will receive a new referral. 

Medicare Safety Net is designed to provide additional financial relief for people with high medical expenses by further reducing their out-of-pocket costs. Once an individual or family reaches out-of-pocket medical expenses of $2184 or more in a calendar year, they are entitled to receive a substantially higher rebate from Medicare for medical services. 

In the example of the Executive Psychology program, participants with a mental health treatment plan will reach the Medicare Safety Net during, or by the end of, the residential weekend (i.e. out-of-pocket medical expenses of $2184 or more in a calendar year). After you have completed the residential, you will be entitled you to a substantially higher refund from Medicare for individual consultations and online wellbeing masterclasses. Please see the Pricing and Registration section of the website for more information. 

Residential and men’s meetings package

The following cancellation fees apply if participants cancel or reschedule the residential and men’s meetings package within these timeframes.

• More than 14 days: no cancellation fee. You can rebook another date with no additional charge. 

• 7 to 14 days: you will be charged a $1000 cancellation fee if no-one on the waitlist can fill the spot.

• Less than 7 days: you will be charged a $1500 cancellation fee if no-one on the waitlist can fill the spot.

Individual consultations and online wellbeing seminars

If participants cancel or reschedule individual consultations or online wellbeing seminars within the time frames below, these cancellations fees will apply:

• Two or more business days – no cancellation fee. Your session can be moved to another date free of charge.

• Between 24 to 48 business hours – you will be charged a cancellation fee of 50% of the cost of the session. 

• Less than 24 business hours – you will be charged the full fee of the session. 

The simplest way is to book, reschedule, or cancel an appointment is through the Appointments tab at the top of our website. If you prefer to do this by email, please contact our reception team at contact@executivepsychology.com.au. You may also book, reschedule, or cancel appointments during an individual consultation.  

The residential retreat is held at the House of Moons Nature Retreat and Spa Centre in Rosebank in the Byron hinterland. For more information, visit the website on http://www.byronevents.net/moons/

Executive Psychology books this venue for our residential retreats. The venue owner, Mali, provides the venue space, catering, and other services such as massage and Yoga classes. More information will be provided when you register for the residential retreat.

The residential is best accessed through Ballina-Byron Airport. It is a 45-minute drive from the Ballina-Byron Airport to the venue. The residential is also accessible through Gold Coast Airport (75-minute drive). A complimentary shuttle can be provided to and from the venue to Ballina-Byron Airport on certain flights from Sydney and Melbourne. We’ll send you further information when you register for the residential retreat.

There is no requirement to be present for the whole event but we highly recommend it as it’s an integral part of the Executive Psychology program. 

All accommodation during the residential is twin-share. You have options of either staying in the Main House or in a “Glamping” bell-tent. There is also an additional option of staying in your own “Glamping” bell-tent at an additional cost. We’ll send you more details about these options when you register.

Venue host and chef Mali will prepare vegan and vegetarian buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Please let us know on your registration forms if you have dietary requirements and we’ll pass this along to the chef. 

There’s nothing specific you need to know or do before coming. However during your initial consultation, your coaching psychologist may make recommendations for how best to prepare for the residential, including an action plan that you create together, and possibly some optional reading.

This program is created for high-performing men who are experiencing burnout. We recommend that you take our survey for a preliminary assessment of whether your symptoms are likely to be burnout. We also recommend that you browse this website to help you make your decision. You are also welcome to contact Mel in customer service for any further questions you may have.

During the initial individual consultation with a coaching psychologist you will have an opportunity to ask questions and decide if this is the right program for you. If you feel within the first 30 minutes of this initial consultation that the program is not what you’re after, you can end the consultation and there will be no charge.

Yes. There is 4G/3G mobile reception on the property, and WiFi within the Manor house. However, in the spirit of recovering from burnout and experiencing the full benefit of this program, we recommend you switch your devices off.

The individual consultation is a 50-minute appointment with a registered psychologist. Psychologists use evidence-based frameworks (such as coaching psychology, Acceptance and Commitment Training, positive psychology) to help clients navigate issues in their personal and work life that cause distress, impact their performance, and reduce their quality of life.

All sessions with a psychologist are confidential and aim to support a client to reset their nervous system, let go of what they don’t need, and connect with what is most important.

If you have a mental health treatment plan, you are entitled to a maximum of 20 coaching psychology sessions in a calendar year subsidised by Medicare. Your first referral to a coaching psychologist will approve six visits. If you would like further sessions, you will need to return to your GP to discuss your situation and they may provide you with another referral for additional sessions to extend your mental health treatment plan.

All coaching psychology sessions within the Executive Psychology program can be conducted via Telehealth by telephone or video conferencing.

It is important to have the right ‘fit’ with a coaching psychologist. If you don't feel comfortable with your current coaching psychologist, or it’s not working for you, you can try working with another coaching psychologist from our team. Dylan Arnot will be available for individual consultations as a coaching psychologist from mid-February 2012 onwards.

You may also ask your GP to refer you to another psychologist outside Executive Psychology. You can withdraw from sessions at any time.

The Executive Psychology men’s meetings are two-hour fortnightly online group meetings with the 10 participants from your residential. Important topics nominated by the participants during the residential will be explored during the men’s meetings. 

The process of each meeting includes:

Introducing a topic for discussion (we’ll also send you a short video before the session)

Brief guided mindfulness exercise to help you relax and focus 

Turn-taking where each participant has the opportunity to

1) discuss and share of one’s own experience (relating to the topic)

2) receive targeted feedback and advice on what we have shared

3) listen and learn of other’s experiences

4) provide feedback and advice to other men in the group (relating to the topic). 

The meeting concludeS with another brief mindfulness exercise. 

It’s not compulsory to attend these meetings, though we recommend them as they are integral to the Executive Psychology program. 

We recommend that you allocate two hours for each meeting in a quiet and private space where you can avoid all distractions. A fast and reliable internet connection is recommended. We’ll send you a five-minute video the week before each meeting to introduce the theme and invite you to reflect on this before we meet.

While we encourage you to actively participate during the meeting in the mindfulness activities, and by sharing and giving feedback to others, there’s no requirement to do this. You may simply choose to sit and listen throughout the meeting.

Yes, we understand that it’s not always possible to attend every men’s meetings from start to finish, though we do recommend you commit to the two-hours whenever possible to derive the maximum benefit.

Don't worry if you can’t make it to one or two meetings. While we recommend you join all of them, you’ll still be able to reflect on the weekly topic on your own, and if you‘d like to speak with the group to reflect on or contribute to a topic you missed, we may be able to incorporate that into the following fortnight’s meeting.