The big cost question

When trying to find a psychologist to support your child, the question of how much is always forefront of your mind! It's a fair and reasonable question! Psychology assessments aren't cheap, so let's look at what you might expect to pay, and more importantly, what do you get for your investment?

I use the word 'investment' intentionally. You are paying for information, advice and guidance. This is an investment into your child's future. You may not see any immediate outcomes from your investment, but in the long run, the information should support you and your child's teachers to best understand and support them. Not only that, it will help your child understand themselves.

When you approach me for an assessment or support, you receive my knowledge, a commitment to gather the most useful information, and my time. This isn't just the time spent directly with you or your child; this is also the time I spend thinking about my assessment data, writing a report to explain the assessment in easy-to-read ways, emails or phone calls outside of my visits/sessions (no, I don't charge for these!) and also the time I spend seeking new knowledge and information that I think will help your child.

Once I have collected my assessment information, you will receive a comprehensive report explaining the information and my findings. This will also contain recommendations for where to next. I also provide a brief summary of the assessment to share with your child's teacher. The most important report is the one for your child - I provide an individualised report for you to share with your child, to explain the assessment they have just been through. Too often the child is left out of this process - given that it is all about them it is only fair that they get to hear what it was all about.

So, back to the $$ question. For a learning assessment that includes an initial consultation, 2 assessment sessions, feedback meetings and reports, you can expect to pay around $1400 incl GST. This will be a bit more if I also need to do a school observation or talk to their teacher.

A more comprehensive assessment, such as for Autism Spectrum Disorder, will cost more due to the additional assessments that need to be completed. A full assessment typically costs $1950 incl. GST.

I hope this answers any questions! Please feel free to contact me for any further clarification!