What is a Provisional Psychologist?

A provisional psychologist has studied a minimum 5 years in tertiary education and is completing the final year of their psychology education under direct supervision and has obtained “provisional” registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). This means they can practice as a provisional psychologist whilst undertaking an internship program as they develop their applied skills “on the job” or professional practice. This can be one to two years of higher supervision with our fully registered senior psychologists to ensure they have additional support in skill development, ethical practice and our clients receive effective and appropriate psychological treatment.

At Starlight Psychology, our provisional psychologists have been selected for their genuine passion in helping people and making a difference in people’s lives. They have professional and life experience working with mental health concerns and experiences in a counselling role in a broad range of presenting concerns, like our registered general psychologists. Our provisional psychologists have met the registration standards outlined by AHPRA and they are required to continue to do extensive professional development during their internship to learn new ways and approaches to support our clients. Once they complete their provisional requirements and have met the competency framework, they will become a general fully registered psychologist.

Meet our new provisional Psychologist, Karen Leung who is also registered and qualified Counsellor.

Benefits of seeing a provisional psychologist:

• Shorter wait times, quicker access to appointments and mental health support
• Frequent support and supervision with one or more senior psychologist who have completed extensive training required to be Psychology Board of Australia Approved Supervisors.
• Our provisional psychologists are recently trained with up-to-date knowledge of various evidence-based therapy approaches to be able to customise your treatment and achieve your therapy goals.
• Lower session fee than our standard consult fee because there is no Medicare or Private Health Insurance rebate for sessions with provisional psychologist and they are not limited in the number of sessions they can provide.
• No referral is required because sessions with provisional psychologist is not eligible for Medicare rebates. However, we welcome your doctor’s referral to help us understand what you are seeking help with.
• NDIS approved therapy - our provisional Psychologists can provide therapeutic support under ‘Improved Daily Living’, and they will be able to bill under item 15_043_0128_1_3 Counselling, currently $156.16 for NDIS Self-Managed.

Should I see the provisional psychologist instead of a fully registered psychologist?

At Starlight Psychology, our priority is always the client, and we will ask our clients questions to understand their needs and concerns and match with the psychologist with the right mix of skills, experiences, and approaches. A provisional psychologist will be able to help a broad variety of clients to gain practical experiences. In some cases, we may recommend one of the fully registered psychologists who has more experience with a particular diagnosis or concern, or complex cases that require specific knowledge or better scheduling availability.

Please contact our practice to discuss or book an appointment.