Services Offered by Whites & Associates Psychologists

(i) Psycho-legal reports

Psycho-legal reports involve assessments undertaken by a registered psychologist who has appropriate training, qualifications and experience in Forensic Psychology and is recognized by the court as an “expert witness”.

Assessments may be for criminal, family or civil matters.

For criminal matters issues may relate to bail application, fairness of police interview, mental Impairment (fitness / competency), sentencing and rehabilitation.
In civil matters the assessment focuses on measuring the psychological impact an accident or trauma (e.g. work accident , motor vehicle accident or victim of crime) may have upon a person's psychological state and the associated effect of this on the person's daily functioning.
In family matters the issues for assessment usually concern the child's living arrangements and issues related to risk factors associated with the parents.

Requests for psycho-legal reports should be made by a legal representative to ensure that all legal elements of issues are considered (Legal Practitioner referral).

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(ii) Forensic Psychology Assessments

Forensic Psychology Assessments relate to assessing an individual for problems in areas of:

Problem-gambling,
Violence-risk assessment,
Security screening,
Sex-offending risk,
Substance-abuse risk,
Suicidal behaviour,
Mental health problems,
Personality problems.

Depending upon the purpose of the forensic psychology assessment referrals can be either made by a legal representative (Legal practitioner referral) or an individual (General referral).

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(iii) Medicare Mental Health Treatment

Medicare Mental Health treatmentinvolves specialist psychological assessment and treatment (individual and/or group based) that is funded through the Australian Government Mental Health treatment scheme, and is available for individuals for a maximum of 12 sessions per calendar year. Referrals for this service require the patient's General Practitioner to first complete a "Mental Health Care Plan" (Medicare item number 2710) before psychological treatment can begin (Medical Practitioner referral).

For patients referred for individual treatment under this scheme the following categories of Mental Health problem are identified by the scheme:

Anxiety problems (e.g. Adjustment disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobic Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder),
Mood problems (e.g. Bereavement disorder and Depressive disorder),
Behavioural problems (e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Eating Disorders and Sleep Problems)
Addiction problems (Drug use disorders and Alcohol Use disorders).

If the Mental Health treatment involves a group based therapy intervention (10 sessions), the size of groups is usually limited to 8-10 patients and may relate to specific Mental Health problems including:

Behavioural problems (Anger & Violence, Impulse control difficulties),
Adjustment problems (Trauma, loss & grief Relationship breakdowns),
Addiction problems (e.g. Gambling, Drugs, Sex addictions),
Lifestyle changes (e.g. Weight control, Diet, Substance abuse).

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(iv) Mental Health Assessments

Mental Health assessments clarify the nature of an individual's psychological problem. It involves the use of standardized psychological tests that will include both personality based instruments and clinical self-report instruments.

The assessment may also include objective measures of an individual's ability in areas of intelligence, perception and memory and specialist neuropsychological tests to assess the individual's brain functioning and ability to learn. Such assessments are most relevant in cases where some brain injury has occurred (e.g. head injury from an accident, or medical trauma such asdementia, stroke, etc). Referrals for general Mental Health assessment should be made by the patient’s Medical Practitioner (Medical Practitioner referral) or by the patient or family of the patient (General referral).

Fees for this service are based on those recommended by the Australian Psychological Society Ltd and may in part be covered by Private Heath Insurance. In general, this assessment is not covered under Medicare.

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(v) Vocational Psychology assessments

Vocational Psychology assessments aim to assist with career selection or career guidance and involve psychometric testing that include specialist 'aptitude' and 'vocational Interest' assessment.

Fees for these assessments are based on Australian Psychological Recommended fees (APS fee rate) or Workcover fees (Workcover Fee rate) depending upon the referral source.

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(vi) Sport Psychology Programs

Sport Psychology Programs are individual or team based programs that aim to improve the performance of the individual or team using established psychological interventions.

Individual assessments measure psychological strengths and weakness of the individual for his or her specific field of sporting competition. This may incorporate measuring personality type, cognitive ability, perceptual ability and motivation.

Individual and group based interventions (Sport Psychology programs) aim to improve the athlete's ability to control arousal, goal-set, self-motivate and develop better mental skills relevant to the athlete's sport.

Sports & organisations for which specialist consultation has been provided include:

Australian Football (AFL / SANFL)
Cricket (District level)
Golf (Pennant teams)
Athletics (Middle distance running)
Tennis (Pennant level)
Swimming (State level)
Touch Football (State Level)
Poker (Professional)
South Australian Institute of Sport (Research)
Australian Institute of Sport (Research)

Fees charged for Sport Psychology services are based on Australian Psychological Recommended fees (APS Fee Rate) and may be group and/or individual.

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Details associated with the services are listed below:

Psycho-legal reports

Forensic Psychology Assessments

Medicare Mental Health Treatment

Mental Health Assessments

Vocational Psychology assessments

Sport Psychology Programs