Welcome to Psychology Services at TBI Health, We offer psychology to people having difficulties getting better after an injury or managing a pain or health issue. It’s common to struggle with this and many people seek support from Psychology at TBI Health
Our psychologists also work with people who do not have injuries
and need help for other reasons.
Some challenges our psychology team can help with are:
- Fear and worry about getting injured again
- Understanding and getting used to changes in the body
- Dealing with thoughts like “will this ever get better?”
- Handling difficult emotions like frustration and low mood
- Feeling like you can’t do meaningful things like work, hobbies, and spending time
with loved ones - Difficulties with things linked to the injury/event like memories, talking about it,
visiting places, and similar activities
Our psychology team will work with you to understand any difficulties you might be havingand any changes you could make to help you manage these.
What do Psychologists do?
To understand more about your challenges, our psychologists will ask you questions about your thoughts, emotions, physical changes in your body and how you act. After this, we can offer you proven tools for you to try, to help tackle your goals
The First Psychology Session
It’s normal to feel nervous about your first appointment, but we hope we are able to make you feel as comfortable as possible. You’re welcome to bring a support person with you and make suggestions to your psychologist so that we can make the space right for you (e.g. karakia, settling breath to start, or a cup of tea). The first appointment is where we learn about you, explore the difficulties you are having, and get to know your background. We also may ask you to complete some questionnaires. Generally, this appointment is about an hour to an hour and a half.
If you and your psychologist think more sessions would be helpful, you can discuss treatment and create a plan together. If there is a service that might suit you better, we can talk about this with you and may recommend a referral to somewhere else. The referral will be completed with your consent and onsultation.
Follow-Up Sessions
Psychology has many ways to help you reach your goals. At TBI, we use an ‘active approach’, meaning more than just talking. The tools we offer are like a car. The car won’t move unless you step into the driver’s seat and take the wheel. Some of the main things we can offer in the sessions are:
- A safe space to talk through your experiences; and
- Support to help you problem-solve solutions; and
- Information about skills and techniques to try.
Your psychologist may offer strategies to try that you can take home, practice and use to create changes in your life. Treatment sessions are usually between 45 and 50 minutes.
Protecting your Privacy
Your privacy is very important to us and what you share in sessions is confidential to TBI Health. All digital client information is securely stored and protected within our cloud based practice management system. Any and written information is scanned and then shredded.
Please refer to our Privacy Statement for further information:
No information is shared without your permission.
Please note that part of our consent form includes consent to speak with other parties, such as your TBI Health treatment team, ACC case manager, doctor and/or specialist.
There are some limitations to confidentiality, which include:
- Safety Concerns;
- Professional Supervision;
- Contractual Obligations;
If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your psychologist.
Attending Appointments
Please try to attend all your appointments as this helps keep and progress going that you make.
If you cannot attend an appointment, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible (with more than 24 hours’ notice). Psychology appointment slots are in high demand, so if you can’t make it, we’d like to give it to someone else. If attendance is difficult for you, we can often try to work with you to figure out ways to get to sessions To make sure we do right by the people waiting for sessions, TBI Health has the following policy for attendance: If you don’t attend (without letting us know) twice in a row, we will have to think about putting you back on our waitlist so another client can use the spot.
If your sessions are funded by someone else party (e.g. ACC), we have to let them know the appointment has not been attended or cancelled within 24 hours. Several unattended/missed sessions or late cancellations might mean treatment is ended early.
Satisfaction and Complaints
Our team works hard to give excellent service, so your feedback is important to us. If you have any feedback, please let your Psychologist know.
You can also give feedback to our National Quality and Compliance Manager by emailing quality@tbihealth.co.nz.
If you have raised concerns with us and are not satisfied with the outcome, please let us know.
Alternatively, contact the Health and Disability Commissioner (0800 11 22 33).