Currently, the Australian Government doesn't include counselling or lived experience services under the Medicare rebate model. This means Mental Health Care Plans cannot be used with us or similar services.

On the upside, we’ve intentionally set our rates to be lower than the average psychologist’s out-of-pocket cost. Even without a rebate, you’ll likely find our sessions more affordable. Plus, unlike Medicare (which caps at 10 sessions), our pricing stays consistent year round, so you can access more than 10 sessions a year at a reasonable price.

We can invoice anyone who is self-managed or plan managed.

Sessions can be funded under the following NDIS items:

Increased Social and Community Participation - Community Participation Activities, Item Number: 09_011_0125_6_3 (Any practitioner in our team)
Improved Daily Living Skills - Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training – Counsellor, Item Number: 15_043_0128_1_3 (Peer Counsellors only)
Core - Disability-Related Health Supports - Other Professional, Item Number: 01_741_0128_1_3 (Lived Experience Practitioners only)
Improved Daily Living Skills - Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training – Other Professional, Item Number: 15_056_0128_1_3 (Lived Experience Practitioners only)

The pricing regardless of which item number you access is $90 for 30mins, $140 for 50mins, $200 for 80mins

These can be booked online, or you can email us directly at info@therapyshmerapy.com.au to book these.

Why is the price different to the private-paying fees? The service we provide under the NDIS is different to our private-paying services, so that we can comply with NDIA regulations. This includes but is not limited to; developing and managing service agreements, admin time spent on invoicing management, liasing with plan managers, and care teams.

The pricing set complies with the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025-26.

We’ve put a lot of heart into keeping our fees as low as possible while ensuring our service remains sustainable for the long run. Here’s exactly where your money goes:

Supporting our team: The vast majority of your fees directly fund our practitioners’ pay, superannuation, and taxes. We’re incredibly proud that this money directly supports trans, gender-diverse, and neurodivergent professionals! This also covers ongoing training so our team can keep growing.
Operational Overheads: A portion covers essential operational costs, including software, accounting fees, and GST.
Mutual Aid: Any profit is directly redistributed to grassroots organisations, prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander initiatives, trans/gender-diverse communities, disabled people, and migrant communities.

Last updated: 9 June 2026.

The wait time depends on which practitioner you’d like to work with and your own availability. Generally, we hope to get everyone into a suitable session within a week.

You can view our available appointments by navigating to our online booking system,here.

Currently, Claire and Avanthi have closed their bookings to new people. You can join their waitlists by emailing info@therapyshmerapy.com.au.

Thalia is happy to provide a free 10-15min phone or video chat prior to booking if you have questions about the service, need a hand with deciding which practitioner to choose, or want to vibe check us.

Please email us at info@therapyshmerapy.com.au to organise this.

We can offer this, but this varies by state and territory.

Currently, most of our Peer Counsellors are eligible to provide support through Victoria’s Financial Assistance Scheme. Please contact us at info@therapyshmerapy.com.au if you would like to access this.

Thalia is approved to provide support through Victim Services NSW (18+ only).

No other states and territories are available at this time. Lived Experience Practitioners are not eligible to provide these services according to state governments.

We are only trained to provide individual support. We can work with each person individually and with separate practitioners, but not all in the same session with the same practitioner.

We can do sessions through webchat only, but availability and access needs vary by practitioner. Please email info@therapyshmerapy.com.au to check before booking.

Not at all! While our practice was created to fill a gap for specialised support within the neurodivergent and LGBTQIASB+ communities, and our entire team identifies with both, we welcome everyone.

Neuroaffirming approaches are by nature effective for every brain as it’s all about figuring out what works best for you brain, and adapting our methods to fit you.

Cisgender and heterosexual people are also welcome to access our service.

At Therapy Shmerapy, the distinction between a Peer Counsellor and a Lived Experience Practitioner is minimal in practice, and this is by design:

All of our Peer Counsellors intentionally use their lived/living mental health experience in their sessions.
All of our Lived Experience Practitioners have extensive experience working in mental health and supporting people through complex mental health experiences.

Regardless of their title, both roles are designed to support you by prioritising connection and skill-building. The distinction between a Peer Counsellor and a Lived Experience Practitioner at Therapy Shmerapy is based purely on formal qualifications and registration status. Their differing credentials don't change their shared value. We consider both approaches equally vital, and charge the same price for both services.

If you’re unsure which to choose from, we recommend looking through our Meet the Team page to see which practitioner you feel most drawn to work with. Research has shown time-and-time-again that having a good connection with your practitioner is invaluable in comparison to their job title.

We do not generally suggest a minimum or maximum amount of sessions for our services. They can be as long-term, short-term or sporadic as you like.

There is a connotation that mental health support is time limited (eg. 10 sessions maximum, or for 3 months maximum) but this comes from government services that will only fund a certain amount of support per person. This does not apply to our service, and is a big reason why we do not pursue a government funded model. We believe that as long as we are working together well and you are finding it helpful, we will continue to work with you as you see fit.

Similarly, we do not have a minimum amount of sessions. This means you can try one or two sessions, and if you're not feeling it you do not need to book back in. It is completely up to you.

Work - We’re a small group and don’t often look for new people to join our team. When we do, we will post on our Instagram, @therapyshmerapyau, and on Ethical Jobs. Please note, we only hire Counsellors and Peer Workers.

Volunteers - We don’t have volunteers in our team. We believe everyone should be paid for their time especially considering we are all neurodivergent and trans/gender-diverse.

Placement - We’re always open to discussing placement opportunities with people. Please email thalia@therapyshmerapy.com.au to see if we can host your placement. Please note, we cannot host Social Work or Psychology placements. We also have a strong preference for neurodivergent and trans/gender-diverse placement students.