FAQs
General Questions
Please get in touch with reception – our screening interview can assist you to explore your experiences and guide you through next steps.
The Divergent Edge has a collaborative working relationship with a range of psychiatrists, including telehealth psychiatry.
YES! Our team have a variety of professional backgrounds and offer neurodivergent affirming therapy, counselling and ADHD coaching
Yes we have several experienced facilitators, trainers and teachers on our team, and can customise training to suit your organisation or school’s needs.
The Divergent Edge provides facilitated online group work for ADHD coaching and ADHD group counselling, autism therapeutic peer support and ADHD / autistic creative art therapy groups
We have a collaborative partnership with a telehealth ADHD psychiatrist
A health professional with clinical training in mental health and assessment: this could be a psychiatrist, social worker trained in clinical assessment with a neurodivergent specialty or psychologist, or occasionally a GP (with a specialty in mental health). Assessment processes for establishing ADHD in adults vary, with a range of clinical tools utilised, however the diagnosis must be supported by meeting the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-V.
At present in Australia, in order to be prescribed medication for ADHD, all clients must engage with a psychiatrist. This is regardless of whether you have been assessed elsewhere, as GPs are unable to directly prescribe and treat ADHD with stimulant medications. Gps are frequently delegated authority to manage / prescribe stimulant medications after initial approval by a psychiatrist. The details of these arrangements vary from state to state in Australia.
No, within our team we have several staff members able to provide ADHD assessment. These staff have both social work (mental health and clinical specialties) and psychology backgrounds. The process undertaken by all staff providing assessment is consistent and has received clinical endorsement via thorough peer review from both psychiatry and clinical psychology.
We are a neurodivergent affirming organisation, and all services are provided by clinicians with ADHD. Feedback from our clients indicates they find our style of interview, assessment, coaching and counselling engaging, positive and validating in comparison to many services with a neurotypical focus.
There is much to be done to maximise your strengths as a neurodivergent adult. The Divergent Edge advocates that for most adults, combination of the right medications, affirming professional support for your transition through a late diagnosis, and the development of a host of strategies to hack your executive dysfunction can be life changing.
ADHD treatment for managing your lifestyle, diet and nutrition, wellbeing and career is available at The Divergent Edge.
ADHD affects adults in a variety of ways, depending on your ADHD presentation (inattentive / combined or hyperactive), your biochemistry, your social experiences and the impact of compensation strategies through structured environments, high IQ, or over-management strategies. ADHD is primarily a condition which impacts on our ability to REGULATE focus, attention, behaviours and emotions.
Examples are:
- High levels of chronic stress
- Life feeling ‘unrelenting’
- Difficulties with managing your emotions or frustrations
- Irritability
- Oversharing
- Difficulties with administration, planning and prioritising
- Memory difficulties
- Poor time awareness / constantly running late / underestimating how long something will take
- Procrastination and inertia on tasks
- Leaving things until the last minute
- Restlessness (external or internal)
- Always feeling that you need to be doing something
- Trouble managing appointments
- Losing things
- Over Managing many of the above so they don’t happen
No. Our services are for adults only. We work with neurodivergent adults across all life stages, including those navigating late diagnosis, parenting, career, relationships, and midlife transitions. If you’re looking for support for a child or young person, we’re happy to help point you in the right direction. Just get in touch.
Funding & Medicare
Yes. If you have a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) from your GP, you can access Medicare-rebated counselling sessions with our Accredited Mental Health Social Workers. The rebate covers a portion of the session fee, and your out-of-pocket cost is the gap between our fee and the Medicare rebate.
A Mental Health Care Plan is a document your GP creates with you to outline your mental health needs, set goals, and refer you to an eligible mental health professional. It’s part of the Australian Government’s Better Access initiative and gives you access to Medicare-rebated therapy sessions. You might also hear it called an MHTP (Mental Health Treatment Plan). They’re the same thing. Your GP can set one up in a single longer appointment.
With a Mental Health Care Plan, you can access up to 10 individual Medicare-rebated sessions per calendar year (January to December). Your GP refers you for an initial 6 sessions. After a review, they can refer you for up to 4 more. Unused sessions don’t carry over to the next year.
No. You don’t need an existing diagnosis. Your GP can assess your needs during the appointment and determine whether a Mental Health Care Plan is appropriate. If you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, burnout, emotional dysregulation, or stress, that’s enough to start the conversation.
Yes. While ADHD itself is classified as a neurodevelopmental condition, many people with ADHD experience co-occurring anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, or burnout, all of which are covered under a Mental Health Care Plan. Our clinicians work with the full picture, not just a single label.
Both are eligible Medicare providers under the Better Access initiative. Psychologists and accredited mental health social workers can both provide evidence-based therapy. At The Divergent Edge, our mental health social workers offer neurodivergent-affirming counselling with a focus on the whole person in context: relationships, systems, identity, and lived experience. Visit our Fees & Funding page for more on practitioner types.
Beyond Medicare, some of our services can be accessed through NDIS (self-managed or plan-managed), JobAccess (Employee Assistance Fund), and private health fund rebates. Visit our Fees & Funding page for details on each pathway.
