Your Disability Psychology is a niche practice that focuses on psychological assessment, and in particular, disability assessment.

Since the practice works with a wide range of disabilities, clients are seen in their homes and where appropriate, offered telehealth options (phone + videoconferencing).

A WORD FROM YOUR PSYCHOLOGIST - TULSI ACHIA

I bring 20 years of experience in community, hospital, social research, and policy settings. Together with my lived experience of an invisible disability (chronic neuropathic pain of the spine), the practice was designed to cater to the unique needs of the disability community in a manner that is prompt, flexible, cost-effective, clinically rigorous and equitable.

I continue to evolve my practice to meet the changing demands of the disability sector. Read more about my background here.

Your Disability Psychology was created in 2021, after I recognised a gap in the way standard psychological practice provided service to the NDIS/disability community.

Being a psychologist and living with a disability myself (read here) my conversations with NDIS specialists and service providers suggested that the disability community needed a certain type of input from psychology with the following elements:

Brief and purpose-built. Whilst many people with psychosocial disabilities need ongoing therapeutic care to manage their symptoms, many others with severe mental illness need brief clinical consultation to inform daily supports (such as those provided by carers). These daily adaptive strategies help them manage their symptoms, risk levels, and a certain level of functioning to ensure quality of life.

Flexible and accessible. A practice that caters to the disability community, needs to account for wide ranging disability needs such as sensory needs of clients, cognitive needs, mobility needs, geographical reach, etc.

Speaks the language of formal disability support systems. The NDIS and the Disability Support Pension scheme have their own language, legislation, and criteria for funding, and requires the healthcare system (both private and public) to speak the same language in order to provide appropriate supports.

Adding value. Adding value to not just the lives of participants with a psychosocial disability, but also adding value to the system providing disability care, such as support coordinators, other allied health professionals, recovery coaches, and support workers.

The practice is thus set up to account for the above needs of the disability community.

I primarily work with adults (18+ years), except in the case of autism diagnostic assessments (6+ years).

My client base typically consists of the following:

• Adults looking to obtain a diagnosis of mental health conditions and support recommendations.

• Adults looking to access the NDIS, Services Australia (DSP–disability support pension), and university-based disability supports.

• Current NDIS participants with psychosocial disabilities.

• Current NDIS participants with other types of disabilities that have a psychosocial/cognitive component (e.g. mental health and behavioural changes in patients with strokes, acquired brain injury, etc.).

• Functional Capacity Assessments.

• Assessment of neurodivergence such as ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

• Intellectual disabilities

• Trauma and dissociative disorders.

• Depressive, anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorders.

• Cognitive impairment and behavioural disturbances associated with neurocognitive disorders such as dementia, parkinson’s disease and acquired brain Injury.

• Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

• Substance use disorders co-occurring with above mentioned diagnoses

SEE FULL LIST OF ASSESSMENTS

The practice’s niche focus on disability assessment means that you can expect high-quality and detailed reports that are compliant with the requirements of the NDIS, Services Australia (for DSP–Disability Support Pension), University Disability Services, and other funding bodies.

• Diagnostic and/or cognitive assessment reports for non-disability clients.

• Reports to apply for Disability Support pension (DSP) or apply for Indefinite Portability of Disability Support Pension.

• NDIS therapy and support recommendations for the plan year.

• NDIS plan variations, change of circumstance, and re-assessments.

• NDIS disability housing and living arrangements (e.g. SIL).

• QCAT decision-making capacity reports.

• Applying for disability-based exceptions and supports at university.

Mobile service

The practice is home-visit based in order to ensure that the assessment process is accessible across disabilities, comfortable, and based on observations of you in your everyday environment.

Short wait-lists

As an assessment-only practice, it has quicker turn-around times compared to standard treatment-based psychology practices. As a result, there is fresh capacity for new referrals every 2-3 weeks.

Expertise in disability assessment and reporting

Because the practice specialises in psychosocial disability assessments, it is my my job to have in-depth knowledge of the language, legislation, and requirements of the NDIS and indeed other funding bodies relevant to formal mental health supports.

High quality reports

The practice also takes care to liaise with other health professionals involved in the care of clients. I use assessment data from the past, get a comprehensive history, and contextualise it to the present. That way, the report you have in hand, is useful to you not only in the present but also in the future.

While Your Disability Psychology is primarily a home-visit based practice, I see people via tele-health and in-office as well.

For home-visits I see people in the following areas:

Brisbane

Ipswich

Gold Coast

Logan

Redland

Moreton Bay regions

For remote service or tele-health options see here.