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Who to call, what each service is for, what happens when you ring, and what to do if you'd rather not talk or you're worried about someone else.

Therapy and support in Australia that costs nothing or close to it — phone and chat services, headspace, community health, university clinics, workplace programs, Open Arms and free or low-cost online courses.

How you find out officially whether a condition fits: what a diagnosis is needed for, who can diagnose, what an assessment involves, where it's harder to get, and what to weigh up before deciding.

What headspace centres offer, what they cost and when a Medicare card matters, how to get an appointment without a referral, what happens at a first visit, how eheadspace works, and what to do about the wait.

Where to search for a psychologist, counsellor or social worker in Australia, how to check in two minutes that someone is registered, what to do when every practice has closed its books, and how to get seen faster.

What a Mental Health Treatment Plan is, what it gets you, who can have one, how to ask your GP for one, the rules that aren't obvious, and what happens when the sessions run out.

What to bring, the forms you'll sign, what your therapist will ask, the safety question and what it does and doesn't lead to, how paying and claiming work, what telehealth first sessions are like, and how to decide whether to go back.

How therapy fees and Medicare rebates work in Australia, what practitioners typically charge, what people actually pay on top, other ways to pay, and what to ask about cost before you book.

What to say on the phone or in an email, what a practice will ask you, what you don't have to explain, what to ask about fees and waiting, and what to do if a phone call is the thing stopping you.

What each profession is trained to do, which titles are protected and which anyone can use, which ones Medicare gives a rebate for, and how to check that someone is who they say they are.

What the research shows about whether therapy helps, how many people it doesn't help, how many come out worse and whether therapy caused it, how much the type of therapy matters, how much the individual therapist matters, and what Australian data says about all of it.

What the research says about therapy and medication together, where guidelines put each one, who can prescribe medication, and what to do if you're wondering about adding therapy, avoiding medication, or stopping.

What happens in a session, what the words counselling, psychotherapy and therapy actually mean in Australia, how it differs from talking to a friend or to an app, and how long it usually goes on for.

Sleep, alcohol, money, work, grief, an unchecked physical cause and safety at home all produce something that feels like a mental health problem, and each has its own answer — what to do about them, and where therapy still fits.

A better question than whether things are bad enough, what people actually bring to therapy, why the rebate has a test and therapy doesn't, the cheapest ways to find out without committing, and when something else would help more.

What ACT is, how it differs from trying to fix your thoughts, what happens in a session, who it suits, what the evidence says and how to get it in Australia.

A structured therapy that works on what you do rather than what you think, why the planning comes before the motivation, who it suits, what the evidence supports and how to get it in Australia.

Whether CBT helps adults with ADHD, how the version adapted for ADHD differs from the usual kind, what the evidence says alongside medication, and how to find it in Australia.

How cognitive behavioural therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy differ, what each does with the same problem, what the evidence says, and how people choose between them.

What CBT is, what happens in a session, who it suits, what it costs in Australia, and what the evidence says.

What compassion-focused therapy is, who it was developed for, what sessions involve, what the evidence supports and where it's thin, and how to find it in Australia.

What DBT is, the difference between a full program and DBT-informed therapy, what the four skills modules cover, who it suits, and how to get it in Australia.

What EMDR is, what actually happens in a session, what the eye movements are for, who it suits, what the evidence says and how to find it in Australia.

How EMDR compares with the talking-based trauma therapies — cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure and trauma-focused CBT — and with general counselling, including how much you have to say out loud.

What group therapy is, what happens in a group, who it tends to suit, what the evidence says compared with individual therapy, and how to find and pay for a group in Australia.

What IFS means by parts and Self, what a session is like, who it tends to suit, how thin the evidence still is, and how to find it in Australia.

What narrative therapy means by the story you tell about yourself, what externalising a problem does, who it suits, how thin the research still is, and its Australian origins and Medicare position.

What person-centred therapy is, why the therapist doesn't direct, what an hour with no agenda is actually like, who it suits, what the evidence shows once you account for how it's been tested, and where to find it cheaply in Australia.

What psychedelic-assisted therapy involves in Australia, who can prescribe MDMA and psilocybin and for what, what the research shows and where it's uncertain, who it may not suit, and what it costs.

What psychodynamic therapy pays attention to, what an unstructured session is actually like, who it suits, what the research shows for short-term and open-ended work, and how to afford it in Australia.

What schema therapy is, where it came from, what happens in a session, who it suits, and what it takes to access it in Australia.

What body-based therapies do, how Somatic Experiencing and sensorimotor work differ from talking therapy, who they suit, what the evidence actually shows, and how to check a practitioner in Australia.

What trauma-focused CBT is, how cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure and cognitive therapy for PTSD work, what's hard about them, what the evidence says, and how to get them in Australia.

Why two therapists can offer quite different things: training, profession, where they work, who they see and what Medicare rebates, and what to ask.

Why there are so many kinds of therapy, where each one starts, what the research says about whether the type matters, and how to use that when you choose.

What ADHD tends to look like in adults, why it's often missed, how assessment works in Australia, what the guideline recommends, and what therapy adds alongside medication.

What bipolar disorder involves, the role of therapy and medication, and where to start in Australia.

What a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder describes, how the diagnosis is changing, the long-term outlook, the therapies that help, and how to find them in Australia.

What burnout is and isn't, why it isn't classed as a diagnosis and what that means for getting help, how it relates to depression, and what the evidence says helps.

What complex PTSD describes, where the diagnosis stands, what helps and why, the debate about steadying first, and why the relationship with your therapist matters so much here.

What depression is and how common it is in Australia, what the national guideline puts first, why the well-studied therapies come out level, and how to find and pay for help.

How generalised anxiety shows up in the mind and body, the different kinds of anxiety, what Australia's guideline puts first, what the research says about therapy, and how to find help.

What OCD involves, why unwanted thoughts are so common, the therapy with the most evidence for it, how therapy and medication can help, and how to find help in Australia.

What post-traumatic stress disorder is, what helps in the first weeks after a trauma, the therapies with the strongest evidence, and the options if trauma-focused therapy isn't possible or right for you yet.

Why people sometimes see, hear or believe things others don't, what a GP can do, why getting help early matters, where talking therapy fits, and where to start in Australia.

Feeling miserable or empty when life looks fine: why you don't need a reason, what's worth ruling out, what helps, and where to start in Australia.

The difference between worry and rumination, why telling yourself to stop doesn't work, and the approaches that help with each.

Putting things off, staying away from people or places, dropping things you used to enjoy: why avoiding makes sense at the time, what can sit behind it, and what helps.

Why burnout and depression are hard to tell apart, why the question still matters, what's worth checking whichever it is, and where to start.

What being hard on yourself can look like, why reassurance often doesn't help, which therapies work on it, and where to start in Australia.

When the same thing keeps happening in your relationships: what people notice, when a relationship isn't safe, which therapies work on patterns, and where to start in Australia.

What it's like when feelings go flat or quiet, why it happens, what tends to help, and where to start if you want to talk to someone about it.

When people close to you are worried and you think you're fine: why both views count, when it's about safety, what's worth a GP visit either way, and how to find out more on your own terms.

What people often go through after something frightening or distressing, what helps in the first weeks, when to talk to a GP, and what helps if it doesn't ease or goes back a long way.

Whether you can see someone without a parent, when a professional might have to tell someone, other ways a parent might find out, and what to ask before you book.

What the research says about therapy for autistic people, what makes therapy fit, questions to ask a therapist, and ways to pay in Australia.

Where to start if you're under 18, what it costs, your own Medicare card, what a parent can see, and what to ask about privacy before you begin.

How to raise it when you're worried about someone: getting ready, what to say, how to listen, what doesn't help, and what to do if they don't want to talk.

When someone you're worried about won't get help: what you can and can't do, finding out what's in the way, when safety comes first, and help for you.

When someone close to you is seeing, hearing or believing things others don't: when safety comes first, how to talk with them, getting help early, if they say no, and help for you.

When the person you're worried about won't get help and isn't going to: when safety comes first, looking after yourself, and what help for you can look like.

What to do if you're worried someone might hurt themselves: when to call 000, how to ask, what to say, why not to keep it secret, and looking after yourself.

How long therapy tends to take, what changes it, what Medicare's ten sessions do and don't mean, and what to ask at the start.

Why almost everyone holds something back, what the research says about raising it, the words to use for several different situations, what your therapist will probably do, and how to tell a poor fit from something you shouldn't have to raise at all.

How to tell whether therapy is working: what progress tends to look like, what to compare against, tracking it with your therapist, and what to do if it isn't.

How people and their therapists usually decide therapy is finished, what a planned ending involves, what to do when sessions or money run out however you're paying, when your therapist raises it, if you'd rather just stop, and going back later.

How to tell an ordinary slow patch from a real stall, why some people take longer, eight common reasons therapy stops moving, and what to raise with your therapist about each.

A side-by-side look at the therapies on this site: how each one works, how structured and how long it tends to be, what the evidence says, and how easy it is to find in Australia.

Questions to ask before you book and in your first session, sorted by when they're useful, that you can pick from and download.

Who runs Therapy Guide, their qualifications, why the site exists, and how to get in touch.

How Therapy Guide chooses what to cover, judges the evidence, checks its facts, uses AI tools under human control with nothing generated live, and keeps pages up to date.

What Therapy Guide does, the three ways through the guide, what it asks and why, what it shows you, what it never does, and what happens to your answers.

What Therapy Guide collects (almost nothing), what our hosting and analytics providers handle, what happens if you email us, and how to ask about or raise a concern about your information.

What Therapy Guide is and isn't: general information rather than therapy or advice, not a crisis service, and what that means for how you use it.

The difference between therapy that isn't working and therapy that has harmed you, what you can do about each, and who actually handles a complaint about a psychologist or a counsellor in Australia.

Why choosing a therapy by what sounds most like you is a sensible start but a rough guide, what research has found about matching people to approaches, and what to do if the obvious choice isn't shifting much.

The working relationship between you and your therapist is a better guide to how well therapy goes than the method they use — and the method shapes that relationship more than people expect.