You have noticed something has shifted — your child seems sadder, more anxious, more reactive, or is suddenly refusing school — and you are trying to work out whether this is a phase to wait out or something to act on. This page lays out the threshold a child psychologist looks for, the age-by-age signs that warrant a GP visit, and the Medicare-funded pathway from referral to first appointment.
Signs lasting more than a few weeks need a GP visit, not a wait-and-see
Children have ups and downs. The question Australian guidelines ask is not whether your child is upset on a given Tuesday, but whether they are bouncing back. Raising Children Network's mental-health page for 3-8 year olds names the threshold plainly: get professional help when changes in mood or behaviour last for more than a few weeks, are distressing your child, are affecting their relationships at home or at school, or are getting in the way of everyday activities they used to enjoy.
A few weeks is the calendar to use. Two bad afternoons after a busy week is not a referral. Six weeks of waking at night, refusing school, and crying about going to a friend's birthday party is.
The other signal Healthdirect names is intensity. The worry, sadness, or anger is "out of proportion" to what is going on, and is there "most of the time" rather than now and then. Healthdirect puts the rate at about 1 in 10 Australian children aged 4 to 11. The most common patterns are anxiety and ADHD. What you are seeing is not unusual. It is also not something to leave alone if it has settled in.
A child psychologist is the clinician trained to assess and treat these patterns. They do not prescribe drugs. They do not diagnose physical illness. The point of seeing one is to work out what is going on and what helps. Most of that work is talk therapy, shaped to the child's age. The way to claim it on Medicare is through your GP.
Sources: Raising Children Network (mental health problems in children 3-8 years); Healthdirect (kids' mental health); Healthdirect (anxiety in children).
Signs to watch for, by age
The signs that matter shift with age. A toddler cannot tell you they are anxious — you see it in their body and behaviour. An eight-year-old can sometimes tell you, but more often shows it as defiance, school refusal, or stomach aches before school. The list below distils Raising Children Network's signs and Healthdirect's child-anxiety symptoms into the patterns each age group tends to show.
| Age | Emotional and behaviour signs | Physical signs | School and social signs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 (toddler / preschool) | Frequent tantrums beyond what was typical 3 months ago; clinginess that is intensifying not fading; regression to outgrown behaviours like thumb-sucking or bedwetting; very upset by separation; fearful of routine situations | Trouble sleeping; vivid nightmares; loss of appetite or overeating; unexplained stomach aches; physical pain with no medical cause | Refusing childcare or kinder; not wanting birthday parties or playdates; withdrawn around other children |
| 5-7 (early primary) | Sad or worried most of the time; loss of interest in things they used to enjoy; irritability and big emotions out of proportion to the trigger; needs lots of reassurance and takes a long time to settle | Headaches and stomach aches, especially before school; trouble getting out of bed; appetite changes; weight changes | Drop in school performance; not following the teacher; problems fitting in; school refusal that is intensifying |
| 8-12 (later primary) | Hopelessness about the future; ongoing low mood; ongoing worry about specific situations or about everything; anger that feels unsafe; self-criticism that has become constant | Sleep changes; appetite changes; unexplained physical complaints; tiredness during the day | Withdrawing from friends; refusing school events or sport; declining grades that are not explained by anything else |
These are not a diagnostic checklist — they are the signals Australian guidelines say should prompt a GP conversation, especially when several appear together and persist past a few weeks.
When to act this week, not next month
Some signs warrant booking the GP urgently rather than waiting for a routine appointment. Healthdirect lists these as reasons to seek help promptly:
- Self-harm, or any talk of suicide or wanting to disappear
- Sudden refusal to eat, or rapid weight loss
- Inability to sleep over multiple nights
- A specific traumatic event followed by changes in behaviour
If your child or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts and is in immediate danger, call triple zero (000). To talk to someone now, Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Children aged 5 and over can speak with a counsellor at Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800 (free, 24/7), or via webchat.
Sources: Raising Children Network (mental health problems in children 3-8 years); Healthdirect (kids' mental health); Healthdirect (anxiety in children).
What a child psychologist actually does — and what they do not
A psychologist in Australia is university-trained and must be registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Anyone using the title "psychologist" has to hold a current AHPRA listing. That is the basic credential to check before booking. Many child-focused psychologists also hold an extra qualification — an area of practice endorsement in Clinical Psychology, or in Educational and Developmental Psychology. The Australian Psychological Society says Educational and Developmental psychologists "primarily work with children, parents, carers and teachers" on development, behaviour, disability and learning.
The most common reasons children see a psychologist are:
- Anxiety — including separation anxiety, social anxiety, generalised anxiety, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Mood and depression
- Behaviour difficulties — defiance, anger, conduct concerns
- Attention and focus difficulties, including ADHD assessment
- Adjustment to a difficult event — bereavement, parental separation, illness, bullying
- Learning difficulties identified at school
A psychologist treats these mostly through talk therapy, adapted for the child's age. With younger children that often means play-based work, drawing, and stories. The child can show what is going on without needing the words. With school-age children it leans toward cognitive-behavioural therapy. The therapist looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, and gives the child specific strategies to use.
Two things a psychologist does not do:
- They do not prescribe medication. Healthdirect notes that "psychiatrists are medical doctors" who diagnose and treat with medicines. Psychologists "focus on providing psychotherapy (talk therapy)". If medicine is part of treatment — for ADHD, for example — that talk happens with a GP, paediatrician, or psychiatrist, not the psychologist.
- They are usually not the first call for medicine-led treatment of child anxiety. Healthdirect says that for child anxiety, "treatment includes psychological therapy and lifestyle adjustments". It adds that "medicines are rarely recommended". The default for child mental health care in Australia is psychology first, with medicines added only when needed and only by a doctor.
Sources: Raising Children Network (psychologist guide); Healthdirect (psychiatrists and psychologists); Healthdirect (anxiety in children); Australian Psychological Society (educational and developmental psychology).
How to actually book: the GP, the referral, and Medicare
Technically, your child does not need a referral to see a psychologist privately. Practically, almost every Australian family starts at the GP for two reasons: the GP can rule out physical causes, and the GP is the gatekeeper to Medicare rebates.
The Medicare pathway most families use is Better Access. Under Better Access, your GP prepares a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) and writes a referral to a psychologist. With that plan in place, your child can claim a Medicare benefit for up to 10 individual and 10 group therapy sessions per calendar year. The first referral covers a maximum of 6 sessions, after which your child returns to the GP for a review before the remaining 4 are approved. The Australian Psychological Society puts it bluntly: "Referrals cannot be provided for the full 10 sessions. A referral is for a maximum of six sessions."
A parent or carer can attend up to 2 of those sessions per calendar year without the child present, as part of the child's treatment. That is useful when a younger child cannot articulate what is going on, or when the work the family needs is on parenting strategies rather than direct child therapy.
Two practical points:
- Since 1 November 2025, Medicare only pays the Better Access rebate when the MHTP, review, and referral are issued by your child's usual medical practitioner. That is defined as the GP who has provided most of your child's care in the last 12 months. It can also be a GP at a practice where your child is enrolled in MyMedicare. If your family changed practices recently, check enrolment before booking.
- A paediatrician or psychiatrist can also write a Better Access referral directly, with no GP MHTP needed. That is useful when your child is already under specialist care.
For the full breakdown of pathways, rebates and gap-fee examples, the Earlybloom guide on Medicare rebates for paediatric therapy covers it end to end.
Sources: Australian Psychological Society (Better Access FAQs for the public); Services Australia (mental health care and Medicare); Raising Children Network (psychologist guide).
What the first appointment will actually involve
The first session is usually 50 minutes and is mostly an intake, not therapy. The job at session one is to understand what is going on. Expect questions about the patterns you have noticed, when they started, what helps, and what makes it worse. They will ask about school, family, sleep, eating, screen time, and any past reports. They will usually want some time alone with your child and some time with you. Formal testing is unlikely in the first session.
Expect the psychologist to:
- Ask you and your child for the story in your own words
- Ask about a specific recent example of the behaviour or feeling
- Ask about school, friendships, family changes, and physical health
- Explain what they think might be going on, in plain English
- Outline a plan — usually 4-8 sessions to start — and what each will focus on
- Tell you what you can do at home in the meantime
What to bring:
- Your child's referral letter and Mental Health Treatment Plan from the GP
- Your child's Medicare card
- Any recent school reports, behaviour notes, or learning assessments
- Reports from any other clinicians your child has seen — paediatrician, speech pathologist, occupational therapist
- A short, written note for yourself — what you have observed, when it started, what makes it better or worse — so you do not forget under the pressure of the appointment
A reasonable first-session expectation is to leave with a working hypothesis and a plan, not a diagnosis. Diagnoses, where they are appropriate, usually come after several sessions and sometimes after structured assessment.
Sources: Raising Children Network (psychologist guide).
Where this fits in: anxiety, behaviour, and ADHD
Psychology is one of the routes a worried parent ends up taking, but it sits inside a bigger picture. If anxiety is the pattern you are seeing, the anxiety and mood concerns hub covers what is typical at different ages and what supports help. The psychology services hub explains what paediatric psychologists do, the difference between clinical and educational-and-developmental psychologists, and what to look for when you call to book.
If the pattern is more about defiance, anger, or trouble managing emotions in the moment, behaviour and attention concerns are often what a psychologist sees in the first appointment. Where ADHD is suspected, a child psychologist with the right training can do the assessment. The medication talk still goes back to the paediatrician or GP.
Choosing the right psychologist matters more than any other practical decision here. Things worth asking before you book: do they work mostly with children your child's age; do they hold an area of practice endorsement in Clinical or Educational and Developmental psychology; do they bill Medicare under Better Access; what is the full session fee and the out-of-pocket gap; and what is their typical wait list.
Find a child psychologist near you
The honest first step is the GP appointment, with notes about what you have seen and how long it has been going on. Ask for a Mental Health Treatment Plan, and ask the GP who they refer to for children of your child's age.
When you are ready to look for a psychologist:
Find paediatric psychologists near you
If you are not yet sure psychology is the right fit, the GP is still the right first call. They can rule out physical causes, prepare the plan if needed, and refer to a paediatrician if a different pathway is more appropriate.
Information on this page is general in nature and current as of May 2026. Australian guidelines and Medicare rules change. Always confirm details with your GP and at servicesaustralia.gov.au. If your child is in immediate danger, call 000.