The Psychology department can accept referrals from referrers and agencies internal and external to The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) for clinical psychology and neuropsychology services.  The client being referred must meet the referral criteria listed below. The Psychology department does not offer services to children or adolescents who are not patients of the RCH. 

Referral criteria

Clinical psychology referral criteria

The Psychology department’s Clinical Psychology Service provides clinical psychology services to patients of the RCH. 

To be eligible for the service the child or young person must:

1. Be a patient of the RCH who is receiving ongoing care at RCH by a specialist medical or surgical team

2a. Be experiencing psychological distress as a consequence of a medical condition

     OR

2b. Be experiencing psychological distress that is affecting optimal treatment of the medical condition

3. Not present primarily with acute mental health/risk issues to either self or others requiring urgent treatment or case management

4. If aged under 16, have a parent/guardian consent for a referral to Psychology; if a mature minor, patient themself must consent to 
    psychological support related to their medical condition and/or associated medical treatment (in addition to parent/guardian consent for 
    those aged under 16)

Additional considerations:

• All referrals to the Clinical Psychology Service are carefully reviewed to ensure the service is the most appropriate and effective support for the young person and their family. Decisions related to suitability are made with consideration of the referral information, the clinical context, and what is likely to best meet the young person’s needs.
• The Clinical Psychology Service is committed to providing family-centred care, which involves parents and caregivers being part of therapy when this is in the best interests of the young person’s psychological well-being
• The Psychology department does not offer standalone assessments (i.e. cognitive/IQ assessments, autism assessments, ADHD assessments, or learning difficulties assessments)

If you would like to discuss a possible clinical psychology referral, please contact Dr Tara-Jane Clark, Team Leader - Clinical Psychology on Telephone +61 3 9345 5881 or email your enquiry to Psychology.dept@rch.org.au 

Neuropsychology referral criteria

To be eligible for the Psychology department's Neuropsychology Service, the patient must:

1. Be a regular, ongoing patient of The Royal Children's Hospital (seen at RCH at least every six months and/or planned, ongoing follow up at RCH)

2. Have a diagnosed or suspected complex medical condition with the potential to impact on brain function and/or brain development

3. If aged under 16, have a parent/guardian consent for a referral to Psychology; if a mature minor, patient themself must consent to neuropsychological services (in addition to parent/guardian consent for those aged under 16)

Additional considerations

• The Psychology department does not offer standalone assessments (i.e. cognitive/IQ assessments, autism assessments, ADHD assessments, or learning difficulties assessments) 

If you would like to discuss a possible referral to the Neuropsychology Service, please contact Jacquie Wrennall (Deputy Director of Psychology - Neuropsychology) on Telephone +61 3 9345 5373 or email your enquiry to Psychology.dept@rch.org.au 

Referrals from RCH clinicians

To make a referral to Psychology for an RCH patient, please place an outpatient order in EPIC under "PSYCHOLOGY and NEUROPSYCHOLOGY".

Referrals from an external provider

Please refer to the referring information page for all information regarding external providers making a referral to the RCH.