Q-PSYCH IS CHANGING/CLOSING – BUT WE’RE NOT GOING AWAY!
Some things are changing but the important stuff is staying the same. Here’s a snapshot:
From 10 December 2021, Q-Psych will no longer exist in its current form as a group practice operating from our premises in Grange under the stewardship of Q-Psych’s Director/owner.
Instead, Q-Psych’s Director, Diane Barber (Clinical & Forensic Psychologist) and long-term psychologists, Shannon Strecker (Educational & Developmental Psychologist), Dr Kerry Blackman (Forensic Psychologist), and Jade Jensen* (Health Psychology registrar), are transitioning into a collaborative of fully independent/solo practice psychologists and relocating to a nearby premises in Stafford, where they will continue to work together and provide their respective psychology services independently (i.e., manage their own practice), with the assistance of Q-Psych’s Customer Liaison Officer (CLO), Beck, who is coming, too. So it’s pretty much ‘therapy as usual’ for our clients, with the main change being business restructure (and a wee move), due to Diane retiring from group practice ownership/management, but not from solo practice.
We will remain at Q-Psych until 10 December 2021 and resume our services at the new premises on 3 January 2022 (*Jade will initially be on maternity leave!). Our contact details will remain the same but, please note, reception will be closed between the above dates and the psychologists will only be contactable via email or the contact form on this website. We will also be busy moving and preparing the new premises (exciting!), plus there’s the holidays, so please bear with us. We will reply at earliest convenience.
Read on to find out more about what’s the same, what’s different, and why the change. This information is for the benefit of our clients and referrers but may be of interest to others, too.
What’s the same?
A fair bit actually!
Services & Psychologists: The same core psychology services – clinical, health, forensic, and educational and developmental – for children and adults, and the same core psychologists – Diane, Shannon, Kerry and Jade – will remain available per normal (*with Jade resuming her health psychology services post-maternity leave).
Reception: Beck (CLO) will remain the same friendly voice and familiar face at reception, assisting clients, referrers, and the psychologists on-site (i.e., not a virtual receptionist).
Contact Details: We will have the same phone and fax numbers and will continue to receive Q-Psych emails, so you’ll be able to contact us per normal. This webpage and the Q-Psych domain name will also remain live, indefinitely, and we’ll provide a link here to our new website soon, so you’ll have no trouble finding us. If you’re looking for any past Q-Psych psychologists, please Google them as folk move around (case in point with us)!
Waitlist: We will maintain our same waitlist, so if you are currently on this, please be assured that you will retain your position. Until we get settled in our new premises and can better gauge our schedules, our books remain closed but will reopen in the new year.
T&Cs: Our individual terms and conditions of service will remain generally the same as now (e.g., fees, appointment times, record management etc), though each psychologist will have their own client agreements and may change their T&Cs as they see fit (with notice).
Practice Mgt System: We will be using the same practice management system that Q-Psych uses for booking appointments, invoicing, processing rebates, storing client records etc. The psychologists will have their own PMS account and manage that themselves.
Client records: The psychologists will transfer their clients’ records to their own PMS and retain them per their clients’ service agreements; and Diane (as legacy Director) will continue to safe-guard past Q-Psych clients’ records per file retention and privacy laws. Same same.
What’s different?
Basically just these aspects:
The business structure and name: As Q-Psych’s Director is retiring from group practice ownership, Q-Psych will be closed (permanently) and the above psychologists will open their own solo practices, instead. This means they will operate under the banner of their own business/trading names and will be responsible for managing all aspects of their practice. As a result, they will work together, but independently, under the umbrella of a shared premises name rather than a group practice name, given that structure won’t apply to us.
Referrals and liaison: Instead of Diane coordinating referrals, services and quotes, and being the main point of contact for agencies, clients and referrers will simply liaise directly with the psychologist whose services they wish to engage or referrer to; either via email to the psychologist or phone/email to our CLO. Easy peasy.
The location and premises: Instead of practicing from Q-Psych’s current premises in Grange, we will be moving to a new premises in Stafford, established by Diane and Shannon. This is a lovely unique space, backing onto a park with some outside seating areas and ample street parking. We’ve named the premises Nirvana House Child & Adult Psychology, to reflect the tranquil space and life-span services that will be provided there. Being an older premises, it is unfortunately not very wheelchair-friendly (e.g., no disabled toilet or carpark); however, it is street-level and most rooms are likely accessible with assistance. Best check with us first.
Service Hours: Reception will be womanned by Beck from 8.45am-4.15pm, Monday to Friday (excluding leave), and messages can be left anytime. The psychologists will set their own schedules, with appointments typically between 8.30am-5.30pm, and Diane and Kerry will continue to provide after hours appointments. When Beck isn’t on-site, the psychologists will look after their clients’ reception services.
Policies: As each psychologist will be managing their own practice, they will have their own policies and procedures. In most instances, these will be similar to those at Q-Psych but be adapted to suit their respective solo practices and services.
Programs: These have been halted during the pandemic and it will be at the discretion of the psychologists if they offer programs in the future. If they do (as Diane plans to), these will be advertised on the psychologists’ own websites. Q-Psych’s programs waitlist will be retained for 12 months. If you are on the list and don’t hear from us, it means no-one has proceeded with the program/s you registered interest in; sorry.
Other psychologists and/or services: In time, we’ll be inviting other independent psychologists to join us at Nirvana House and provide their own psychology services. Feel free to spread the word to any other psychologists you know!
Why the change?
A personal note from Q-Psych’s owner/Director.
Like many other people, Covid-19 has prompted me to take stock of my priorities and make changes in my life, so I can focus on what matters most to me at this stage of my life (yep walk-the-talk and practice what I recommend to clients!). For me, those values-driven priorities are to help more clients in my areas of practice (my passion work); engage in more advocacy work (my social justice pent); and gain much better work-life-health balance (I’m not getting any younger!). In other words, I wish to/need to be more available as a practitioner, advocate, mother, wife, daughter and friend, including to myself; and that meant retiring from the 24/7 work of managing a multi-service group practice (who knew we couldn’t do it all?!). However, I take the responsibility of safe-guarding clients’ information seriously and did not wish to ‘sell’ the practice for this reason; hence, I’ll retain archived records and the Q-Psych name.
I was also keen to continue working alongside my long-term colleagues and Beck, so am chuffed we’re staying together. FYI: Shannon, Kerry, and I have been together since Q-Psych opened 9 years ago and Jade joined us 4 years ago; along with other great psychologists and valued support staff who have journeyed with us over the years.
So, while I’m proud of establishing Q-Psych as the only Brisbane group practice comprising clinical, forensic, health, and educational and developmental psychologists (from wo to go), to meet the diverse psychology needs of our community and highlight the diversity in areas of psychological practice, the time has come to semi-shut shop. As they say, “all good things must come to an end”. But as I said, “the important stuff is staying the same”. So, the ship hasn’t really sailed – it’s just that I won’t be captaining it anymore and it will morph into a flotilla of solo sailboats, so I can let my sails down occasionally while the other psychologists steer their own course. Okay, enough with the boat analogies…it’s time for me to sail on to the next adventure (couldn’t resist). I hope to see you in Nirvana! Diane Barber
Thanks!
I’d like to ta
ke this opportunity to thank the thousands of clients and referrers who have entrusted me and the Q-Psych team to provide their psychology service/s over the past nine years. I feel privileged that you chose Q-Psych and hope we aptly met your psychology needs and service expectations.
Remember, you can now find us at Nirvana House Child & Adult Psychology in Stafford, if you ever need our services again!
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