NDIS and psychology

Many people who are living with disability access psychology services to help them to improve their social skills, to manage their behaviour, to learn how to build and enrich their relationships, and to learn a variety of coping mechanisms.

Psychology services are very broad and are not just used by those people who are affected by mental illness.

Does NDIS cover psychology?

The NDIS provides funding and support for persons diagnosed with psychosocial disabilities.

For conditions other than those considered to be psychosocial, psychology services may be accessed in order help improve daily living skills. As an example, a person diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may have psychology services included in their plan to help them to develop social skills, or behavioural management techniques.

Psychology services are funded by the NDIS if your NDIS plan includes the support category “Improved Daily Living Skills”, which is covered under the Capacity Building section of an NDIS plan.

You must have this in order to receive psychology services, and psychology services must also be aligned with your goals set out in your plan.

NDIS Approved Psychologists

Psychologists registered with the NDIS are considered to be “approved” providers. If you manage your NDIS plan yourself, you don’t need to access your psychology services through an approved provider and can choose any psychologist you wish.

However, if your Plan is NDIS-managed, you will need to access psychology services through a registered NDIS provider.

Prior to accessing the NDIS, it may be necessary for you to see a psychologist for diagnosis.

It isn’t always necessary to have a formal psychological diagnosis, but it can certainly help if you are trying to get NDIS funding for psychological or mental health reasons.