Frequently Asked Questions
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For Individuals
Our psychosocial support services all offer different types of support for overcoming barriers created by a psychosocial or mental health condition.
Our psychosocial support services all offer different types of support for overcoming barriers created by a psychosocial or mental health condition. We work with you to understand your personal challenges and help you to find solutions, access services, and build your skills for greater independence and better quality of life – the way you choose. Our psychosocial support services include recovery coaching, counselling, support coordination, and specialist support coordination.
Psychosocial Support Services under NDIS
If you have a psychosocial disability, you may qualify for an NDIS plan, which gives you funding for the support services you need in everyday life. If you have an NDIS plan with funding under Capacity Building – Support Coordination or Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living, you will be able to use your plan to pay for our Psychosocial Support Services. Find out more in our guide to mental health and the NDIS.
Our psychosocial support services can help with your everyday functioning, relationships, building social skills, and achieving your work goals, whether you already have a job or are working towards one. We provide holistic support for both your mental and physical health.
A Coach should work with you to identify goals the you want to work towards. A good coach will work with you to self-direct and grow in the direction you want to go.
They know that you can make your own choices and have the ability to solve problems for yourself. You should expect a coach to be focusing on solutions and getting things moving, not just focusing on issues and barriers. Coaches should also work with others who support you, to make sure they understand how to best assist you achieve your goals and outcomes. They should work with you to develop a plan for when things might not be going so well. This can assist in ensuring that you are supported in a way that works best for you.
When you’re looking for an NDIS recovery coach you should ask them about their experience and qualifications. You want to know they have the skills and capability to support you well. The minimum qualifications you should expect are a Certificate IV in Mental Health or Mental Health Peer Work and have at least 2 years relevant work experience. But it’s not just about the training, you should feel that they are the right coach for you and a good fit.
As of July 2022, the standard hourly rate for NDIS recovery coaching in metropolitan areas is $93.34. If you do not have an NDIS plan but are interested in accessing our qualified and experienced staff, reach out to our customer success team for more information.
Family, friends, and colleagues may be able to refer you to an NDIS psychosocial recovery coach across Australia, or you may be able to find one online. Remember – it is important to assess the credentials of the recovery coach and take the time to feel more comfortable with them. At Goal Coach, we provide a psychosocial recovery coaching service and are onboarding new clients. Our team is led by nationally recognised experts in NDIS mental health.
People with NDIS plans have the option to select to work with coaches that have learnt experience or lived experience.
Coaches with lived experience are also referred to as peer coaches and are people that openly identify and use their lived experience of mental illness and recovery as part of their work.
Professional Peers are powerful role models for hope and demonstrate the possibility of successful recovery. They can walk alongside people and can provide unique expertise when developing recovery goals.
Their work is informed by the principles of peer work practice, which has guidance on how to effectively and safely draw on their own experiences to foster hope and guide people towards self-management and recovery.
Recovery coaching is a funded support available under the NDIS for people with a psychosocial disability. Funding for a psychosocial recovery coach comes under the Capacity Building – Support Coordination category. Different price limits apply depending on when the support is given (time of day and day of the week) and whether you are in a remote area or not. As support coordination is a part of the recovery coach role, the NDIA will generally not fund both types of supports in a participant’s plan.
A recovery coach is your champion and advocate. They listen to you without judgment and support you to achieve your goals. Recovery coaches work collaboratively with you, your family, carers, and other services to choose, book and manage your NDIS supports. They understand how the NDIS works, and how to spend your budget most effectively to get the right support for your situation.
A recovery plan clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the participant, the recovery coach, clinical supports, NDIS supports, and informal supports (like friends and family). Your coach will usually involve key service providers from the start, as you develop your recovery plan. It’s really important that everyone is on the same page and working together. This could be a meeting all together, or by sharing information by phone or email – whatever will work best for your situation.
Often recovery coaches are described as those with lived experience (they have their own experience living with mental illness, in addition to qualifications) or those with learned experience (their experience comes from studying or working in the field of psychosocial disability and mental health).
Recovery coaching is available to NDIS participants with a psychosocial disability, who have specific funding in their plans for recovery coaching or support coordination. The recovery coach line item is tailored to the needs of people with primary psychosocial disability, with a focus on coaching and collaborating with other services.
Our recovery coaches support a range of psychosocial disabilities and mental health disorders, including:
● Anxiety disorders
● Bipolar disorder
● Schizophrenia
● Obsessive-compulsive disorder
● Severe and persistent depression
A support coordinator will assist you in building a strong network of supports around you. At Goal Coach, we look beyond just activating your funded supports – we look at the bigger picture and support you across all areas of your life, including setting personal goals and developing skills.
A support coordinator will assist you to implement your plan, build a strong network of connections and proactively plan with you to respond to unplanned events and achieve your goals. A specialist support coordinator provides the highest level of support coordination and should have additional expertise to address specific complexities or barriers that may be present in your life.
If you are unsure which form of support coordination would be best for you, book in a free 15 minute chat with one of our team members and we’ll figure out the best fit for you.
Recovery coaching is not support coordination or support work. Like support coordinators, recovery coaches know all about the NDIS, but their focus is on facilitating your own personal growth and learning so you can release your full potential.
Coordinators and coaches will help you with NDIS reviews, establish your supports, problem-solve and manage unexpected situations. But recovery coaches are ALSO recovery practitioners, with specialist knowledge, skills and experience in working in a way that supports people with psychosocial disability and mental illness to live as empowered citizens and build a life that’s not defined by their diagnosis.
Yes you can! Unless your NDIS funding is stated, you will be able to use your budget flexibly between the two services. Goal Coach often works with people who would like to keep their existing support coordinator in place to assist with specific tasks but are also looking to work on their own personal discovery and growth journey with a dedicated coach.
As of July 2022, the standard hourly rate for NDIS support coordination in metropolitan areas is $100.14.
Yes – we welcome all clients with or without an NDIS plan. We also support people to access the NDIS. Reach out to one of our team members to learn more here.
A specialist support coordinator provides the highest level of support coordination. They provide the same services as a support coordinator, as well as address specific complexities or barriers that may be present in your life. They should have extensive experience in the areas most relevant to you, and typically have qualifications to support the work they do such as social work, case management or other allied health disciplines.
Specialist support coordination also tends to be time limited, meaning that it would be funded in your NDIS plan for a limited time for you to overcome and resolve more challenging situations. If you are unsure which form of support coordination would be best for you, book in a free 15 minute chat with one of our team members and together we’ll figure out the best fit for you.
Yes – it’s quite common for people to have a range of professionals supporting them. A coordinator, counsellor and coach all have different roles and approaches, and deliver their services to assist you in different ways. You may have specific goals you want to work on with one professional and engage another to support you with resolving a specific issue or situation.
The key is collaboration and communication between you and your team, making sure that everyone is working towards your goals and preferences. This helps with eliminating duplication of services and keeps things progressing. It is best practice to have one main anchor – a professional that’s across all of your supports and goals – with other professionals contributing with their area of expertise. Learn about the other services we offer here.
All of Goal Coach’s specialist support coordinators have a diverse range of experience in supporting people with complexity in their life. They have expertise in a range of areas, such as counselling or social work, and exceed the minimum expectations set out by the NDIS Commission.
If you would like to learn more about our team or explore whether our service is right for you, please reach out to our customer success team here who can discuss what you’re looking for.
As of July 2022, the standard hourly rate for NDIS specialist support coordination in metropolitan areas is $190.54.
If you do not have an NDIS plan but are interested in accessing our qualified and experienced staff, reach out to our customer success team here for more information.
Yes – we welcome all people with or without an NDIS plan. If you have identified a need for specialist support to work through complexities or overcome challenges you are facing, our staff will be able to support you and your team.
Goal Coach’s staff have extensive experience in a range of areas, and all specialise in mental wellbeing and supporting people experiencing emotional distress. We will work to match the right specialist with the most relevant experience and qualifications to you.
To find out more, book in your free 15 minute chat here.
Specialist support coordination is a higher level of support for people with a disability who have more complex situations. Specialist support coordination is for tricky problems like finding support workers with specialised skills in a remote area, helping a participant at risk of homelessness, or working with other agencies such as the justice system or child protective services.
A specialist support coordinator will
help you to find solutions for barriers that are stopping you getting the support you need
fix issues and help you get good support systems in place, which will set you up for the future.
Our counsellors create a safe space for you to talk about whatever situation or challenges you may be facing. We will work with you to overcome these barriers and build your skills to move forward. We will remain respectful, show empathy, and uphold strict confidentiality at all times.
Yes! Many people working with Goal Coach access both. Coaching and counselling are two different services. In fact, the two services are complementary and can work well together advancing your goals and reducing barriers you may be facing. They just do this in different ways.
Goal Coach works collaboratively with your team to make sure everyone is on the same page, including a person’s clinical teams, supporters, family and other people you’d like to bring into your circle. Goal Coach has counsellors, coaches and coordinators, but we also work extensively with other providers to bring your goals to life.
Goal Coach’s counsellors are qualified individuals who are registered with the Australian Counselling Association – the peak national Association for Counsellors. Registered counsellors maintain their membership to the association by completing 25 points of professional development per year and have at least 10 hours of professional supervision per year. Learn more about our team here.
Goal Coach provides counselling at a rate of $170 per hour to non-NDIS participants and from $156.16 per hour to those in metropolitan areas with NDIS plans.
There are many different ways you can access a counsellor. Sometimes, someone might refer you to a counsellor, or you may be able to find one yourself online.
Remember – it is important to assess the credentials of the counsellor and take time to ensure you feel comfortable with them. Goal Coach is offering counselling with immediate availability, so if you are interested in talking to one of our counsellors, book a free 15 minute chat here.
Yes – we welcome all people with or without an NDIS plan. If you don’t have counselling funded in your NDIS plan, reach out and talk to one of our friendly customer success staff to explore options by clicking here.
Professionals
Psychosocial recovery coaches can have learnt or lived experience but it is important to remember that this is not an entry level role. Recovery coaches are required to work independently with people in the community, so experience and appropriate training is essential.
The NDIA recommends the following tertiary qualifications and experience:
- peer work or mental health (minimum of Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work or Certificate IV in Mental Health) and/or
- a minimum two years of experience in mental health-related work.
However, it is recommended that if you are just starting out as a recovery coach you have access to good reflective supervision and support. It is important to ensure that you are providing quality recovery orientated service and working towards supporting people to lead their best life and achieve their goals. You will want someone to reach out to when you don’t know what to do or would like some professional advice. Ask about our professional supervision services.
Recovery coaching is not support coordination or support work. Like support coordinators, recovery coaches know all about the NDIS and the price guide, build community connections, help you achieve your NDIS goals. They also can help you with NDIS reviews, establish your supports, problem-solve and manage unexpected situations.
But recovery coaches are also recovery practitioners, with specialist knowledge, skills and experience in working in a way that supports people with psychosocial disability and mental illness to live as empowered citizens and build a life that’s not defined by their diagnosis.
Psychosocial recovery Coaching can be a challenging role, supervision can assist in ensuring that your practice is safe for you and the people you are supporting. Reflective supervision is a formal professional relationship between two people in designated roles, which facilitates reflective practice, explores ethical issues, and assists in developing skills and assists in the development of good practice. It can help you work through any ethical dilemmas and understand the best course of action. Supervision should also identify strengths and areas that you might need additional support in. Looking after yourself is essential to being a great coach.
Similar but not the same. Just like other clinical supervision experiences, reflective practice is a process of learning through and from experience by critically analysing leading to new perspectives. Recovery coaches are considered paraprofessionals, they are not clinicians or regulated by a peak body. Recovery Coaching Supervision also takes into consideration the varied work a coach undertakes and the many stakeholders that a coach and the coachee encounter; there’s often a lot more complexity involved in delivery the service compared to counselling for example. There are invariably external factors outside the coach to coachee relationship.
Group supervision provides all the benefits of individual supervision and is popular with professionals who are looking for lower cost options, access to a supportive group with a sense of community. Group supervision also provides access to diverse discussion and reflection and the opportunity to learn from other practitioners within a structured setting.
Unless this is delivered within a structured framework, around creating spaces for coaches to discuss safely and openly identify their opportunities for growth and self-care with a skilled and dedicated supervisor, it is not considered professional development or formal supervision. Coaches and coordinators often provide feedback to Goal Coach that their regional network meetings are more information updates, systemic discussions and can sometimes be negative environments for airing problems and difficulties. In other settings often one person might get more airtime than another becoming stuck on one issue with no solutions. Professional supervision on the other hand should be a positive experience providing support and opportunities to resolve and improve your practice in an equitable and respectful space. The supervisor’s role is to guide the group discussion, role model practice and nonjudgmental behaviours, pay attention to the group dynamic and the individual in the group context.
The short answer is yes, it’s essential to delivering quality health and human services, and more specifically practicing in the NDIS mental health space. Supervision improves understanding of you and your practice, so you can take better care of your wellbeing and the people you support.
The NDIS are looking to see a minimum of 20 hours professional development per year from NDIS psychosocial recovery coaches, whether you are registered, unregistered, part of a large NGO or a sole practitioner.
In many cases the answer is no. Typically employers who offer one-on-one ‘supervision’ for coaches, support coordinators and other service delivery staff tend to focus on the organisational side of supervising a staff member. That means the accountability side; meeting KPIs, adhering to policies, managing risk in a way that benefits the organisation, managing internal relationships and performance management. If your employer does offer reflective supervision focused solely on practice, personal growth, and self-care, it still may not be reaching its potential due to the tension between a supervisee and their employer. Participating in supervision inherently requires people to identify their limitations, gaps in knowledge and skill and of course sharing personal vulnerabilities in order to resolve and grow. That is why gaining access to independent supervision is best practice with supervisees gaining the most with higher satisfaction levels.
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