About Me
Since 2005, I have worked as a psychotherapist and social worker in a range of human service and community work settings. My clinical practice has been shaped by people affected by homelessness, trauma, chronic illness, natural disasters, disability, mental health challenges, and grief and loss.
Favouring a trauma-informed person-centred approach, I draw from contextual behavioural science modalities such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion-Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.
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As an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, I also offer counselling support (Focused Psychological Strategies) under the Better Access to Mental Health initiative. If you have a referral from your GP, you can access Medicare rebates for up to ten sessions each calendar year.
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Currently, I only provide counselling sessions via secure video, chat, or telephone. GMT+10
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If you are in crisis or unsafe, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 000 (triple zero).
I acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to lands, waters, and communities. I pay my respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging.
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Support that makes a difference...
Counselling Sessions
Coping with Life’s Challenges
I consider the therapeutic space to be a safe and enriched environment in which to explore the challenges life presents. I strive to bring a gentle curiosity to these explorations and acknowledge the importance of working at your pace. Central to my work is a belief in our capacity for insight, creativity, and growth – particularly in response to the difficulties we encounter in life. $150 per 50-minute session, Medicare rebates available with a referral from your GP (Mental Health Care Plan).
Professional Supervision
Practitioner Support
Professional Supervision to support your growth as a practitioner. I believe that the quality of social work supervision is central to the development and maintenance of high standards of social work practice. I consider the primary purpose of professional supervision is to facilitate competent and independent practice. $180 per 60-minute session.
If you have any questions please drop me a line.
"The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination."
Carl Rogers
Accreditations
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker.
Member of Australian Association of Social Workers.
Member of Association of Contextual Behavioural Science.
Member of Brisbane Trauma Informed Practitioners Group
Member of The Ethics Centre
Master of Counselling (2015) University of Queensland (UQ).
Bachelor of Social Work (2004) UQ.
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) (2001) UQ.
Disability Services - Positive Exemption Notice Card - Queensland Government.
Medicare and NDIS Registered Provider.
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Contact:
Privacy and Information Management
Privacy and Information Management Policy and Procedures
PGC will comply with:
the Privacy Act 1988 and the Privacy Amendment Act 2012 to protect the privacy of individuals' personal information
This includes having in place systems governing the appropriate collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information, access to and correction and disposal of that information.
Outcome:
Compliance with legislative requirements governing privacy of personal information.
All PGC participants are satisfied that their personal information is kept private and only used for the intended purpose
Background:
The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) is an Australian law which regulates the handling of personal information about individuals by private sector organisations. Amendments were made to this legislation in 2012 (the Privacy Amendment Act 2012) which updates the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) and came into effect in March 2014. The amendment requires an organisation to explicitly state how they will adhere to the APP and inform their participants on how their privacy will be protected. The APP cover the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information, and access to and correction of that information. The APP are summarised in Appendix 1 of this document.
Definitions:
'Personal information' means information (or an opinion) we hold (whether written or not) from which a person’s identity is either clear or can be reasonably determined.
‘Sensitive information’ is a particular type of personal information - such as health, race, sexual orientation or religious information.
Procedure:
Ensuring all PGC Staff Understand Privacy and Confidentiality Requirements
PGC will review their Privacy Policy annually and ensure they understand their responsibility to protect the privacy of individuals' personal information.
PGC workers will undergo annual refresher training related to Privacy and Confidentiality Requirements.
Managing Privacy of Participant Information Storage:
Participant information collected is kept in an individual participant record.
Each participant record has a unique identification number assigned by NDIA and represented within PGC practice management software (i.e. Halaxy Healthkit).
A participant record includes: personal information • clinical notes • investigations • correspondence from other healthcare providers • photographs • video footage.
A Firewall is used in the PGC computer system as a means of protecting information stored on the computer. Other security related procedures such as user access passwords, multi-factorial authentication also assist with the protection of information.
No paper records are kept.
Participant information is stored for seven years post the date of last discharge. In the case of participants aged under 18 years, information is kept until their 25th birthday and 7 years post discharge.
Participant related information, or any papers identifying a participant are destroyed by shredding and deleting from the computer and all databases.
User access to all computers and mobile devices holding participant information is managed by passwords and automatic inactive logouts.
Managing Privacy and Confidentiality Requirements of Participants:
PGC refers to their Privacy Policy on the participant’s NDIS Service Agreement.
The NDIS Service Agreement includes 5 Consents:
Consent for sharing and obtaining Information
Consent for receiving services
Consent for photography
Consent to participate in Participant Satisfaction Surveys
Consent to participate in Quality Management Activities
These consents are discussed with the participant and /or their decision maker in a way they can understand prior to the commencement of service.
Persons contacting PGC with an enquiry do not need to provide personal details. However, once a decision is made to progress to utilising PGC’s services, personal and sensitive information will need to be collected.
PGC may need to share pertinent participant information with other professional Allied Health Professional at the time of case conferencing or when determining support plans. Information is only shared in order to provide the best service possible and is only shared with those people whose Professional Codes of Ethics include privacy and confidentiality. Permission to share information is sought from the participant prior to the delivery of services and as required at other points of intervention as / if required.
Personal information is not disclosed to third parties outside of PGC, other than for a purpose made known to the participant and to which they have consented, or unless required by law.
Participants are informed there may be circumstances when the law requires PGC to share information without their consent.
Keeping Accurate Participant Information:
Participants are informed of the need to provide us with up to date, accurate and complete information.
PGC staff update information on the participant record at the time of reviews or when they become aware of change in information.
AHP staff at PGC update the participant record as soon as practical after the delivery of services to ensure information is accurate and correct.
Using Participant Information for Other Purposes:
Under no circumstances will PGC use personal details for purposes other than stated above, unless specific written consent is given by the participant or their representative.
Participant Access to Their Information
Participants have the right to access the personal information PGC holds about them. To do this, participants must contact the Director of PGC.
Management of a Privacy Complaint:
If a person has a complaint regarding the way in which their personal information is being handled by PGC, in the first instance they are to contact the Director. The complaint will be dealt with as per the Complaints Management Policy. If the parties are unable to reach a satisfactory solution through negotiation, the person may request an independent person (such as the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner) or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to investigate the complaint. PGC will provide every cooperation with this process.
Collecting your personal information through our website:
The PGC website, Home | Peter Greasley Counselling (wixsite.com), is hosted in the USA. Our website uses Google Analytics, a service which transmits website traffic data to Google servers in the United States and possibly other locations outside of Australia. Google Analytics does not identify individual users or associate individual IP addresses with any other data held by Google. We use reports provided by Google Analytics to help us understand website traffic and patterns of usage by users on our website, to help us improve our website and its content. By using our website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner described in Google’s Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy. You can opt-out of Google Analytics if you disable or refuse cookies, disable JavaScript, or use the opt-out service provided by Google.
Our website may contain links to third-party websites and links to YouTube and Vimeo videos. PGC is not responsible for the content or privacy practices employed by websites that are linked from our website. You can access their Privacy Policy on their respective websites.
1.Access to personal information and correction
You can ask for access or correction of your personal information, if you believe it to be inaccurate, in writing and we must respond within 30 days. We may ask you to verify your identity before we give you access to your information or correct it, and we will try to make the process as simple as possible.
Access to your personal information may be declined in accordance with privacy laws, for example, where giving you access would put you or another person at risk of harm. In this circumstance, we must notify you in writing setting out the reasons. We do not provide copies of information records without a court subpoena if they contain sensitive information that may be harmful if read without a counsellor present to explain the information appropriately. Where a person requesting access to your personal information is an authorised representative of yours, such as a lawyer or guardian, we will ask the representative to provide evidence of their authority. We may also ask you to provide current and informed consent to us before releasing your personal information.
We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold about you is accurate, up-to-date, and complete. If you believe it to be incorrect or out of date you can ask that we correct it. If it is not possible for us to correct it, you can ask us to associate with it, for example, attach or link a statement that you believe the information is incorrect and why. If we make a correction and we have disclosed the incorrect information to others, you can ask us to tell them about the correction. We must do so unless there is a valid reason not to.
2.Notifiable data breaches scheme
In the event of any unauthorised access or unauthorised disclosure or loss of your personal information that is likely to result in serious harm to you or other individuals, we will investigate and notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in accordance with the Privacy Act.
3.Changes to this Privacy Policy
We will update this Privacy Policy when our information handling practices change. Any information we hold about you will be governed by our current Privacy Policy. We recommend that you periodically review this Privacy Policy for any changes.
4.Contact
Queries, complaints, requests for access or correction should be made in email and sent to:
By email:
Peter Greasley Counselling
PGreasleyCounselling@outlook.com
Reference:
Appendix 1: Summary of the 13 Australian Privacy Principles
APP 1 — Open and transparent management of personal information
Ensures that APP entities manage personal information in an open and transparent way. This includes having a clearly expressed and up to date APP privacy policy.
APP 2 — Anonymity and pseudonymity
Requires APP entities to give individuals the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym. Limited exceptions apply.
APP 3 — Collection of solicited personal information
Outlines when an APP entity can collect personal information that is solicited. It applies higher standards to the collection of ‘sensitive’ information.
APP 4 — Dealing with unsolicited personal information
Outlines how APP entities must deal with unsolicited personal information.
APP 5 — Notification of the collection of personal information
Outlines when and in what circumstances an APP entity that collects personal information must notify an individual of certain matters.
APP 6 — Use or disclosure of personal information
Outlines the circumstances in which an APP entity may use or disclose personal information that it holds.
APP 7 — Direct marketing
An organisation may only use or disclose personal information for direct marketing purposes if certain conditions are met.
APP 8 — Cross-border disclosure of personal information
Outlines the steps an APP entity must take to protect personal information before it is disclosed overseas.
APP 9 — Adoption, use or disclosure of government related identifiers
Outlines the limited circumstances when an organisation may adopt a government related identifier of an individual as its own identifier, or use or disclose a government related identifier of an individual.
APP 10 — Quality of personal information
An APP entity must take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information it collects is accurate, up to date and complete. An entity must also take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information it uses or discloses is accurate, up to date, complete and relevant, having regard to the purpose of the use or disclosure.
APP 11 — Security of personal information
An APP entity must take reasonable steps to protect personal information it holds from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. An entity has obligations to destroy or de-identify personal information in certain circumstances.
APP 12 — Access to personal information
Outlines an APP entity’s obligations when an individual requests to be given access to personal information held about them by the entity. This includes a requirement to provide access unless a specific exception applies.
APP 13 — Correction of personal information
Outlines an APP entity’s obligations in relation to correcting the personal information it holds about individuals.