Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about starting therapy in your language.
Therapy that speaks your language.
Be seen and heard, supported and happier.
Θεραπεία που μιλά τη γλώσσα σας.
Να σας βλέπουν, να σας ακούν και να είστε πιο ευτυχισμένοι, όπου κι αν βρίσκεστε.
Terapia en tu idioma.
Siéntete comprendido/a y acompañado/a
Liệu pháp trị liệu nói ngôn ngữ của quý vị
Cảm thấy được lắng nghe, thấu hiểu và hỗ trợ.
Terapia che parla la tua lingua.
Sentiti ascoltato, compreso e supportato.
用你的語言，了解你的心。
在這裡，你會被聆聽、被明白、被支持。
علاج يتحدث لغتك
أشعر بأنني مسموع ومفهوم ومدعوم
थेरेपी जो आपकी भाषा बोलती है
थैरेपी जो आपकी सहायता के लिए, वास्तविक, व्यक्तिगत, और सुगम्य महसूस होती है।
Terapia que fala a sua língua.
Sinta-se ouvido(a), compreendido(a) e apoiado(a).
Getting Started
Equana Minds is an Australian telehealth platform connecting clients with psychologists, counsellors, and therapists who share their cultural background and speak their language. We believe you deserve support from someone who truly understands where you come from, not just clinically, but personally.
We support individual adults and couples across Australia. Our platform is especially designed for people from multicultural and multilingual backgrounds who want a practitioner who understands their cultural context, though anyone seeking quality telehealth therapy is welcome.
You can browse our therapists and book directly through our website. If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend booking a 20-minute intro session – it’s a low-pressure way to see if a therapist feels like the right fit before committing to a full session.
No referral is needed to book a self-funded session. However, if you’d like to access Medicare rebates under the Better Access program, you will need a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) and referral from your GP first. We’d encourage you to speak with your GP about this, as it can significantly reduce your out-of-pocket costs.
Our team includes psychologists, clinical psychologists, counsellors and psychotherapists and accredited mental health social workers. Each therapist type has different training, expertise, registration, and Medicare eligibility – you can learn more on our Our Services page.
We offer three formats: a 20-minute intro session (great for a first introduction), a 50-minute individual session, and an 80-minute couples session. All sessions are delivered via secure video call.
Yes. Our 80-minute couples session is designed to give both partners the time and space to be heard, and for your therapist to work meaningfully with the relationship dynamic. Like all Equana Minds sessions, couples therapy can be matched with a therapist who understands your shared cultural background and, where relevant, speaks your language. You can book directly through our website, with no referral needed.
Your first session is mostly about getting to know each other. Your therapist will ask about what’s brought you to therapy, your background, and what you’re hoping to work on. There’s no pressure to share everything at once. A good therapeutic relationship builds over time, and your first session is simply the beginning of that.
Absolutely. Many of our clients come to us having never spoken to a mental health professional before. In fact, connecting with someone who understands your cultural background and experiences can make starting therapy a lot more approachable. Equana Minds is here for anyone who wants support navigating life.
Cultural & Language Match
Culture shapes how we understand ourselves, our relationships, and our struggles. Things like family expectations, immigration experience, identity, and the way mental health is talked about (or not talked about) at home are deeply cultural. A therapist who shares your background doesn’t need those things explained – they already have the context. That can make therapy feel more natural, more honest, and more effective.
Yes. We offer therapy in over 25 languages. Many of our therapists are fluent in languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Malay, and more. You can filter by language when browsing therapists.
Get Matched is our guided tool for finding the right therapist. It walks you through a short series of questions, starting with your preferred language, therapist type, and what you’re looking for in a practitioner – with an optional question about your mental health concerns to refine your match further. Once done, you’ll see therapists who fit your preferences, ready to book. If you’d prefer to explore freely, our Browse Therapists section lets you search and filter profiles at your own pace.
That’s completely okay, and more common than you might think. Finding the right therapist is a process, not a one-shot decision. You’re always free to try a different therapist on our platform. We’d rather you find someone who feels right than stick with a match that isn’t working. If finding the right therapist is proving challenging, please get in touch.
Yes, and you’re actually one of the people we had most in mind when building Equana Minds. Growing up between cultures brings its own unique pressures: navigating expectations that don’t always feel like they belong to either world, identity questions, and experiences that can be hard to explain to someone who hasn’t lived them. Our therapists understand that.
Not at all. Our therapists are qualified professionals who work with a wide range of clients. The cultural and language matching is about giving you the option of a shared context where that matters to you: it’s a feature, not a filter. All Equana Minds therapists are trained to work respectfully and effectively across diverse backgrounds.
We made a deliberate choice not to rely on auto-translation for our core pages. When it comes to explaining therapy services, funding pathways, and clinical information, machine translation regularly gets things wrong, and in a mental health context, that matters. Instead, we’ve had our key pages professionally translated into 10 languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese, Punjabi, Portuguese, Hindi, and Greek. If your language is on that list, you can read accurate, natural information without anything lost in translation. Our blog and resource articles do include an auto-translate option for broader accessibility.
Costs, Rebates & More
Session fees vary by therapist type and session length. Full pricing details are available on our Pricing and Rebates page. We currently offer three funding pathways: Medicare MHTP, private health insurance, and self-funded, so there are options to suit different situations.
You won’t be charged at the time of booking. When you book, our secure third party provider will save your card details, and payment will be automatically taken 48 hours before your scheduled session. You’ll always have time to reschedule or cancel before that point if needed, see our cancellation policy below.
Yes, if you have a referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) from your GP, you may be eligible for Medicare rebates under the Better Access program. This typically covers sessions with registered psychologists and clinical psychologists. You can receive up to 10 rebated individual sessions per calendar year. For a full breakdown, visit our Medicare and Rebates page.
Many private health funds do cover telehealth psychology and counselling sessions, depending on your level of cover and your insurer. We recommend checking with your fund directly. Our team can provide invoices in the correct format for you to claim.
No problem, you can access Equana Minds as a self-funded client without any referral or insurance. Many clients prefer this because it offers full flexibility in choosing their therapist and session frequency without the need for a GP referral.
Not yet, but we’re working on it. These are all funding pathways and programs we’re actively developing, and we are working to roll these out in a staged approach. In the meantime, Equana Minds sessions can be accessed through Medicare MHTP, private health insurance, or self-funded. If you have a specific funding need, feel free to get in touch and we’ll do our best to assist you.
We use Halaxy to power our bookings, payments, clinical records, and telehealth video sessions. Halaxy is a trusted, Australian-built practice management platform used widely across the healthcare sector. When you book a session, create an account, or attend an appointment through Equana Minds, you’ll be interacting with Halaxy’s secure infrastructure. You can learn more at halaxy.com.
Just a device with a camera and microphone (a smartphone, tablet, or laptop all work), a stable internet connection, and a private space where you feel comfortable speaking freely. Our sessions run through a secure video platform, you’ll receive a link before your appointment and don’t need to download any software.
Yes. All sessions and records are handled in accordance with Australian Privacy Act requirements and the ethical obligations of each therapist’s registration body. For more information see our Privacy Policy and our telehealth third party provider Halaxy’s privacy information.
We ask that cancellations or reschedules are made at least 48 hours before your scheduled session. Cancellations made after 48 hours will not be eligible for a refund. Full details are outlined in our Terms of Service.
If you are in crisis or immediate danger, please call 000 in Australia. For 24/7 crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
If you are located overseas, please use these crisis contact resources for assistance.
