This section provides referral information specifically for health care professionals and practice managers.
Strategic Hypnotherapy Referral Support
for Health Care Professionals
Health Care Professional Referral Support for Patient Consultations
Strategic hypnotherapy at Rethink Clinical Hypnotherapy provides a structured, patient-led support option designed to work alongside existing medical and allied health care plans, supporting integration into current treatment pathways. It supports patients experiencing common presentations such as anxiety, stress, insomnia, pain-related distress, and social anxiety, which represent five of the most frequently seen patient concerns in Australia, and is intended to complement, not replace, medical, psychiatric, or psychological treatment. Supporting materials and referral guidance are made accessible through a dedicated Professional Support Portal to assist clinicians during patient consultations.
This support is designed for general practitioners, dentists, counsellors, social workers, and allied health practitioners involved in patient referral and treatment planning. The Professional Portal provides immediate access to structured referral information and patient support resources that can be used during consultations or reviewed as part of ongoing care decisions.
Practice Manager Setup and Privacy Alignment
For Practice Managers, the Professional Support Portal can also be set up using a centrally managed practice email address, allowing access to be coordinated at a clinic level rather than through individual practitioner logins. This allows a single set of credentials to be maintained, providing a controlled access point for clinicians without requiring them to register independently.
This approach supports common medical practice and organisational requirements around communication boundaries and privacy, where individual practitioner details are not routinely shared externally. It enables clinic Practice Managers to maintain oversight of portal use while allowing health care professionals to access referral resources as part of their consultation workflow.
Where Strategic Hypnotherapy Fits Within Clinical Care
Strategic hypnotherapy supports patients whose learned cognitive, emotional, or behavioural patterns continue to influence wellbeing, engagement with care, or response to treatment, including a range of common pattern-based presentations encountered in clinical practice.
It is intended as a complementary adjunct to existing care, not a replacement for medical, psychiatric, or psychological treatment. The focus is on helping patients recognise and reshape patterns that may be maintaining distress or limiting progress within treatment.
Strategic hypnotherapy may also support patients within multidisciplinary chronic pain management plans by addressing cognitive, behavioural and postural response patterns that influence pain perception and recovery.
This approach may be considered as a structured, non-pharmacological adjunct within broader treatment plans, particularly where pattern-based responses are contributing to the persistence of symptoms.
Common Patient Presentations Supported
Strategic Hypnotherapy supports patients presenting with common pattern-based concerns, including the five frequently seen presentations outlined above.
It may also support a broader range of pattern-based presentations, including professional/workplace anxiety, anger management concerns, procrastination, low self-esteem and motivation-related difficulties.
These presentations often involve cognitive, emotional, or behavioural patterns that continue to influence how the patient experiences their situation, engages with care, or responds to treatment.
These patterns can help guide referral decisions within clinical practice.
Referral Suitability
Referral may be considered where a patient’s presentation aligns with the above patterns and continues to affect functioning, engagement with care, or response to treatment.
This may be particularly relevant when:
symptoms persist despite appropriate medical management
cognitive or behavioural patterns appear to be maintaining distress
the patient demonstrates insight and readiness for structured support
a collaborative adjunct approach is preferred
a non-pharmacological intervention is clinically appropriate
Strategic hypnotherapy is suited to patients with stable mental health concerns, anxiety, persistent stress-related responses, sleep disruption, or chronic pain patterns where cognitive and behavioural factors are contributing to symptom maintenance.
It is not intended for acute psychiatric risk, unmanaged psychosis, or crisis intervention. In these cases, specialist psychiatric or emergency services remain the appropriate pathway.
In these contexts, strategic hypnotherapy can provide structured, patient-led support alongside existing treatment plans.
Understanding Strategic Hypnotherapy in Clinical Practice
Strategic Hypnotherapy, defined as clinical hypnosis underpinned by strategic psychotherapy, provides a structured, patient-led approach that acts as a practical bridge between general wellbeing support and more complex mental health care. It allows clinicians to refer patients to a form of support that complements existing treatment without requiring escalation where it may not yet be appropriate.
Rather than focusing on hypnotic suggestion alone, the approach uses strategic psychotherapy to identify the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural patterns influencing how a patient perceives and responds to their situation before those insights are integrated into the hypnosis process.
This creates a more structured, patient-led form of support, where the patient’s own responses, resources, and emerging insights help shape the therapeutic direction, particularly in common pattern-based presentations.
All Strategic Hypnotherapists at Rethink Clinical Hypnotherapy hold the 11271NAT Diploma of Clinical Hypnosis and Strategic Psychotherapy, which is the only nationally recognised government accredited qualification for hypnosis based support in Australia.
This approach is delivered within scope and does not replace medical or psychiatric care.
Clinical Communication and Collaboration with Referring Providers
With appropriate consent, concise reports are available to be provided directly to the referring provider using the contact details provided within the referral. These reports outline the agreed treatment focus, progress indicators, and ongoing areas of support.
The Professional Portal is not used for clinical communication. It is designed as a reference and resource tool, while all provider communication is conducted through standard referral pathways.
These summaries are designed to support collaborative care while maintaining patient privacy and avoiding unnecessary disclosure of sensitive personal information.
Where relevant, reporting can align with pain management strategies or broader behavioural health frameworks.
Rethink Clinical Hypnotherapy Delivery and Access
In-person appointments are currently available at our practice in Narre Warren, Victoria by appointment. Alternatively, sessions can be delivered via secure video Telehealth and are available Australia-wide.
Online delivery allows patients to access structured support in a familiar environment and is considered an effective and appropriate format for this approach, supporting engagement and consistency within the support process, particularly for patients managing anxiety or stress-related presentations.
Strategic hypnotherapy support in Australia is not currently eligible for Medicare rebates. Some private health funds may provide partial rebates depending on individual cover. Referring practitioners may wish to advise patients to confirm eligibility with their provider and arrange claims directly where applicable.
Referral Pathway Overview
Referrals from health care providers can be made using standard written referral, care plan documentation, or secure email submission.
The process is designed to integrate with existing clinical workflows without adding unnecessary complexity, allowing referrals to be made through familiar pathways.
Referral guidance and supporting information are available through the Professional Portal.
To access the provider portal and referral submission workflow, please use the registration button in the Professional Access Portal section below.
Learn more about our clinical model on the About Us page.
For issue-specific treatment pathways, explore the Support Hub.
Accessing The Health Care Professional Portal
Register using your professional or practice email to access the Professional Portal and referral support resources.
The portal provides free downloadable patient resources and structured clinical summaries that can be used during consultations or shared with patients where appropriate.
For clinics and organisations, access can be set up using a centrally managed practice email address, allowing a single set of credentials to be maintained and used by clinicians within the team as needed.
No sensitive patient information is stored within the portal. It is designed as a secure reference tool to support clinical decision-making while maintaining privacy and alignment with internal workplace policies.