A big welcome to Moi Clinic! We are excited to be on this journey with your and look forward to being a part of your family whilst you are with us. Seeing a new therapist for the first time can leave you feeling many emotions from excited, scared, anxious. You may have many questions. We hope your emotions settle the moment we say hello after entering the building.

What to expect at your first Moi Clinic Appointment?

Our aim at Moi Clinic is that you will feel welcomed and at home the moment you walk through our doors. We would like every clinician’s face at Moi Clinic to be familiar to you and your child. As a result, you might find more than one person says hello as you walk through our building.

At your first appointment there will be two clinicians who will work together to get to know you. One clinician will provide support to your child in the session. They might play games or take your child for a walk through the centre to show them around. The other clinician will be asking you questions about your child and your family and will take a full developmental history. This means that the clinician will be asking about your child’s health and wellbeing from pregnancy inwards. They will discuss any concerns that you have has in the past and how these were managed and what your concerns are right now. This information will inform out treatment plan and goals and how we proceed with the therapy’s.

Some parents have sensitive information they do not want their children to hear. If you are feeling uncomfortable throughout the session you can ask your clinician to speak privately. Sometimes, for some children, hearing their parents discuss the difficulties they are experiencing can be a positive affirming experience. The processes can help the child think about their needs and listening to their parents recognise and advocate for their needs can provide a sense of relief. Please always communicate to your therapist if you have any information you would like to share in private. If you know this, please inform us at the start of the session.

Paperwork to complete.

Before arriving at your appointment, you will most likely have completed and intake form, signed a Confidentiality Agreement, Release of Information form and Creative Arts Space form. Your clinician will go over the documentation to make sure everything has been signed appropriately and check if you have any questions. You will also be asked to sign a Service Agreement which will outline the cost and frequency of services you are receiving through Moi Clinic.

What next?

Sometimes your first appointment will need to run over two sessions. This can happen if your child’s developmental history is complex and there is lots of information to cover. After we have completed the developmental history, your child will be allocated a clinician. We try to allocate children to clinicians before the initial appointment but sometimes when we meet you and your child there might be a different clinician who is a better fit. Our aim to match clinicians and children appropriately as we understand therapeutic outcome relies on the child and clinician forming a relationship. You can speak to us at any time about this.

Once you have been allocated a clinician and a time slot, we try not to move appointments at all if we can. This is your place in the centre every week or fortnight. If your clinician is away and we have other staff members available who are familiar with your child, you will be offered a different clinician, so your child does not miss out on their therapy. Depending on your child’s needs, a change in therapist sometimes offers a different perspective and provides a richer exposure for your child. All staff at Moi Clinic are asked to work collaboratively, where possible, to provide for a richer therapeutic springboard where your child can gain a range of strategies to meet their needs.

From The Moi Clinic Team


About the author

Rebecca Thomas

Education and Developmental Psychologist (Endorsement Candidate) B.Arts, G.D Edu, G.D Psych, G.D Psych (Adv) M.Psych (Ed & Dev) Cert Play Therapy, Cert IV in Training & As.

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