COUNSELLING FOR NDIS PARTICIPANTS
Support that works with how you actually think, feel and function.
Neurodiversity-affirming counselling for NDIS participants, with extensive experience in autism, ADHD and the complexities that can come with navigating relationships, identity, overwhelm, change and everyday life.
Available to self-managed and plan-managed participants, in person in Melbourne or online across Australia.
Comma + Co is an unregistered NDIS provider. We are not currently able to accept NDIA-managed funding.
WHAT COUNSELLING CAN SUPPORT
Support shaped
around you.
Counselling can help you understand what is happening beneath the immediate problem, develop ways of responding that fit you, and build greater choice in how you manage your life, relationships and wellbeing.
01 UNDERSTANDING + IDENTITY
Neurodivergence, masking, identity and recognising patterns in how you think, respond and relate.
02 REGULATION + CAPACITY
Overwhelm, burnout, emotional regulation and finding strategies that better match your capacity.
03 RELATIONSHIPS + COMMUNICATION
Communication, boundaries, self-advocacy and navigating relationships where needs, expectations or ways of communicating differ.
04 CHANGE + AUTONOMY
Life transitions, changing support needs, confidence, independence and adapting when circumstances shift.
These aren't diagnostic criteria or a checklist of things you need to be struggling with. Counselling is individual, and we'll work out together what would be useful for you.
HOW WE WORK
Counselling shouldn't require you to become better at performing therapy.
Traditional counselling does not work equally well for everybody. You might need time to process a question before answering it, prefer concrete examples to abstract questions, find eye contact distracting, think more clearly with something written down, or arrive with very different capacity from one week to the next.
Sessions can be adapted around the way you communicate and process. That might mean more structure, clearer questions, visual or written material, additional thinking time, breaking something complicated into smaller parts, or changing pace when your capacity changes.
The aim is not to make you appear more neurotypical. It is to help you understand yourself, communicate what you need and develop approaches that are useful in your actual life.
EXPERIENCE
Understanding that extends beyond the NDIS plan.
Comma + Co has extensive experience with neurodiversity, particularly autism and ADHD, and understands that neurodivergence rarely sits neatly within one part of a person's life.
It can shape relationships, work, study, sensory experiences, communication, emotional regulation, decision-making, identity and the systems you have to navigate. Counselling starts with you rather than a diagnosis, deficit list or predetermined set of skills to practise.
Where useful, we can work alongside other members of your support team while keeping counselling centred on your own priorities.
USING YOUR NDIS FUNDING
Can I use my funding for counselling?
Having an NDIS plan does not automatically mean every counselling service can be paid from it. The support needs to be consistent with your plan and appropriately connected to your disability-related needs, goals or intended outcomes.
Before commencing NDIS-funded counselling, we'll clarify what you are hoping to work on, how this relates to your support needs and which funding you intend to use.
If you are unsure whether your particular funding can be used for counselling, we recommend confirming this with your plan manager, support coordinator or NDIS contact before commencing.
You do not need to provide Comma + Co with your entire NDIS plan. We only need the information relevant to understanding the support you are seeking and how it will be funded.
01
If your NDIS funding is self-managed.
You can generally choose to work with registered or unregistered providers. You can pay Comma + Co directly and seek reimbursement in accordance with your plan and applicable NDIS requirements.
Not sure how your funding is managed? Your plan manager, support coordinator or NDIS contact can help you check before you book.
02
If your NDIS funding is plan-managed.
You can generally use an unregistered provider. With your permission, we can invoice your plan manager directly for agreed supports.
03
If your NDIS funding is NDIA-managed.
We cannot currently provide services using the NDIA-managed portion of your funding because Comma + Co is not a registered NDIS provider. NDIA-managed supports must be delivered by registered providers.
FOR PLAN MANAGERS + SUPPORT COORDINATORS
Straightforward communication and clear scope.
Comma + Co provides individual counselling to NDIS participants where counselling is appropriate to the participant's disability-related needs and intended outcomes.
Before services commence, we can confirm participant and billing details, funding management, the agreed service and fee, relevant goals or intended outcomes, invoice requirements and any agreed communication or reporting arrangements.
With the participant's consent, we can also collaborate with support coordinators, occupational therapists, psychologists, GPs and other professionals involved in their care.
PRACTICAL DETAILS
Clear scope, clear communication.
NDIS-funded counselling with Comma + Co is straightforward from the outset. We are clear about what counselling can and cannot provide, how your information is handled, how we communicate with others involved in your support, and what to expect around fees, invoicing and sessions.
01 SCOPE OF PRACTICE
Clear about what we do, and what we don't.
Comma + Co provides counselling. Our work may include emotional regulation, relationships, identity, self-understanding, adjustment, communication, self-advocacy and developing practical ways of responding to difficulties.
We do not provide specialist behaviour support, functional capacity assessments, diagnostic assessments, occupational therapy, case management, support coordination or crisis services.
Where another service is more appropriate, we'll say so.
02 COLLABORATIVE CARE
Your information remains yours.
NDIS involvement does not mean everyone involved in your support automatically receives information about your counselling.
We will discuss what, if anything, you would like shared with your plan manager, support coordinator or other professionals involved in your care. Where communication or reporting is useful, we will agree on its purpose and scope with you first, except where disclosure is required by law or under our usual safety and confidentiality obligations.
03 SESSIONS + FEES
Straightforward from the beginning.
NDIS-funded counselling follows the same clinical approach as our other counselling services.
Before commencing, we'll confirm the session fee, cancellation arrangements, how invoices will be managed and any NDIS-specific administrative requirements. For plan-managed participants, invoices can be sent directly to your plan manager with your consent.
Sessions are available in person in Melbourne and online across Australia.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A few practical things you may want to know.
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No GP referral is required simply because you are using NDIS funding. What matters is whether counselling is an appropriate use of your particular funding.
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No. Comma + Co works with NDIS participants more broadly. Neurodiversity, particularly autism and ADHD, is an area of extensive experience within the practice.
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Not from Comma + Co. We provide counselling rather than diagnostic assessment. Your NDIS eligibility and funding arrangements sit separately from our counselling process.
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Yes. Plan managers and support coordinators are welcome to contact us about availability, fees, invoicing and service scope. We will need the participant's consent before discussing personal or clinical information.
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Where a report is clinically appropriate and within our scope, we can discuss what is required, why it is needed and whether we have the information necessary to provide it. Any additional fee will be agreed before the work is undertaken.
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No. Comma + Co currently operates as an unregistered NDIS provider. This means we can work with participants using appropriate self-managed or plan-managed funding, but cannot accept NDIA-managed funding.
GETTING STARTED
Start with a conversation.
You don't need to know exactly which funding category applies, have the right terminology or work out whether counselling is the right fit before contacting us.
Tell us a little about what you are looking for and how your plan is managed. We'll let you know whether Comma + Co can help and what happens next.
COMMA + CO BLOG
Insights you can apply in the wild.
Thoughtful perspectives on the experiences, relationships, and decisions that shape us, offering a clearer way to understand what’s happening and consider what might come next.
LET’S STAY CONNECTED
Something worth pausing for.
Occasional notes on the patterns that shape how we live, work, and relate, with ideas to help you respond with greater clarity and choice.