ADF Members, Veterans and Families can see a Psychologist in Newcastle at No Cost
A simple guide to fully funded therapy at Lacuna Psychology in Newcastle through Open Arms or Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
By Lacuna Clinical Psychology · Published 2025 · 8 min read
Imagery Copyright: Australia Department of Defence
If eligible, you can see a clinical psychologist at Lacuna Psychology in Newcastle at no cost to you. These sessions are fully funded by Open Arms or DVA, meaning you can work towards your mental health goals, without worrying about the cost.
Who is eligible for fully funded psychology sessions through Open Arms?
Current ADF members
Veterans or ex-serving ADF members (regardless of how long you served or if you were deployed)
Partners, children (including step-children) or ex-partners co-parenting with an ADF member or veteran
Reservists who have served at least one day of full-time service
Adult children of current or former ADF members
How do I see a psychologist in Newcastle funded by Open Arms?
Contact Open Arms To start therapy Contact Open Arms or call 1800 011 046.
Intake interview In your initial intake interview with Open Arms, you can request your referral to be sent to Lacuna Psychology, we are an approved Open Arms provider.
Book with Lacuna Once approved, call Lacuna Psychology on (02) 4003 4804, contact us or book online to schedule your first session.
No gap fees The good news is there is no out of pocket fee. The number of sessions is based on your mental health goals as agreed upon with Open Arms, rather than a set number of sessions like a Mental Health Care Plan through Medicare.
How veterans (former ADF members) can see a psychologist at Lacuna Psychology at no cost
If you’re a former Australian Defence Force (ADF) member and eligible for DVA support, you can access:
12 fully funded psychology sessions per referral from your GP.
No limit on referrals After using your 12 sessions, you can return to your GP for another referral and continue therapy as needed.
No gap fees DVA covers the full cost of each session.
No calendar year restrictions your sessions don’t reset annually like Medicare sessions, however your referral expires when all 12 sessions have been used or after 12 months—whichever comes first.
Who is eligible for DVA funded psychology sessions?
DVA Gold Card holders
DVA White Card holders with ‘Mental Health Conditions’ listed on their card
How to access DVA-funded psychology at Lacuna
See your GP and request a psychology referral through DVA (not a Medicare Mental Health Care Plan).
Call Lacuna Psychology on (02) 4003 4804, contact us or book online to schedule your first session.
Bring your DVA Card to your first appointment at Lacuna Psychology.
If you have a DVA Gold or White Card, your GP can provide a referral for 12 psychology sessions at Lacuna Psychology in Newcastle
Frequently Asked Questions
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No the ADF will not be notified. While the sessions are funded by Open Arms or DVA, the ADF will not know that you are seeing a psychologist.
They will not know you have accessed the service and they cannot access your case notes.
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Our online booking system requires a $50 deposit for new patients. Since your session is fully funded by DVA/Open Arms, we don’t want you to pay this deposit.
For your first session the easiest way to book once you have your referral from Open Arms/DVA is to call us on 02 4003 4804 or fill out our contact form.For subsequent sessions, you’ll be able to use our online booking system as there is no deposit required.
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Yes, you can see a psychologist at no cost at Lacuna, fully funded by Open Arms, even if your family member has passed away.
We see a lot of adults whose fathers served in World War II and Vietnam. -
Yes, if your partner has retired or if you are a adult child of someone who has retired from the ADF, you are eligible to see a psychologist at Lacuna Psychology funded by Open Arms.
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Yes, you can request a specific psychologist when booking. We have both male and female psychologists.
For example, Nick Hutchins, our male psychologist, has extensive experience treating male ADF members, veterans and families dealing with trauma, anxiety, anger, stress and relationship issues.
Dr. Sarah Campbell focuses on working with people managing chronic pain, which can be common among ADF members and veterans.
Let’s look at some examples
Scenario 1: Belinda’s husband is stationed at the RAAF base in Williamtown. She sees a clinical psychologist at Lacuna Psychology, funded by Open Arms
Belinda’s husband has been stationed at Williamtown RAAF base for the past 3 years. They live in Defence housing in Newcastle with their 3 young children. Belinda has always struggled with anxiety, but since the birth of her third child she has found the anxiety getting far worse. Recently, she has been experiencing insomnia, racing thoughts and panic attacks. Belinda is overwhelmed and needs support.
She contacts Open Arms and speaks with an Open Arms counsellor during her intake interview. After assessing her situation, the counsellor confirms that she is eligible for fully funded sessions with a psychologist. Belinda requests a referral to Lacuna Psychology in Mayfield, as she likes their welcoming atmosphere, emotion based approach to therapy and finds the location easy to access.
Lacuna Clinical Psychology in Mayfield
Belinda starts seeing Clinical Psychologist Sarah Young, who helps her process stress and the underlying emotions she has been carrying for many years. Belinda sees Sarah for 7 sessions and by the end has reached her mental health goals. She feels well enough to stop attending and Sarah discharges her.
About a year later, Belinda’s wishes to see Sarah Young again. She reaches out to Open Arms to be referred again to Lacuna and this time she sees Sarah Young via Telehealth (online video chat) for three sessions, and the sessions are funded by Open Arms.
Scenario 2: Rowan’s dad served in the ADF in Vietnam in the 1960s and came home with severe PTSD. Rowan now struggles with anxiety.
Rowan’s dad Jeff served in the Vietnam war in the late 1960’s, before Rowan was born. Jeff returned from Vietnam with PTSD which was left untreated. Throughout Rowan’s childhood, Rowan’s dad used alcohol to self-medicate and eventually developed a dependence on alcohol in Rowan’s teens. When Rowan was in year 12 his dad tried to take his own life. Rowan’s dad went to rehab in his later years, but eventually passed away from an alcohol related illness when Rowan was 30 years old.
It has been 8 years since his dad passed away and Rowan now works as primary school teacher and has two young boys of his own. He struggles with anger, stress and anxiety. His fuse is short, he doesn’t know how to connect with his elder son who was recently diagnosed with Autism and he is having relationship issues with his partner.
Rowan wants to see a psychologist and has learned that because his dad served in the Army, he can see a Clinical Psychologist at Lacuna Psychology in Newcastle for free, with the sessions being funded by Open Arms.
Rowan calls Open Arms on 1800 011 046 and explains his situation to the Open Arms counsellor during his intake interview. He asks to be referred to Nick Hutchins at Lacuna Psychology as he wants to see a male psychologist, and he knows Nick at Lacuna Psychology in Newcastle has a lot of understanding around military service and mental health.
Rowan sees Nick once a month for the next year, with all sessions being fully funded by Open Arms. Rowan is able to process the emotions he has suppressed about his own childhood and in doing so he begins to experience relief from the anxiety that spikes during stressful situations with his own kids. Nick provides updates to Open Arms about Rowan’s progress. After Rowan’s 12th session, Rowan and Nick agree that Rowan has met his therapeutic goals, so Nick discharges Rowan.
Scenario 3: Michael retired from the RAAF and needs intensive support for PTSD
Michael served in the RAAF for 15 years, stationed between Williamtown, Richmond and Tindal. He was deployed to the Middle East twice. Since retiring in 2023, he’s been struggling with chronic pain, headaches and insomnia, often getting flashbacks at night.
After discussing his symptoms with his GP, Michael learned they were signs of PTSD and anxiety stored in his body—a result of trauma from his service. His GP referred him for 12 psychology sessions, fully funded by DVA as he has a DVA White Card with ‘Mental Health Conditions’ listed on the card.
Michael booked online to see Clinical Psychologist Sarah Campbell, who has extensive experience in treating chronic pain. Michael was motivated to deal with his issues and asked for intensive therapy— weekly sessions for 12 weeks. Unlike Medicare, where Michael would have to pay upfront and wait for a rebate, his DVA White Card meant he didn’t have to worry about payments at all.
At the end of 12 sessions, Sarah Campbell updated Michael’s GP, recommending ongoing therapy. Michael decided to continue at a slower pace—one session per month. His GP provided a new 12-session referral, after 12 months he had used 10 of them. Since referrals expire after 12 months, Michael will need a new referral if he wants to keep seeing Sarah Campbell.
Michael can continue therapy for as long as he needs, with no cap on the number of referrals—just regular reviews with his GP to renew them when needed.
The Lacuna Psychology clinic at Mayfield
How to Get Started
If you are eligible:
Open Arms support:
Contact Open Arms or call 1800 011 046.
Complete an intake interview and request to be referred to Lacuna Clinical Psychology.
Once referred, call us at (02) 4003 4804 or book online.
DVA referrals:
See your GP and request a DVA psychology referral.
Call us at (02) 4003 4804 or book online to start therapy.
Bring your Veteran Gold or White Card when you visit Lacuna
Your service deserves the best care
At Lacuna Clinical Psychology, we’re committed to helping ADF members, veterans and their families heal and thrive. Whether you’re struggling with PTSD, anxiety, relationship stress, or past experiences related to military life, we’re here to support you—every step of the way.
**Scenarios are for illustrative purposes only and not based on real patients.
Get support at Lacuna Psychology
Take the first step toward feeling better by booking an appointment at Lacuna Psychology. If you still have questions, try our FAQs or call our Practice Manager on (02) 4003 4804.