Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Ruth is a qualified kids counsellor through the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (AIPC) and she is registered with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA). This means she is accountable to their guidelines and requirements and must complete professional development and professional supervision each year.

Counselling sessions are available during school terms on Tuesdays between 9am and 3pm. There is limited availability on other days. Please contact us via phone or email if you would like to enquire about other days.

Sessions are run in mobile locations within the Lakes Entrance area, usually at the Lakes Entrance Mechanics Hall. Ruth will confirm with you where your sessions will be held once an appointment has been booked.

Counselling sessions for kids cost $115, for a 45 min session.

There's no simple answer here, because everyone is different. As a starting point, you can expect around six sessions to start with before assessing whether any more are required. This decision is a collaborative process and you will work closely with your counsellor to decide these sorts of things.

Yes. Most sessions are between the child and counsellor, however, a parent or guardian needs to stay in the vicinity of the appointment in the event that any assistance is required. At the end of sessions, there will also be time when your child can tell you what we've been doing in the sessions, what strategies they can practise at home and how you can help them to practise these strategies. Parents/guardians are welcome to stay in the session room if both the child and parent/guardian would like this.

Informal ways to follow your child's progress are as follows:A parent or guardian is required to stay in the space for all sessions, therefore you will have an idea of how things are progressing. As part of each session time, near the end of the session, your child will spend some time telling you what we've been doing and explaining what things they can practise in between sessions. This helps the child to reinforce their learning, include you in the process and update you about progress. Any other discussions about progress needs to occur within a separate paid session. These are 45 minutes, cost $115 and can be organised between:a. parent(s)/guardian(s) and counsellorb. child, parent(s)/guardian(s) and counsellorYou will also have the opportunity to provide feedback on a regular basis, which enables us to modify our approach when required to best suit your needs and achieve your goals.

We specialise in helping kids aged 4-12 years old. However, if you feel we could suit someone such as a teenager, Ruth is qualified to provide counselling for this age group and has worked with this age group so could tailor sessions to suit someone older if we all felt it would be a good fit. Feel free to contact us to discuss this further.

No, you are welcome to contact us directly to access our kids counselling services as a private client. Where applicable, referrals from your GP or other health professionals are also accepted. If you are accessing our counselling for children services using your NDIS funding, you will need to have counselling included in you NDIS plan and these details will need to be provided to us.

Yes. Ruth is able to see children using their self managed or plan managed NDIS funding. Please let her know in advance if you would like to use NDIS funding for counselling services with Make a Joyful Noise - Wellbeing and Counselling.

No, unfortunately. Our counselling for kids services are not covered under private health insurance or Medicare.

We can provide a certificate of workplace absence, which is accepted by most employers. If you require time off work to bring your child to sessions, we are more than happy to provide you with a certificate. Please confirm with your employer if this is accepted by your particular place of employment prior to attending.

To book a kids counselling session you can book online, call us on 0494 685 142 or email us at ruth.makeajoyfulnoise@gmail.com See our Counselling for Kids page for more details.

Music wellbeing workshops for schools and kinders are $290.00 per session.

We provide all the necessary resources for every workshop. We do have a few requirements from you. Please see the attached document for a comprehensive list of what we need from you.

For a comprehensive list of what's included in all workshops, please see the attachment below.

We are based in Lakes Entrance, but we travel to you for workshops and live music. We service all surrounding suburbs of Lakes Entrance, up to around one-hour drive time from Lakes Entrance. If you are not sure if we service your area, please get in touch via email and we can let you know whether we can come to you.

To book a kids music wellbeing workshop or live music, please call us on 0494 685 142 or email us at ruth.makeajoyfulnoise@gmail.com See our Wellbeing Workshop and Live Music pages for more details.

The cost of live music is variable dependent on your location and required performance time. Please reach out via email with your requirements and we can give you a no-obligation, free quote.