Medicare-rebated psychological treatment from an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and Family Therapist, integrated with somatic and movement-based care. Inclusive, neuro-affirming practice across the lifespan.
Telehealth Australia-wide · Medicare · NDIS · WorkSafe Victoria
三戦The practice seal reads Sanchin, ‘three battles’, after the foundational kata of Gōjū Ryū karate. Clinically, it denotes treatment that addresses cognition, emotional regulation and physiological arousal together.
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which this practice stands, and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker · Family Therapist · Clinical Supervisor
Master of Mental Health · Bachelor of Social Work and Social Policy · Graduate Diploma in Family Therapy — Williams Road · MAASW · Medicare Provider 4150643T · National Bronze Level Coach — Boxing Australia (Victoria) · Shodan, Gōjū Ryū Karate
Sarah Kewming is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, Family Therapist and Clinical Supervisor with 25 years of practice across acute inpatient, crisis, community and private mental health settings, and in university teaching. She works with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. Her practice is integrative and tailored to each person: she draws on cognitive behavioural, dialectical behaviour, acceptance and commitment, emotion-focused, schema, narrative and systemic family therapies, and on family-based treatment where it is indicated. Her caseload spans anxiety and depression, trauma and post-traumatic stress, neurodivergence, eating and feeding disorders, psychosis and other major mental illness, family violence, grief and chronic illness. She practises from a neuro-affirming position with neurodivergent people across the lifespan, including autistic people and people with ADHD, working with each person’s strengths, communication style and sensory profile. She also provides skills coaching and clinical supervision grounded in this approach.
Her clinical background includes psychiatric inpatient units, mental health case management, mobile support and assertive outreach, specialist eating disorder services, crisis assessment and treatment, emergency department and telephone triage, community care and step-up step-down residential services, and police and clinician co-response. That breadth informs how she assesses risk, how she formulates, and how she works alongside the general practitioners, psychiatrists and services a person is already engaged with.
Sarah has provided clinical supervision since 2008. She supervises Accredited Mental Health Social Workers in private practice and clinicians working in the public mental health system. She has lectured and tutored in the Master of Social Work at the Australian College of Applied Professions, and has taught the integrative seminars and held the field placement liaison role in La Trobe University's Master of Social Work (Child and Family).
She completed her Graduate Diploma in Family Therapy at the Williams Road Family Therapy Centre under the psychotherapist and author Moshe Lang, who founded the centre in 1979 as the first independent family therapy service in Australia. That training anchors her systemic and relational practice.
Alongside clinical practice, Sarah has taught martial arts for more than 25 years. She holds Shodan in Gōjū Ryū Karate, is a Fully Qualified International Instructor (FQI) in Taboada Balintawak Escrima — Filipino Martial Arts (FMA), and is a National Bronze Level Coach with Boxing Australia (Victoria). With her partner Jason she runs the dojo Seigi Kai (正義会), and Mindful Martial Arts, her movement-based treatment for emotional regulation, executive function, motor coordination and physical health, grew from this work.
Beyond the consulting room, Sarah contributes to the profession and the wider community: as a subject matter expert in mental health on La Trobe University's Social Work Academic Advisory Board and LEAP Academic Content Committee, as a member of the National Mental Health Workforce Sector Advisory Network, and as a contributor to Medibank's Mental Health Hub and a published author on lived experience. She delivers training to schools and workplaces on inclusive management practice, mental health first response and neuro-affirming teaching, and her early advocacy reuniting Afghan families detained on Nauru is documented in The Age and the book Freeing Ali.
Accredited Mental Health Social Workers are trained in the focused psychological strategies and evidence-based therapies recognised under Medicare, and in the mental health law, social policy and service systems within which treatment takes place. Formulation attends to the person's history and presentation, and equally to the family, legal, financial and institutional circumstances that sustain or relieve distress. The intent is to treat the condition and, in the same work, to strengthen the person's capacity to navigate the systems on which their recovery depends.
Sarah's Master of Mental Health adds postgraduate training in psychopharmacology, psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health, which supports close collaboration with general practitioners and psychiatrists on shared care. Her practice has extended across the statutory and compensable systems — child protection and the Children's and Family Courts, VCAT and the Mental Health Tribunal, the NDIS, WorkSafe, TAC and Victims of Crime — and alongside family violence, housing and community services.
“Across my career as a therapist and an instructor, I have had the privilege of working with people of many backgrounds and experiences. My deepest learning has been the practice of compassion and understanding. I approach each client from a position of humility and learning, not power. The client is the expert in their own experience; my role is to listen, understand, formulate and collaborate — drawing on the evidence base to show that no one need be defined by an illness, a system or a label. Each person holds the self-determination and autonomy to reclaim their own power and to learn to manage their mental health as we manage physical health. I am grateful for every experience that has shaped this work.”
Sarah Kewming
Assessment, formulation and treatment for children, adolescents, adults, couples and families, in rooms at Hawthorn, by secure telehealth, or by home, school and community visit where clinically indicated. All services are delivered within a trauma-informed, neuro-affirming frame and documented to clinical record standards.
Anxiety and mood disorders, trauma and post-traumatic stress, eating and feeding disorders, grief, psychosis and enduring mental illness, chronic illness and workplace injury, across the lifespan; neuro-affirming care for neurodivergent clients of all ages.
ApproachesCBT including CBT-E and ERP · DBT · ACT · schema and emotion-focused therapy · narrative and psychodynamic psychotherapy · somatic regulation
Communication and conflict, attachment and repair, life transitions, the impact of mental illness on the relational system, and support for families in understanding and accommodating neurodivergence; family-based treatment for eating disorders and general presentations where indicated.
ApproachesStructural and family systems therapy · emotionally focused therapy · family-based treatment · individual family therapy
Clinician-designed, movement-based treatment integrating trauma-informed care, DBT skills and martial and boxing science, without contact or sparring; indicated for emotional dysregulation, executive function difficulty, motor coordination and the physiological sequelae of anxiety and trauma, from Year 5 to adulthood.
ApproachesGraded motor and regulation training · distress tolerance · breath pacing at the point of arousal · interoceptive awareness · outcome measures at baseline and review
Treatment for accepted mental injury claims — work-related stress, bullying and harassment, occupational violence and trauma exposure — with Mindful Martial Arts available as an adjunct within the treatment plan. GAD-7, PHQ-9 and PCL-5 at baseline and review; written update to the Agent after each ten-hour block.
ApproachesExposure-based and cognitive behavioural treatment · graded movement for autonomic regulation · return-to-health and return-to-work planning
Therapeutic supports and skill development for plan-managed and self-managed participants in the home, school, gym or community; psychosocial functional capacity assessments and evidence reports for plan reviews.
ApproachesNeuro-affirming skills coaching · behavioural and environmental formulation · carer and parent training · functional capacity assessment
Individual and group supervision for Accredited Mental Health Social Workers in private practice and clinicians in the public mental health system, attending to formulation, risk, ethics and documentation standards.
ApproachesReflective practice · person-centred and systemic supervision models
Professional development and consultation on neuro-affirming and trauma-informed practice, mental health first response, inclusive management and psychosocial risk, aligned with the Child Safe Standards and the OHS Act 2004 (Vic); wellbeing seminars combining mental health education with non-contact self-defence, assertiveness and boundary-setting.
ApproachesScoped following an initial conversation; delivery and review with outcomes agreed in advance
A referral is required for all new clients. Fees are payable at the time of service; Medicare rebates are processed on the day and the gap is the client’s out-of-pocket cost. WorkSafe Victoria and NDIS services are billed to the Agent, plan manager or participant at the scheduled rate with no gap. Rates follow the current financial-year schedules.
Mental Health Treatment Plan (10 sessions per calendar year), Eating Disorder Treatment Plan (up to 40 sessions in 12 months, in GP-reviewed blocks), Chronic Condition Management Plan and pregnancy support counselling, on referral from a general practitioner, psychiatrist or paediatrician. Rebate $89.50 per session from 1 July 2026; concession rate $150 by arrangement.
Accepted mental injury claims on referral from the Agent or treating medical practitioner; billed at the WorkSafe schedule with no gap to the worker.
Plan-managed and self-managed participants, billed at the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits with no gap; agency-managed plans cannot be accepted.
Private fee-for-service with a referral from a treating practitioner; private health insurance rebates may apply depending on fund and cover.
| Service | Mode and item | Fee | Rebate | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicare | ||||
| Individual therapy MHTP | In rooms, 60 mins · Item 80160 | $220 | $89.50 | $130.50 |
| Individual therapy MHTP | Telehealth video, 60 mins · Item 91176 | $200 | $89.50 | $110.50 |
| Individual therapy MHTP | Telephone, 60 mins · Item 91188 | $150 | $89.50 | $60.50 |
| Individual therapy EDTP | In rooms, 60 mins · Item 82379 | $220 | $89.50 | $130.50 |
| Individual therapy EDTP | Telehealth video, 60 mins · Item 93103 | $200 | $89.50 | $110.50 |
| Individual therapy EDTP | Telephone, 60 mins · Item 93137 | $150 | $89.50 | $60.50 |
| Individual therapy — concession MHTP / EDTP | In rooms or telehealth, 60 mins · by arrangement | $150 | $89.50 | $60.50 |
| Individual therapy CCMP | In rooms or video, 60 mins · Items 10956 / 93000 · up to 5 per calendar year | $220 / $200 | $63.40 | $156.60 / $136.60 |
| Pregnancy support counselling Medicare | In rooms or video, 60 mins · Items 81005 / 93026 · up to 3 per pregnancy | $220 / $200 | $74.40 | $145.60 / $125.60 |
| NDIS | ||||
| Therapeutic supports | 60 mins client contact · 15_621_0128_1_3 | $193.99 per hour | Plan-funded | Nil |
| WorkSafe Victoria | ||||
| Initial consultation | In rooms or telehealth, 75 mins · MHSW600 / 600T | $205.48 | Billed to Agent | Nil |
| Long consultation | In rooms or telehealth, 60 mins · MHSW604 / 604T | $184.03 | Billed to Agent | Nil |
| Short consultation | In rooms or telehealth, 30 mins · MHSW602 / 602T | $92.00 | Billed to Agent | Nil |
| Return-to-work conference | MHSW700R | $115.01 | Billed to Agent | Nil |
| Private and programs | ||||
| Couples therapy | In rooms, 60 mins | $270 | — | $270 |
| Couples therapy | Telehealth, 60 mins | $250 | — | $250 |
| Family therapy — assessment and formulation | In rooms, 75 mins | $320 | — | $320 |
| Family therapy — session | In rooms, 75 mins | $300 | — | $300 |
| Mindful Martial Arts NDIS / private | Surrey Hills · NDIS at 15_621_0128_1_3 or private per session | $193.99 per hour / $150 | Plan-funded / — | Nil / $150 |
| Clinical supervision | In rooms or telehealth, 60 mins | $150 | — | $150 |
| School and workplace programs | On site · scoped proposal · half-day / full-day | On request | — | — |
Medicare rebates shown are the Accredited Mental Health Social Worker rates for focused psychological strategies from 1 July 2026 and are claimed on the day; the gap is the amount payable by the client. Chronic Condition Management Plan and pregnancy support counselling items carry their own rebates under the MBS. Where Mindful Martial Arts is delivered under an accepted WorkSafe claim it is billed under the WorkSafe consultation items, not the private rate. Standard sessions are 60 minutes; family therapy and WorkSafe initial consultations are 75 minutes.
Scope: the literature cited supports the individual components of these programs — structured and cognitively demanding exercise for executive function and mood, slow-paced breathing for vagally mediated heart-rate variability, and body- and movement-oriented interventions for post-traumatic stress. Martial arts training in general shows small to medium effects with high heterogeneity, and the composite programs have not been independently trialled; claims are limited to what the component evidence supports. Emerging findings are identified as such.
Mindful Mental Health is a single-practitioner practice. Sarah holds direct clinical responsibility for assessment, formulation, treatment, documentation and reporting. Accreditations, clearances and insurance are current; certificates of currency are provided on request.
Home and community visits scheduled by arrangement within operating hours. Mindful Martial Arts program sessions run in Surrey Hills on Tuesday and Wednesday, 9:00am–2:00pm, and Friday, 9:00am–12:00pm.
| Day | Hours | Services available |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | — |
| Tuesday | 7:30am–2:00pm | Telehealth 7:30am–9:00am · Mindful Martial Arts 9:00am–2:00pm (Surrey Hills) · further telehealth by arrangement |
| Wednesday | 7:30am–2:00pm | Telehealth 7:30am–9:00am · Mindful Martial Arts 9:00am–2:00pm (Surrey Hills) · further telehealth by arrangement |
| Thursday | 7:30am–2:00pm | Hawthorn face-to-face · Telehealth |
| Friday | 7:30am–12:00pm | Telehealth 7:30am–9:00am · Mindful Martial Arts 9:00am–12:00pm (Surrey Hills) · further telehealth by arrangement |
| Saturday | Closed | — |
| Sunday | Closed | — |
37 Queens Avenue
Hawthorn VIC 3122
Auburn Railway Station (Alamein and Lilydale lines) is a 2-minute walk. Glenferrie Station is 10 minutes on foot, serviced by Tram 16 (Melbourne University to Kew). Bus routes 200, 207 and 624 service the local area.
Street parking on Queens Avenue and surrounding residential streets (check Boroondara Council signage). Hawthorn Town Hall Car Park on Oxley Road offers 2-hour free and paid options.
Central Gardens, Glenferrie Road shopping precinct, Swinburne University of Technology.
Telehealth (video and phone) is available across all operating days. Home and community visits are scheduled by arrangement on Thursdays and outside Mindful Martial Arts program hours.
Referrals and enquiries about availability are received by secure email. Referrals are open at present, with appointments by telehealth and face-to-face in Hawthorn. A referral is required for all new presentations; self-referral is not available. Medicare referrals are accepted under Mental Health Treatment Plans, Eating Disorder Treatment Plans, Chronic Condition Management Plans and for non-directive pregnancy support counselling.
Referrals are accepted from general practitioners; psychiatrists, paediatricians and other medical specialists; allied health clinicians, including psychologists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and physiotherapists; registered NDIS Support Coordinators; WorkSafe Victoria Agents; school wellbeing and leadership teams; and hospital and community mental health services. Each referral should include:
Enquiries from members of the public are welcome, and questions about suitability, availability or funding can be answered by email. Treatment begins with a referral: speak with your GP, who can assess suitability, prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan where indicated and refer on. This maintains clinical oversight and gives you access to Medicare rebates where eligible. If you are unsure where to start, email the practice and you will be directed to the appropriate pathway.
Psychological treatment at Mindful extends beyond the consulting room into structured movement, martial arts and creative work, delivered within the same clinical frame of assessment, formulation and review.
Mindful Mental Health is a single-practitioner practice and is not a crisis or emergency service. Email and the referrer line are monitored during operating hours.
