FAQs.

At Shift at Brisbane Natural Health all of our practitioners are registered with all of the major health funds if their modality is covered. If you have extras cover with your private health insurance and are covered for the therapy you’d like to claim then you will be able to get a rebate from your health fund. Always check with your health fund who can tell you what your level of cover includes.

How do I process the claim for my appointment fee?

For one off sessions, we have a HICAPs machine in the clinic. If your health fund is on HICAPs you can claim your appointment fee back on the spot. If you don’t claim through HICAPs then you can claim directly through your health fund.

When might I not be able to claim?

You might not be able to claim your appointment with your health fund if any of the following occur:

• Your appointment is with a modality, such as energetic healing or hypnotherapy that is not covered by health funds
• You are not covered for the specific modality in your health insurance package
• Your health fund rebates have run out for the year
• Always check with your health fund to find out the exact terms of your policy

How much will I get back?

Rebates vary widely across health funds and also vary depending on which level of cover you have. Check your policy information to find out what your rebates and limits are. It also pays to shop around for extras cover or consider higher levels of cover, which can often pay for themselves in higher rebates.

Can I claim my package bonus?

If you are eligible for a package bonus then you can claim it through HICAPs, or though your health health fund.

What modalities are covered with private health insurance?

For most health funds, the following services are eligible for a rebate under your extras cover:

• Acupuncture
• Remedial Massage

Naturopathy cover was revoked by the federal government in April 2019 for all health funds. It is currently under review and we expect that cover will be resumed in 2021, if the review is positive.

Call us on 07 3367 0337 now to make your appointment, or use the online booking button below to make your appointment online.

At Shift at Brisbane Natural Health we are specialists in helping your body to heal itself. Your body has the innate capacity to heal, given the right circumstances and environment. While conventional treatment is often very symptom focused, our treatments aim to treat the cause wherever possible.

Take for example, recurrent headaches. You get a headache, you take a painkiller like paracetamol or ibuprofen and the headache goes away. While you’ll gain relief, the treatment does not help to prevent the recurrence of future headaches. This is symptomatic treatment.

Another approach, would be to think, OK so why am I getting headaches? You discover that you have some structural issues and problems with posture. You go and get a series of myotherapy sessions, which help to relieve the pain, correct the structure and teach you how to sit, move and stretch properly so the issue doesn’t recur.

Or perhaps you have a naturopathic consultation, and it is discovered that they headaches are actually caused by food chemicals that are causing issues. You remove the foods, heal the gut and the headaches go away.

Both of these are examples of getting to the root cause. The advantage of doing this is that the issue often does not recur, meaning you don’t have to manage the symptoms ongoing.

Treating the cause takes longer and more commitment that using a symptomatic relief. But the rewards are that you can correct the core issue, and help you body to do what it is meant to do, which is to keep you healthy and thriving.

At Brisbane Natural Health we offer solution based, rather than symptom based health care. Solution based health care looks at providing treatment options that offer a complete solution for the problem you want help with.

What is involved with solution based care?

Solution based health care involves examining your individual problem, working out what you need to do to resolve it and outlining a course of action so you know exactly what to expect. It can involve specific programs to deal with the health complaint, complete health memberships for your duration of care or specific schedules and tasks given to you by your natural health practitioner.

What are the benefits of solution based care?

There are many benefits to solution based health care.

• We are addressing the underlying causes of disease, rather than treating the symptoms
• You’ll be given a clear framework of what you need to do to heal
• You’ll be looked at holistically, with all issues interrelating to one another
• You’ll have a good idea of how much it will cost to resolve the problem
• You have a higher chance of a successful health outcome

What does solution based care involve?

Solution based care involves you seeing one or more practitioners in a specific framework that has been tailored to your condition. You may see any of our naturopaths, acupuncturists, massage therapists, hypnotherapists or energetic healers to help get to the bottom of your health complaint. As well as having sessions with our experts, you’ll also be given extra advice and support to help you though the healing process.

How do I find out more about solution based care?

Ask your practitioner or call reception on 07 3367 0337 and ask about our solution based treatment options.

Naturopathy involves the use of natural medicines and lifestyle advice to help to correct illness. But before your naturopath prescribes you these medicines, they need to know what to give you first.

How does a naturopath know what to prescribe?

Shift at Brisbane Natural Health naturopaths decide to prescribe you certain medicines based on a number of factors:

• Your specific symptoms
• Your family history
• Your body signs, such as tongue and nail analysis and iridology.
• Your blood or other pathology results

Your naturopath will use all of this information along with their training and clinical experience to decide on what medicines will be best for you. No two treatment plans are the same as each individual has specific needs and will respond to different treatment to someone else.

What medicines might a naturopath prescribe?

A naturopath may prescribe herbal medicines in a liquid or tablet form, nutritional supplements, food supplements, flower essences or other natural remedies to correct wellness.

What dietary advice to naturopaths give?

Our naturopaths look at your individual circumstances when recommending diet and lifestyle changes. They may recommend that you avoid certain foods that could be causing you problems. They will also assess if you are getting enough of the essential vitamins and minerals in your diet, and if you are not they will help you make changes to improve nutritional content.

You do not need to see a nutritionist in addition to our naturopaths. Our naturopaths have the equivalent training equaling a Bachelor of nutrition, included in their degrees.

What examinations do naturopaths do?

Our naturopaths use a number of different clinical examination techniques to see what is going on in your body.

Tongue analysis can give us clues about your digestive and liver health and show certain nutrient deficiencies.

Nail analysis can give information about your tissue health and can show nutrient deficiencies.

Iridology is the study of the iris of the eye. It can give information about certain organ weaknesses, digestive health and nervous system health.

Blood testing may be ordered directly through the clinic or with the assistance of your GP. We use this to look for signs of poor health, imbalance and nutritional deficiency.

Functional pathology includes tests using the saliva, urine or stools to look for markers of health that can guide treatment. Common tests that we order at Shift at Brisbane Natural Health are comprehensive stool assessments to assess gut health, urinary hormone profiles to assess reproductive health and genetic testing.

How do I make an appointment to see a naturopath at Shift at Brisbane Natural Health?

Call us on 07 3367 0337 or use the booking form to make your appointment online.

One of the most common questions we get asked is – how much will it cost to see a naturopath? There are 2 costs involved – the first being the consultation fee and the second being the cost of natural medicines that you may need.

An initial consultation with one of our naturopaths at our Brisbane clinic is $249. The initial appointment is 90 minutes long and includes an assessment and naturopathic diagnosis.

After this point, we offer membership based care for our naturopathy clients. This is a comprehensive solution to guide you through your wellness journey. Memberships start from as little as $49 per week and include all of the appointments that you will need.

For naturopathic fertility consultations the appointments are 120min and the fee is $269 per couple. Call reception to find out more.

How long will it take to heal?

The length of treatment required depends on the severity of your condition, how many systems are effected and also your dedication to the changes you make in your diet and lifestyle during the process.

At Shift at Brisbane Natural Health we move our naturopathy patients through the process as quickly as we can while keeping costs to a minimum. For some people, they prefer to do more, while others prefer to go slow and steady with their healing.

At your initial discovery and diagnostic session you’ll be given an estimate of how long it will take to heal, along with costs that are associated with treatment.

How much will I need to spend on supplements?

Every patient is an individual so it is impossible to give exact costs of treatment without assessing you. If you need to budget your naturopath will be able to give you an estimate of costs after your first visit. As a general rule, someone with very basic health concerns will need to spend approx. $40 – $70 per week in treatment, whereas someone with severe or complex issues needs to budget between $80- $100 a week.

With any health program, there is going to be an investment in your time, energy and money to get you to where you need to go. We strive to offer great value care with excellent clinical outcomes for our clients. You will find that undergoing a naturopathic program is an investment in your health that you will enjoy the benefits of for years to come.

Our Brisbane hypnotherapists are experts in helping people break through emotional barriers.

Hypnotherapy may seem like a mystery, but it has a solid background in neuroscience. Think of hypnosis as a gentle and effective way to change negative beliefs, release negative emotions and help you shift what you no longer need.

But how does it work? Essentially, all our hypnotherapists are doing is getting you into a deep state of relaxation. By inducing this state, you’re able to access your subconscious mind – the part where all of your unknown fears, desires and beliefs are stored.

At Shift at Brisbane Natural Health hypnotherapy has helped our patients to overcome anxiety and depression, to overcome fears, to increase confidence, release stuck emotions and even to break habits like overeating and smoking.

Your mental wellbeing is so important, and hypnosis is a means to help to strengthen this part of you so you can make good choices and strive for what makes you happy.

What is hypnosis?
For many of us, our first (and only) experience with hypnosis is from media and popular culture, where it has been used more as an entertaining trick by magicians and performers – for example, making them think they’re an animal or that they speak another language. The truth is, the same psychological mechanisms which make people believe in a hypnotic state believe they’re a chicken also have powerful potential to transform other behaviour patterns – including those which may be considered unhealthy or less than ideal. In other words, by putting a client in a hypnotic state, a hypnotherapist can make ‘suggestions’ to their subconscious mind which impact the way they behave when they are awake. In a therapeutic context, hypnosis may mean stopping them from performing an unhealthy behaviour (like using hypnosis to quit smoking), or motivating them to adopt a healthy habit.

Hypnotherapy has been practiced since the late 1800s. Since then, multiple clinical studies have been undertaken into the efficacy of hypnotherapy in the treatment of different conditions, from insomnia to addiction. At Shift at Brisbane Natural Health we have helped with addiction, as well as the treatment of many other issues and conditions.

Why would you see a hypnotist at Brisbane Natural Health?

Hypnotherapy can help to facilitate some profound changes in the body. Patients that benefit the most are those that have identified that perhaps they have some habits, behaviours or thought processes which are not healthy or do not help them to thrive.

Our hypnotherapy sessions are a relaxing, connected experience and usually, you will leave the room feeling calmer and with some great insights into your mental and emotional health.

Hypnotherapy is safe, affordable and effective for the treatment of many issues. Think of it as healing and strengthening the mental and emotional part of you, the part where we often store our most deep-seated fears and the part which can stop us from reaching our full potential.

There are several reasons to try hypnotherapy for anxiety and depression or weight loss or for quit smoking hypnosis at Shift at Brisbane Natural Health. Our clinic is home to Rebecca Brewster, one of the best hypnotherapists in Brisbane who has over 10 years experience.

We offer caring professional hypnotherapy treatment in a welcoming clinic environment. If you’ve tried several conventional and alternative medicine approaches and nothing has worked for your condition/s, hypnotherapy may be just what you’re looking for.

Click here to learn more about why you should see our hypnotherapist.

What can hypnotherapy help with?

Seeing a hypnotist at Shift at Brisbane Natural Health could help you with a range of problems, including but not limited to:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Fears and phobias
• Quitting Smoking
• Obesity (improving diet and exercise habits)
• Stuttering and speech problems
• Insomnia and other sleep problems
  Stress (and symptoms incl. high blood pressure)
• Migraines and recurrent headaches
• Chronic pain
• Sexual problems
• Relationship issues

Carrying a baby around is hard work! Pregnany massage can really help a mother relax and unwind. Our massage therapists at Shift at Brisbane Natural Health are trained in effective and safe pregnancy massage techniques. We have lots of pillows to get you feeling comfortable, and our massage therapists will choose a position for you that is safe for your level of pregnancy and your body shape.

Pregnancy massage can help increase circulation and decrease swelling and leg discomfort that is often associated with pregnancy. It can also help to reduce stress on the back, ankles, hips and knees which makes it easier to move.

By improving circulation and lymphatic flow, pregnancy massage can help to improve blood flow to both mother and baby, helping to get nutrients to your tissues and to your baby.

Studies have also shown that pregnancy massage can have great effects on your moods, leading to less depression, anxiety and sleep issues and a lowered heart rate. This may be due to the higher levels of serotonin and dopamine (your feel-good neurotransmitters) and lower levels of stress hormones that women receiving pregnancy massage have been found to have.

Prenatally depressed women who have pregnancy massage have proven to have lower levels of anxiety, less depression and less leg and back pain.

With so many reasons to get a pregnancy massage, why not book yours at Shift at Brisbane Natural Health today?

If you haven’t had acupuncture before, of course you’re going to conjure up images of needles in the skin the pain that could accompany that! But really acupuncture is mostly pain-free and actually is quite a relaxing experience. When people come out of our acupuncture rooms often they feel quite airy, relaxed and chilled out so it’s nothing to be afraid of.

The first thing to mention is that acupuncture needles are itty itty-bitty – they are very small, very fine and nothing like the needles you would have a blood test with. There are many different types of acupuncture needles, but in our clinic we only use the very best, Japanese and Korean made needles, which are some of the smallest available.

As the acupuncturist inserts the needle you may not feel anything at all, or maybe just a little pinch of the skin. Generally speaking, your acupuncture session at Shift at Brisbane Natural Health will be pain-free.

What our acupuncturists actually do is gently insert some needles as they explain to you what they are working on. Then once they have all of the needles set up and you’re nice and comfortable, they would actually leave you to ‘cook’ for a little bit and leave you to chill out with some relaxing music. This is your time, and the idea is to really allow the balance to occur while your body soaks up the treatment.

To put you at ease, we pop a little buzzer in your hand in case you move the wrong way or you are feeling a little uncomfortable so our acupuncturist can come back in and adjust the needles to make you comfortable. It really is a relaxing process, it’s not scary at all! Our acupuncturists will always be asking for feedback from you – is it comfortable? Is there anything else we can do to make it a better experience for you?

So if you’re thinking of trying acupuncture, don’t be afraid. Give it a go, it’s amazing!

And if you do want to make an appointment, call our team on 07 3367 0337 . If you have any questions or you want to chat to our acupuncturists more about it, email us. The email is info@Brisbanenaturalhealth.com.au.