FAQs

There’s not a lot of things that naturopaths can’t treat. We have wonderful remedies for acute illnesses like cold, flu, cough, and wound healing for injuries. We work wonders with skin conditions like eczema, acne, and hives. Gut health is a big focus- whether you have a diagnosed condition like ulcerative colitis or IBS, or just have tummy issues; we LOVE helping you improve your gut health.

Mental health is another big area that our Newcastle naturopaths can assist in, things like ASD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, and more. Children’s and adults mental health can be helped with natural medicine. We can work alongside your Doctor to help improve your symptoms.

Where naturopathy really shines is the chronic conditions. The things that you feel like you have tried everything for. Autoimmune conditions, Lyme disease, infertility.

Natural medicine can help you find underlying causes and bring them back to balance.

Our psychologists help with a variety of mental health challenges including:

– Anxiety
– Depression
– Antenatal or postpartum anxiety and depression
– Marriage/relationship problems (for individuals)
– Pain management
– Trauma
– Sleep issues
– Grief
– Fears and phobias
– Addiction
– Weight management and food related issues
– Mental health support

Over the course of our appointments, we discuss your symptoms, case history, and dietary intake. We will look at all your body systems and how they interact, looking for red flags for health issues, and assess your family history for predispositions.

Naturopathic medicine is more than just helping you with symptom relief; it is a system that aims to achieve optimal health by preventing illness and helping you feel your best.

In your psychology sessions the psychologist will commonly ask you why you have come to see them. They will be establishing what your motivations are, a bit of your history, your family’s mental health history, how you see yourself, the problems you are dealing with, and from there they will be starting to formulate a plan to help.

Our wellness clinic is in a time-honoured converted cottage at 136 Glebe Rd Merewether, directly across the road from the Prince of Wales hotel. We have lots of signage, you can’t miss it!

We don’t have a client cark park, however, there is 2hr on street parking directly outside, including a disabled spot.

Yes. We have clients from all over Australia and the world that we support using Telehealth. We can also have phone, skype, or zoom sessions with you.

For naturopathy, the costs vary for your sessions, depending on what is prescribed to you. Our initial appointment generally costs you a little bit more, as we spend more time together, and you take home your treatment plan alongside what we have prescribed to you to help get your symptoms managed.

Ongoing, the costs tend to be less.  To find out more, phone the clinic or book in for a free 20-minute assessment.

For psychology, the fees are fixed so you will know beforehand what your out-of-pocket expenses are.

To find out more, please phone the clinic. All the fees for psychology are outlined on the bookings page of our website. Just click on psychology.

We accept cash, eftpos, credit cards and afterpay. To secure your initial appointment with both naturopathy and psychology appointments, there is a deposit required.

Naturopathy has unfortunately, been removed from private health care by the Government, however, when we do nutritional medicine consultations, that may be covered. Check your fund and let us know so we can help you claim during these specific appointments. Gap Fees apply.

Psychology can be claimed under either a MHCP (mental health care plan), or via your own health insurance, depending on your circumstances and your type of health insurance. Please see your GP or contact your health insurance company for more information and to check your eligibility. Gap Fees apply.

We have worked with self-managed NDIS funded clients, but we are not registered. If you are self-managed, check what you can claim in terms of health and nutrition support for nutritional consultations only.
We do not offer NDIS consultations for psychology.

We require 24 hours’ notice to cancel your booking without you incurring a fee. We will generally reschedule your appointment under extenuating circumstances within this time. However please note that by giving us ample notice it enables us to fill your appointment and help someone else in need.

The short answer is YES. We most probably will. If you aren’t prepared to make these changes, then have a think about how prepared you are to live with your symptoms.

We aim to help you optimise your health and need you to be motivated to do that. We don’t expect you to do a complete overhaul in the first visit!

We are there to support you through any changes, and help you implement these changes for long term success.

Naturopathy is a holistic approach to health which is based on the belief that with the right environment, the body has an ability to heal itself.

Naturopaths are trained extensively in functional testing, nutrition, herbal and homeopathic medicine. Many naturopaths have a strong focus on prevention of illness as well treating chronic diseases and providing alternative medicines such as herbs, nutritional supplements, and dietary advice, to help you get the most out of life.

In Australia, the qualifications to be a naturopath have changed over time. When it was first introduced, it was a diploma qualification. Until recently you needed an advanced diploma, and in the past few years, a Bachelor of Naturopathy has been introduced and the teaching of the advanced diploma has been stopped.

Our Newcastle naturopaths are all highly qualified and have excellent reputations in their field. Senior naturopath, Cody, has since gone on to study a Bachelor of Medicines Management with Honours in Complementary Medicine.

Our Naturopaths also all have special interests that they have completed extra training in.

Our Psychologists are all registered and have completed a minimum of six years of study in the field, which can include two years of practice with a registered psychologist. Rest assured you are in good hands at CK Health.

You don’t need a doctor’s referral to see a naturopath.

Your naturopath will take an extensive case history and spend some time reviewing any relevant lab results you have; they will also take a full diet analysis and discuss with you your health goals. They will then work out a plan and guide you with a way forward to reach your health goals.

Naturopathy isn’t claimable on the Medicare system, however if you have private health insurance, you may be able to claim back a portion of your consultation fee. This depends on your level of cover. We are registered with all major health funds.

During your consultation your naturopath will go over all your current medications, at no point will they recommend you stop taking a medication without your doctor’s prior consent.

This greatly depends on the complexity of your condition; some people may only need two appointments whilst others with more chronic conditions may benefit from a more long-term approach. It’s important to remember that your body took time to develop ill health and it will take time to repair!

This will depend on many different factors including how long you have had your health condition, your age, the severity of your symptoms and your overall vitality. You may find that some symptoms improve within a week or so, whilst other symptoms can take longer. Most natural remedies are not a ‘quick-fix’ solution and unlike pharmaceuticals they work on healing the body as a whole.

Most probably we will be recommending some supplements such as herbs, vitamins and/or minerals to help restore your health and reduce symptoms. Supplements are one important component of a healthy lifestyle which also includes stress management, exercise, sleep, and good nutrition. On their own, supplements are no miracle cure, but, when used correctly, they are far less invasive than some prescription drugs.

There are many reasons why most people do not have a diet adequate to support their health. Firstly, our soil is depleted in minerals due to over farming and pesticide use, our fruits and vegetables also have a long transit time. Some foods are stored for weeks even months before they hit our supermarkets and the nutritional content gets depleted the longer this produce takes to get to us.  This is one of the reasons we highly recommend buying from your local farmers market whenever possible.

We only use high quality ‘practitioner only’ supplements which are of superior quality to anything you can purchase from a pharmacy. We also ensure that the ‘type’ of nutrient is one the body can absorb easily.

Our Newcastle psychologist can help you with a variety of different mental health issues including:

– Anxiety
– Depression 
– Antenatal or postpartum anxiety and depression 
– Relationship problems 
– Pain management 
– Trauma 
– Sleep issues 
– Grief 
– Fears and phobias 
– Addiction 
– Weight management and food related issues

This will depend on you and how your mental health is improving. If a Health Care Plan is provided from your GP, you can usually get up to 20 sessions per year if requested.  These appointments attract a rebate from Medicare although gap fees do apply.

The more details you can bring to the table, the better we are at putting the pieces of the puzzle together. You do not have to disclose anything you don’t feel comfortable talking about, however, by not letting us know areas of your health history, we may miss red flags that can help us treat you more effectively.

Please know, we are obligated to keep anything you tell us private except for a few circumstances which your psychologist will explain to you during your first session with them.

No, you do not generally need a referral to see a psychologist. If you are seeing them under a Mental Health Care Plan, then you will need to organise this with your doctor.

Yes, you can. This depends on the type and level of insurance you have. Please check with your insurer.

It is difficult to predict how you will respond to a particular treatment or mental health support. There are lots of factors that impact this question, like, is this an acute infection, chronic illness, or longer-term mental health challenge? Are there genetic factors influencing your health outcomes? How willing are you to change your diet and lifestyle and how compliant will you be with taking your supplements or prescribed changes? In general, we think an average of 5-6 appointments will have you on your way to feeling great for naturopathy. However, some people feel better after 2 visits, and a long-term illness may need long term support.

For psychology clients it’s a very individual process and can be discussed in your consultation with your psychologist.