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Brought to you by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora – Southern and WellSouth primary health network

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    Anteris is a private mental health clinic providing psychiatric services for a range of patients with a range of conditions.

    We offer a limited number of in-person consultations from our office in Tauranga, and Telehealth consultations nationwide.

    Services we provide include:

     
     
    What is Mental Illness?
    Mental illness is a clinically significant behaviour or psychological (to do with the mind) disorder that is associated with distress or disability. It is not just the way someone responds to a particular event nor is it limited to the way a person interacts with society.
     
    A mental illness can continuously or intermittently (occasionally) affect our capacity for speech, language, mood, affect, thoughts, perceptions, insight, judgement, cognition (understanding) and volition (ability to make choices). It can limit our ability to function as society would normally expect of us and can put us and others at risk.
     
    Mental illness is therefore, a broad term that covers problems ranging from minor to severe disorders.
     
    A ‘consultant psychiatrist’ is a doctor who, after basic medical qualifications, receives further training and develops the expertise to become a ‘specialist’ in identifying symptoms of, and diagnosing and treating, mental illnesses. You may have been referred to a consultant psychiatrist if your doctor feels you need specialist help.

    Practitioners

    • Dr Caleb Armstrong

      Dr Caleb Armstrong

      Psychiatrist - available via telehealth
    • Dr Juzer Daudjee

      Dr Juzer Daudjee

      Psychiatrist - available via telehealth
    • Dr Jacobus STEYN Lottering

      Dr Jacobus STEYN Lottering

      Psychiatrist - available in-person and via telehealth
    • Dr Kimball Chen

      Dr Kimball Chen

      Psychiatrist - available via tele-health

    Programme

    NMDA - Neurotherapy, Mood, Depression and Anxiety - 3-month ketamine treatment programme

    The 3-month programme is currently being upgraded to include a full Mind Recovery Package which will include not only ketamine medication but also tried and trusted therapy techniques and follow-up sessions.   At the end of the 3-month period clients become private patients and will need regular follow-up sessions in order to continue with ketamine therapy.
    Procedures

    ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

    ADHD is a behavioural disorder characterised by problems with concentration and impulse control. The typical symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour may all be present to an equal degree or one symptom may be dominant with the other two present to a greater or lesser extent.

     

    Anxiety Disorders

    We all feel some anxiety at some time or other. Anxiety may serve as an alerting signal, warning us of external /internal threats and consequently acting as a prompt to take appropriate action.   When anxiety is very severe and present even when there is no threat of any kind, then it interferes with our functioning and can become an illness. In this circumstance, anxiety becomes a disorder characterised by an unpleasant emotion with feelings of fear, threat and impending danger and can be associated with numerous bodily symptoms like breathlessness, trembling, tightness in throat, dry mouth, racing heart and nausea/vomiting.   There are varieties of anxiety disorders like panic attacks, phobias (unhealthy fear of something), agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), social anxiety, post-traumatic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. Anxiety can often be associated with a depressive episode.   Anxiety disorders are very common and if unrecognised and untreated, can cause severe disability.   Treatment Self help: learning techniques like relaxation, distraction and education Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Medication.

    Bipolar Disorder/Manic Depression

    This is a mood disorder in which both depressive (persistent low mood) and manic (elevated or high mood) episodes are experienced. It is usually a recurring (i.e. keeps coming back) disorder that can cause a lot of havoc in all aspects of a person’s life. People with this disorder will experience periods of extreme mood changes but also periods of stable mood during which they may be able to return to everyday routines.   These changes of mood can be very extreme and occur for no apparent reason. Different people will experience this disorder in different ways; some may have few episodes, others many, and symptoms may vary from mild to severe. When severely depressed or elevated, a person can become ‘psychotic’ i.e. lose touch with reality.   Treatment Usually by medication (antidepressants if depressed and mood stabilisers if depressed and manic) A combination of counselling and psychotherapy (‘talking therapy’) may hasten recovery Hospitalisation may be required for those who are very unwell and are posing a risk to themselves or to others.

    Depression

    Depression is a mood disorder. Emotional states like sadness, ‘feeling blue’ or tearfulness are part of normal human experience. Clinical depression is called Major Depression and is characterised by the presence for at least two weeks of symptoms such as depressed mood, diminished interest and pleasure in most activities, change in appetite and weight (these can be increased or decreased) sleep disturbance, fatigue, bodily symptoms (headache, backache etc) poor concentration, feelings of anxiousness, worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, and suicidal ideation.   Depression is a common disorder and about 10-20 % of the population in New Zealand will suffer from depression during their lifetime.    Treatment Once depression has been diagnosed by your GP/Psychiatrist, it can be effectively treated by: Antidepressant medication Psychological interventions e.g. counselling (various types) and psychotherapy (talking therapy which is of various types). Read more about depression here

    Schizophrenia

    Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects about 1% of the general population. It is a complex illness characterised by ‘psychosis’, a word used to describe disorder of thoughts (e.g. delusions - false beliefs held in spite of evidence that they are not real), perceptions (e.g. hallucinations - seeing, hearing or feeling things which are not there), disorganised speech and grossly disorganised behaviour, which are not experienced by others and which are not seen as abnormal by the sufferer. These four symptoms are often referred to as the ‘Positive Symptoms’ of schizophrenia because they are the result of the disease process.   The fifth group of symptoms: withdrawal, decreased ability to feel pleasure, lack of energy, and flat affect, are referred to as ‘Negative Symptoms’ because they represent a loss of normal functions.   Schizophrenia affects different people in different ways. Some people may experience only a few short episodes and then fully recover.  For others it lasts throughout their lives and needs to be treated like any other physical illness such as asthma or diabetes.   It is important that schizophrenia is treated as soon as it is diagnosed by a psychiatrist to prevent long-term disability and loss of function.   Treatment Schizophrenia may be treated using a number of different approaches: Use of antipsychotic medication Psychosocial education programs e.g. education, support, counselling and assistance to return to job/studies/performing daily tasks Ongoing support e.g. housing, monitoring of treatment, support groups.

    Charges

    Adult:    

    Initial assessment    $855

    Routine follow up:    $285

    Extended follow up: $570

    NOTE: Payment is required to secure your booking for any consultation


    Repeat Prescriptions:
       $43.00

    Specialist letter:  $40.00

    Payment
    Due to an increase in the number of people not presenting for their appointments, we have to request payment at booking in order to confirm the appointment. If your appointment is not confirmed within a few days of booking, it may be cancelled and offered to someone else.

    Cancellations and non attendance
    Cancellations
    We understand that things can go wrong.  If you know you are not going to be able to make your appointment, please give us as much notice as possible so that we can offer the appointment to someone else and offer you an alternative date/time. Providing you give us a reasonable amount of notice we will transfer your payment to the new booking without any penalty.  Should you not wish to go ahead with the booking, we will look at refunding you all or part of your payment, depending on how much notice you have been able to give us.

    Rescheduling and cancellation costs
    If you can give us more than 48 hours notice there will be no penalty for rescheduling or cancellation and payment for the appointment can be allocated to the new appointment, or refunded in the case of cancellation.
    Notification of less than 48 hours but more than 24 is likely to incur a $50 cancellation or rebooking fee.
    If you are unable to give us a minimum 24 hours notice of a cancellation, we will unfortunately be unlikely to refund your payment.
    If you are unable to attend your appointment and cannot give us any notice, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss, as in most cases we will be unable to issue repeat prescriptions if your consultant has not seen you recently.

    Insurance
    Anteris is NOT linked to any insurance provider.   This means we do not deal directly with your insurance company and you should always double check that your provider will reimburse you before confirming the appointment.

    Age groups

    • Adult / Pakeke

    Changing to another doctor
    We understand that despite our best efforts to pair you with the best consultant for your needs, there are times when consultant and client may not be the 'best fit'. 

    If you feel you need to be transferred to another doctor, please let us know as early as possible so that we can offer your space to another client.  We will then need to pass your referral to an alternative doctor and you may have to wait until they accept the referral before we can offer you another appointment.   As all of our consultants work independently, you may be required to attend a full initial assessment with the new doctor, even if you have already had one with another doctor.

    How do I access this service?

    • Referral
    • Website / App

    Fees and Charges Categorisation

    • Fees apply

    Disability Assistance

    • Provision for wheelchair access
    • Provision of wheelchair accessible toilet