A guide published by Dotto
Cognitive behavioral therapy, in plain words
Cognitive behaviour therapy, or CBT, is a type of psychotherapy. healthdirect says it looks at the way your thoughts and beliefs shape what you do and how you feel. This guide, published by Dotto, gathers what Australia’s official health pages say about CBT: what it is, how Medicare helps with the cost, who may provide it, the free online options, and where to find help now.
General information, not medical advice. Call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency, or go to the emergency department of your nearest hospital. To check that a psychologist is registered, search Ahpra’s register of practitioners.
The record
CBT, one line at a time
- Definition
- A type of psychotherapy in which you work with a therapist to recognise patterns of thinking and behaviour that cause you problems, and learn practical ways to build more helpful habits.
- First step
- healthdirect’s first step for reaching CBT is to speak to your doctor, who can refer you to a mental health professional.
- Medicare
- Through Better Access, eligible people could claim Medicare benefits for as many as 10 individual and 10 group therapy services each calendar year. That is how the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing put it when this guide checked on 8 October 2026.
- Providers
- healthdirect names several kinds of mental health professional who may provide CBT: psychologists and psychiatrists, some doctors who have trained in mental health, mental health nurses, and some counsellors.
- The title
- Only people the Psychology Board of Australia has registered may call themselves a psychologist.
- Online
- The Australian Government’s Medicare Mental Health Check In delivers free low-intensity CBT through online tools. Its tools are free for people living in Australia, open to anyone aged 16 and older, and need no diagnosis or referral.
- Crisis lines
- Lifeline, the Suicide Call Back Service and Kids Helpline each say they answer 24 hours a day, every day. Help now describes each one from its own page.
Five guides
Five rows, one question each
- What CBT is
What healthdirect and Victoria’s Better Health Channel say CBT is, how sessions run, and what to weigh before starting.
- Better Access and Medicare
The plan, the referral, the yearly limits, fees, telehealth and carers, as the official pages stated them on 8 October 2026.
- Who can provide CBT
Who may provide CBT, what the protected title ‘psychologist’ means, endorsements, and checking Ahpra’s register.
- CBT online, from official services
The Australian Government’s free online CBT tools, Medicare Mental Health, and crisis support by text and chat.
- Help now: crisis lines in Australia
Lifeline, the Suicide Call Back Service and Kids Helpline, each described from its own page, and what to do in an emergency.
Routes
From a first conversation to a first session
The official pages describe more than one way in. healthdirect’s starts with your doctor. A doctor can also work with you on a mental health treatment plan if needed, which healthdirect says can help you get Medicare rebates for CBT. Better Access and Medicare follows that path step by step.
Some services ask for no referral at all. Medicare Mental Health, an Australian Government service, says you can get started without a GP referral, a diagnosis or a Mental Health Treatment Plan, and that its support is free, in person, by phone and online. CBT online sets out what it offers.
However a person arrives, the word ‘psychologist’ means the same thing: it is a title the National Law protects, and using it without being registered is an offence, the Psychology Board says. Who can provide CBT explains the title and how to check the register.
The name
Behavioral, or behaviour?
The name of this site uses the American spelling. Australia’s health pages write ‘cognitive behaviour therapy’, and so does this guide, except where a service’s own words differ: the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing describes its online service as delivering ‘Low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’. All three spellings name the same therapy.
About this guide
Where the facts come from
This guide is published by Dotto from the pages of healthdirect, Victoria’s Better Health Channel, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Services Australia, the Psychology Board of Australia, Ahpra and the National Law, and from the crisis services’ own websites. It describes; it gives no advice about anyone’s own health, and it names no practitioner or clinic. The sources for each page are listed at its foot.