FAQs

Luma is one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit organisations specialising in women’s health and wellbeing. For over 45 years, we’ve been providing safe, supportive and accessible healthcare services to women and families in WA.

We offer services for women at every stage of life:

• Aboriginal Women’s Service: A safe space to improve health and wellbeing, practice culture and connect with community through groups and counselling.
• Alcohol & Other Drug Service: We meet you where you are to explore habits and improve behaviours through groups, counselling and programs.
• Children & Family: Empowering families through perinatal support for new and/or expecting mothers, parenting programs, family therapy and therapy for children.
• Counselling: Individual sessions with qualified and experienced female counsellors, for women, children and families.
• Dietitian Service: Improve lifestyle and treat health conditions with our experienced dietitian.
• Eating Disorders: A community-based, peer-supported service for people of all genders who are impacted by eating disorders.
• Family & Domestic Violence Services: A safe space for women to have their voice heard, and access therapeutic and practical support.
• Luma Medical: Two comprehensive clinics offering the best quality care from general practitioners and nurses who specialise in women’s health.
• Mental Health: Holistic and community-based opportunities to improve mental wellbeing, including 1:1 sessions and groups facilitated by social workers.

Any women over the age of 18 years. Although some services also include support for children, youth, all genders, men, and families too!

We are a women’s health organisation, and this has been our specialty for 45 years. Creating a safe space for those who identify as women is something we take seriously. While women’s healthcare is our primary focus, we are accessible for anyone who identifies as a woman, and some of our programs are available for all genders too!

No matter who you are or who you identify as, we make sure everyone at Luma feels seen, heard and valued. Our team not only acknowledges, but celebrates all gender identities, we display the rainbow flag in all our buildings, use gender-inclusive language where appropriate, and encourage pronoun sharing. To find out which programs or services may be right for you, please reach out to us directly.

Fill in our Contact Form, and our team will give you a call to chat over what you need. Alternatively, you can call us on 6330 5400.

After your referral or enquiry is received, our Intake team will contact within one week for a 15-30 min telephone assessment. For priority clients, we will call within 48 hours. We will run through personal information, general concerns, and what support you are hoping for. We will then send you in the right direction, based on the option that suits you best.

We are happy to organise and use language or Aslan interpreters for individual appointments.

Please let us know if you need an interpreter at the time of booking your appointment. We will organise an interpreter from one of our preferred providers to attend the appointment either face-to-face or over the phone.

We make our services and programs as accessible as possible. Some are free, while others require a fee.

Referrals from agencies or health professionals you’re working with are helpful, but not required. You can book yourself into most of our programs directly by ‘self-referring’. Head to Contact to get in touch, or simply give us a call.

This varies for each program and changes frequently. Please enquire to find out about a specific program or service.

At Luma in Northbridge, there is a Wilson paid parking zone connected to our building, where you can usually find a space parking bay, or street parking is often available.

Luma Medical has street parking available.

Luma Joondalup inside Lotteries House has a paid carpark out the front.

Yes! We offer several pathways to volunteer: through the Mental health Commission Volunteer Drug and Alcohol Counselling Program, or you can contact us directly.

Yes! However, this needs to be organised through your educational institution.

Please arrange your course coordinator to reach out to us. We take on tertiary students for many different timeframes, although it will often be at the commencement of a semester, as per unit requirements.

We take a range of students across different specialist areas: from medical to our Aboriginal Women’s Service, and each requires a different degree or course. Please enquire about the area you are interested in for your internship/work experience through your course coordinator. All students need to have a Working with Children (WWC) Check and police clearance.

Donations allow us to continue offering high-quality healthcare to women at little to no cost.

You can donate to us here or sponsor a woman experiencing domestic violence through HER Board.

Help spread the word about what we offer by following and sharing our latest news on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook and Linked In.

Yes! Our health promotions team travel into the community to spread knowledge about women’s health.

They are well-versed in public speaking, and experts in women’s health, presenting on self-care, wellness, contraception, health checks, menopause, pelvic pain, endometriosis, healthy active ageing, and more.

Find out more here.

Yes, we offer abortions in Northbridge and Joondalup with one of our female general practitioners. Our medical team are experts in women’s sexual and reproductive health also offer unplanned pregnancy advice so please feel free to reach out for support too.

Yes. We offer appointments with nurses and general practitioners at our Northbridge and Joondalup clinics.

No, our nurses are available Monday to Friday 9am-4.30pm. For after hours care, you can contact our partner: Night Doctor.

Yes, please make an appointment by calling us on 6330 5400. In Northbridge, we offer walk-in appointments for STI checks every Friday.

Yes, we offer medical appointments over the phone with one of our Advance Practice Nurses. Call us to book an appointment.

Yes, please book in with a general practitioner in person, or if your appointment was less than one year ago, you can book a telehealth appointment.

We don’t, although National Cervical Screening Program sends out reminders to women every five years, or more frequently depending on each woman’s medical needs. We send your screening to the Cervical Screening Program to trigger the next reminder.

We offer 6-week post-birth checks with our friendly general practitioners in Northbridge or Joondalup.

Although we do not see babies, please book with your child health nurse for this.

Referrals from agencies or health professionals you’re working with are helpful, but not required. You can book yourself into most of our programs directly by ‘self-referring’. Head to Contact to get in touch.

A MHTP is not required, although we do accept referrals from all health professionals. However, if you have a MHTP and are looking for a psychologist, we offer private psychology sessions through our second business: Health Sense Psychology & Wellness.

You can send us information about your client through our contact form, and we’ll contact you if we need more information.

If you are referring a client for family and domestic violence support, please fill in this referral form.

Our counsellors are university qualified, which means they have a Bachelor and/or Master’s degree. Some of our counsellors are also registered psychologists.

Our counsellors have years, and sometimes decades, of experience in the therapy space. A high quality of care and service is always delivered.

Our counselling program is designed to offer short-term support. We start with 6 sessions and then review progress, although we are flexible in catering to the level of care needed for each individual.

Yes! Your sessions can be in person, over the phone or online.

We gratefully accept a $20 donation for each session, and we are always open for discussions in situations of financial hardship. Sessions are free for all health care card holders.

A form of therapy that focuses on relationships among family members.

A family therapist will reduce conflict and improve communication, while encouraging open and balanced dialogue. We provide a safe environment where each member can learn to express thoughts and feelings, build empathy, foster healthy boundaries and work towards restoring cohesive relationships.

Family therapy can involve any combination of family members.

Family therapy differs from individual counselling as we work with the whole family system. This can be beneficial as it assists the family system to understand each other better, reflect on each person’s perspective and process challenging situations such as trauma and grief and loss.

Family therapy is open to any family with kids between the age of 0 and 24.

Family therapy sessions are free.

Up to 12 sessions are offered to families.

In Northbridge, Joondalup, or Midland.

Yes! We can offer telehealth, although we find in-person sessions are most effective.

An eating disorder service designed to support people in their recovery, including those in a caring role. We provide a safe, trauma-informed, recovery-focused, non-judgmental environment for people to explore their thoughts, feelings and behaviours around food, eating and body image.

Anyone over the age of 16, of any gender. We also have a support program available for parents, carers and partners in their journey supporting loved ones with eating disorders.

We have a suite of services that offer support for people in WA and can be accessed in person or remotely through one of the five different programs.

We can support you if you are experiencing Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, OSFED, or disordered eating accompanying body image concerns. However, we are not equipped to support people with ARFID. A diagnosis is not required to attend any of our programs.

The program is delivered by peer workers who have lived experience of an eating disorder and recovery. They may share some of their experiences in a sensitive, considered, and appropriate manner to inspire hope. They are not medical or psychological clinicians, although they are trained to be curious about people’s experiences, to recognise signs of distress, to offer ideas, hints and tips about recovery, and to provide resources and education about eating disorders. 

Eating disorders are a complex, biological, psychological, brain-based illness. Our program is not a cure for eating disorders. It is a therapeutic, community-based journey on your way to recovery.

No, you can self-refer! However, we encourage you to also find medical and psychological supports to monitor your health and wellbeing as well.

Our group sizes vary, however we don’t exceed more than twelve people. The Youth and Supporter Programs are open and there’s a rolling intake throughout the school term and our adult, face-to-face groups are ‘closed’ to new members after session three.

The price varies. The 20-week groups are $350; individual sessions are $10 each and our 1-day parent/partner workshop are $75/pp or $100 for a couple. All programs are free of charge for people with a valid Health Care Card. We cater as much as we can to those experiencing financial hardship, so we encourage you to speak with a BEP team member in this case.

Group programs are held in Northbridge, individual sessions are offered in Northbridge and Joondalup, and our 1-day parent/partner workshop is held in Joondalup.

No, all alcohol and other drug groups, programs and counselling sessions are free.

Yes! Support people are more than welcome to come along. Alternatively, they can wait outside, ready to support you after your session.

No, registration is not necessary. These groups are open, ongoing, and flexible, so you are welcome to come along anytime you wish.

You are welcome to attend no matter where you are on your recovery journey. We meet you at your personal stage to identify your own personal goals and recovery plan, in a warm and welcoming space – with no judgment.

Yes. We can register you into the Work Development Permit Scheme (WDPS) and arrange to have fines paid off as you attend counselling and groups.

Ask your counsellor or group facilitator and they will get the process started for you by registering you for the scheme.

Yes.

Services are provided based on clients’ specific needs. Generally, we work with clients for up to 12 weeks, and longer as needed.

We can provide an interpreter for your sessions with us, just mention this at the time of booking so we can organise this for you.

No, we can assist all women, no matter the residency status. We also offer free, individual sessions with a lawyer if you need advice on visas, or any other legal matter.

Yes. You do not need a professional referral to access our program. Fill in your details in 0ur contact form or give us a call.

The sessions will be most helpful for you to attend alone, because personal and often intimate detail is disclosed. You are more than welcome to bring a support person along, although we cannot conduct sessions with children, friends or family present. Feel free to bring them along to Luma and they can wait in the waiting room, ready to support you after the session. If you are bringing children, we have a free creche available, please enquire about this and book in advance.

Yes, although we prefer your first session to be in-person as you will get much more from the service. However, we are flexible and understand different circumstances, so if you cannot attend in person, please let us know and we will do our best to work with you.

Perinatal Mental Health: 0 – 3 | Kids in Focus: 2 – 18 | Family therapy: Adults with children or family members aged 0 – 25.

Yes, all of our children and family program are free of charge. However, we ask for a donation for our Men’s Circle of Security Parenting group, to cover the cost of buying food for the group as it runs over dinnertime. Pensioners, concession card holders and people experiencing financial hardship are exempt.

Contact us online or give us a call, and we’ll enrol you in the program that best suit your child/children. We will then give you a call to arrange a parent appointment without your child to chat about what’s happening. The counsellor can also explain how the service works and what to expect. Then a regular counselling session can be arranged for your child.

It is an organisational requirement that while children are in session their caregivers must remain in the building so that you can be present when it finishes and available if you are needed during the session (for example if your child is feeling anxious and needs to check in with you to feel safe, or if the session needs to end early). There are also group programs and individual counselling and parenting support available for parents/caregivers.

Absolutely. It’s best to book a separate appointment with us (over the phone or in person) rather than discussing your child’s progress before or after their appointment.

Before your child’s first session, you can tell them that they’ll be coming to meet (counsellor’s name). If you would like to explain why, you could let them know that sometimes when kids are having some difficulties at school/home, etc it can be helpful to have a special place to go, and a special person to talk to.

Yes, fathers are more than welcome to attend parent appointments or book a separate parent appointment with us.

Whilst this may not be possible at all sessions or groups, you can discuss this with your counsellor and arrange a support person to attend an initial session with you.

Yes. Just mention this at the time of enrolling.