ARFID is more than picky eating, and you do not need a diagnosis or a referral to get help. Our psychologists provide ARFID psychology and counselling by video for children, teens and adults, with a gentle, neurodiversity affirming approach.
Six AHPRA registered psychologists. Meet the team
ARFID, or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, is not fussy eating and it is not about weight or body image. If any of this sounds familiar, for you or your child, it is worth talking to an ARFID psychologist.
ARFID is not a phase or a behaviour problem.
It is an eating disorder recognised in the DSM-5, and it responds to the right support, at every age.
Everyone's pace is different, and nothing is forced.
Booking for a child under 16? See who sees under 16s
ARFID can be diagnosed at any age, including in adults who have eaten this way since childhood. An ARFID diagnosis can come from a psychologist, GP, paediatrician or psychiatrist, and you can start therapy before you have one.
Can assess and diagnose ARFID, rule out other eating disorders, and look at the anxiety, sensory, autism or ADHD related factors behind it. Our psychologists do this by video.
Can diagnose ARFID, check growth and physical health, rule out medical causes and write a Mental Health Care Plan for rebated psychology.
Cannot give a formal diagnosis, but can assess eating, nutrition and growth, and start treatment alongside therapy.
No diagnosis needed: you can book a psychologist today.
Online ARFID tests: screening quizzes can flag ARFID but cannot diagnose it.
Therapy for ARFID builds confidence with food step by step, working on the fear, sensory load or low interest that keeps the list of safe foods short.
A form of cognitive behavioural therapy developed for ARFID, using planned, gradual steps with new foods.
For younger children, much of the work happens through parents and carers, with practical plans for home.
Skills for fear of choking, vomiting or pain, so meals feel safer and more predictable.
Getting to know a food by sight, smell and touch before taste, often alongside one of our dietitians.
Nothing is forced: every step is agreed with you.
Neurodiversity affirming: adapted for autism and ADHD.
Four simple steps from booking to your first session.
Pick a psychologist and a time.
Email it to admin@biteintofreedom.com.au and we do the processing. No referral? All good, you can still start.
It is sent to your email automatically after you book. Fill in your details, add notes if you want to, then sign it and you are ready to go.
The day before or the morning of, your clinician sends you a telehealth link. Click it at your booking time.
First session: 50 minutes by video. No weighing, no diet talk.
What you need: a device with a camera and a private space.
Psychologists who work with ARFID, by video. Every ARFID therapist on our team is an AHPRA registered psychologist. Eliza and Felicity see children, teens and adults. Jared, Ted, Deborah and Louise see clients aged 16 and over. Pick a psychologist below, or take the earliest time across the team.
AHPRA Registered Clinical Psychologist
Clinical psychologist working with children, teens and adults. Warm, evidence based therapy for eating disorders, disordered eating and body image concerns, paced to suit each person and each age.
Sees all ages
Book with Eliza
AHPRA Registered Psychologist
Collaborative therapy using CBT, ACT and schema therapy, with a strong focus on helping you feel safe and understood.
Sees all ages
Book with Felicity
AHPRA Registered Psychologist
Client centred, trauma informed therapy supporting adults and young people aged 16+ with eating disorders and body image concerns.
Sees clients aged 16 and over
Book with Deborah
AHPRA Registered Psychologist
Collaborative, curious therapy drawing on CBT, ACT and EMDR to help adults and older teens build a healthier relationship with food and their body.
Sees clients aged 16 and over
Book with Jared
AHPRA Registered Psychologist
Helping adults and older teens build a life bigger than their eating disorder through recovery focused care.
Sees clients aged 16 and over
Book with Louise
AHPRA Registered Clinical Psychologist
Clinical psychologist for adults and older teens. Warm, collaborative therapy drawing on evidence based treatments, tailored to your circumstances and what you want from recovery.
Sees clients aged 16 and over
Book with TedEliza Hartley (clinical psychologist) and Felicity Staedler (psychologist) both see all ages. Please book with one of them so the session lands with the right psychologist. Our dietitians Samantha Wright, Sarah Why and Gabriela Salant also see all ages, with carer and family support, so please book a dietitian for under 18s with one of them.
Both are fully AHPRA registered and both deliver evidence based ARFID therapy. A clinical psychologist holds an additional area of practice endorsement, which attracts a higher Medicare rebate and a higher fee. The out of pocket difference is $2.50 a session, so choose on availability and fit.
No surprises. Here is what a session costs and what you get back.
| What you pay | Registered psychologist | Clinical psychologist |
|---|---|---|
| Session | 50 minutes | 50 minutes |
| Fee | $260 | $310 |
| Medicare rebate | $101.55 | $149.05 |
| You pay after rebate | $158.45 | $160.95 |
With an eligible GP plan, Medicare pays back $101.55 to $149.05 a session, up to your plan's limit. Three steps and we handle the processing.
Ask your GP for a Mental Health Care Plan. For children, a paediatrician can also refer. Your psychologist can tell you what to ask for.
Email your plan and referral to admin@biteintofreedom.com.au. We do the processing and set up your rebate.
You add a card before your first session and payment is taken after each session. Your rebate usually lands in your bank account within 1 to 3 business days. Nothing to lodge.
No plan yet? You can start now at the full fee. Rebates apply from the date your GP writes the plan.
Questions about fees or your plan? Speak with our teamCall 03 9001 9100 or email us.
For ARFID, a psychologist and a dietitian often work together. Your psychologist works on the fear, anxiety and sensory load around eating. Your dietitian keeps nutrition and growth on track while new foods are added.
At Bite Into Freedom both sit under one practice and, with your consent, they talk to each other. Our dietitians are Accredited Practising Dietitians (APD), and Samantha Wright, Sarah Why and Gabriela Salant see all ages, so please book a dietitian for under 18s with one of them.
Prefer to start with food? Read about ARFID support with a dietitian.
Waiting for your first session, or want a self guided place to start? The ARFID Meal Builder gives you practical frameworks to use at home.
A clinical system built for the ARFID brain. Instead of staring at the fridge feeling overwhelmed, start from the foods you already tolerate and build meals that give your body what it needs.
$29.99 AUD, lifetime access
Explore the Meal BuilderTherapy is the treatment. Book a session and use the Meal Builder in between sessions.
Looking for an ARFID psychologist or clinic near you? With telehealth, ARFID treatment with a psychologist is a video call away, with the same Medicare rebates as in person.
Costs, rebates, referrals and what actually happens in ARFID therapy.
Our intake team can help with fees, rebates and finding the right psychologist.
No. You can book your first session today without a referral. A referral only matters if you want a Medicare rebate, which needs a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP. If you already have one, email it to admin@biteintofreedom.com.au and we do the processing. If not, your psychologist can tell you what to ask your GP for.
We are accepting new clients. Live availability is shown on the booking page, so you can choose a time now rather than wait for a call back. If nothing on the calendar suits, speak with our teamcall 03 9001 9100 and we will look at what is opening up across the team.
Your first session is 50 minutes by video. Your psychologist asks about the foods that feel safe, what happens around meals and what you want to be different, then explains how they would work with you. There is no pressure to eat anything. For children, a parent or carer usually joins. Before it, you complete an online intake form, and your psychologist sends a telehealth link the day before or the morning of your session.
Yes. Eliza Hartley (clinical psychologist) and Felicity Staedler (psychologist) see all ages, including young children, so please book under 16s with one of them. For younger children, parents and carers are usually a big part of therapy. Our dietitians Samantha Wright, Sarah Why and Gabriela Salant also see all ages, so please book a dietitian for under 18s with one of them.
Yes. ARFID is often missed until adulthood, and many adults have lived with a short list of safe foods for years. All six of our psychologists see adults. Adult ARFID therapy works at your pace, with no pressure and no judgement.
If you live in Australia, yes. Our psychologists see clients by video, so you can work with an ARFID psychologist from home, whether you are in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin or a regional town. Telehealth suits ARFID well, because the work happens where meals actually take place. Medicare rebates apply to video sessions the same way they do in person.
ARFID, or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, is an eating disorder where the amount or range of food someone eats is limited by sensory sensitivity, fear of what might happen, or low interest in eating. It is not about body image or weight, it is recognised in the DSM-5, and it can affect children, teens and adults.
Many children go through a picky phase and grow out of it. ARFID is different: the list of foods stays very short or keeps shrinking, meals cause real distress, and it starts to affect growth, energy, health or daily life, such as school, work or eating with others. If you are unsure, a psychologist can help you work out what is going on.
Yes. A psychologist can assess for ARFID and talk through a diagnosis with you, and your GP or paediatrician can also diagnose it. You do not need a diagnosis to start therapy.
A clinician looks at which foods are avoided or limited and why, and how this affects weight, growth, nutrition or daily life. They also check it is not driven by body image or weight worries, and your GP rules out medical causes. Screening questionnaires can flag possible ARFID, but only a clinician can diagnose it, at any age.
ARFID is more common in autistic people and people with ADHD, often because of sensory differences or anxiety. Our psychologists take a neurodiversity affirming approach: the goal is eating that feels safe and meets your needs, not forcing foods or changing who you are.
A 50 minute session with a registered psychologist is $260, with a Medicare rebate of $101.55 and an out of pocket cost of $158.45. A 50 minute session with a clinical psychologist is $310, with a rebate of $149.05 and an out of pocket cost of $160.95.
A Mental Health Care Plan covers up to 10 rebated psychology sessions per calendar year. Payment is taken from your stored card after the session, and your rebate is usually in your bank account within 1 to 3 business days. We do not bulk bill.
For psychology, a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP covers up to 10 rebated sessions per calendar year. For dietitian sessions, ask your GP about a Chronic Condition Management Plan, which covers up to 5 allied health sessions per calendar year. Your GP decides which plans you are eligible for.
Yes, if your NDIS plan is self managed or plan managed and includes funding for psychology. Check with your plan manager or support coordinator first, then book an NDIS psychology session. Some private health funds also cover psychology under extras, and we give you an itemised receipt. You cannot claim Medicare and private health for the same session.
CBT-AR is cognitive behavioural therapy for ARFID. It helps you understand what keeps eating limited and uses planned, gradual steps to build confidence with new foods, one small change at a time. Therapy for ARFID may draw on CBT-AR alongside parent support, anxiety tools and food exploration, matched to the person and their age.
Therapist and counsellor are general terms that anyone can use. A psychologist is an AHPRA registered health professional with at least six years of training. When you see an ARFID therapist at Bite Into Freedom, you are seeing a registered or clinical psychologist who provides ARFID counselling and therapy by video, and sessions attract the Medicare rebates shown on this page.
No. Nothing is forced. New foods come in gradually and every step is agreed with you, or with your child and you, often starting with looking at, smelling or touching a food long before tasting it.
Often both. The psychologist works on the fear, anxiety and sensory load around eating. The dietitian keeps nutrition and growth on track while new foods are added. Some children also see a speech pathologist or occupational therapist for feeding therapy, and with your consent we can work alongside them. If you are unsure where to start, book either one: our eating disorder dietitians work under the same practice.
Our psychologists provide outpatient therapy by telehealth. If there are medical concerns, such as weight loss, faltering growth or nutritional deficiencies, your GP or paediatrician monitors physical health, and your psychologist works with them to find the right level of care.
We are not a crisis service and cannot respond urgently. In an emergency call 000. For support right now, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 33 4673.
Call, email or ask a question below. Whether you are booking for yourself or your child, our intake team can talk you through fees, rebates and which psychologist is the right fit.
This form is not monitored for urgent help. In an emergency call 000. Lifeline 13 11 14. Butterfly National Helpline 1800 33 4673.
