Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question that has not been answered here please feel free to email or call us and we’ll be happy to help.
Why do you conduct your sessions over the phone?
At Shape It Up! we've structured our entire business in a way that makes our services more affordable and accessible. By holding appointments over the phone we are able to offer our services to clients across Australia, including clients who are living busy lifestyles, are at home with children, are isolated, travel for work, or otherwise just find phone consulting convenient. It is also easier for us to offer after hours appointments.
Many of our clients would struggle to fit one more appointment into their week if this appointment included driving, parking and waiting in a waiting room, so phone consulting really aids our clients to be more efficient with their time. Many clients also find it more relaxing and less intimidating talking about private matters when they are in the comfort of their own home or office and we find phone consulting to be very effective for this reason.
Running a phone service is more affordable for us, therefore we can keep the cost of your sessions to a minimum which makes your appointments more affordable.
During a phone session your consultant is sitting at a desk with your file in front of her and we ensure the same level of professionalism that you would find with a face-to-face service.
What are your credentials?
Mimi Loois holds:
BA from Deakin University (Philosophical Studies)
Diplomas in Counselling, Life Coaching, Stress Management Consulting and Clinical Nutrition
Mimi is registered as a Blackmores Professional Consultant and is a member of Nutrition Australia
Mimi has been working in the field since 2007 and has accumulated hundreds of hours of experience working with clients.
How much does it cost and how do I pay for my sessions?
You can purchase your sessions through our secure Online Store with Paypal or credit card. Payments can also be made with direct bank deposit (at the Bendigo Bank or over the internet) or through personal cheque or money order. Payments are due before your appointment commences. Ongoing clients often find it convenient to pay for a number of sessions at one time. The cost of each of our services is $69 a session. If 5 sessions are booked and payed for at one time the cost of each session is $59 per session.
Can I get a Medicare Rebate for Counselling Sessions?
At present Medicare does not offer rebates for phone counselling services, however, if you take into account that we charge well below the industry standard you may find that our services are more affordable even without a rebate.
Can you please explain life coaching?
The simplest way to explain life coaching is to say that a life coach is trained to help you to improve your life in ways that you want to improve it. This often involves setting goals, but not always. Life coaching keeps you accountable for what it is that you want to achieve and a coach will start by asking you a lot of questions to help you figure out what it is that really needs to change in your life. Once you've figured this out, your coach will support you to make the necessary changes and move forward in much the same way that a sports coach helps someone improve their game.
Life coaches have techniques they use to help you to stay motivated and typically coaches are friendly, supportive and good at organising things. Having a life coach is like having a professional organiser, cheerleader and confidante all rolled into one.
How do I know if I will achieve everything I want to achieve in my life coaching sessions?
Firstly, it is advisable to have a 20 minute introductory consultation before undertaking coaching to ensure that you and your coach are a suitable match. At this time you can also clarify what you want to achieve so that we can ensure that this is the focus of your program.
Generally it takes time to make sustainable changes in lifestyle patterns. We are not looking for fast, short lived results but for meaningful and sustainable results that will make a genuine difference to your life.
The more dedicated you are to completing the set weekly/fortnightly goals and exercises the faster you will make progress with your life coaching. In short, you can’t know if you will achieve everything you want to achieve but you can be sure that your coach will work with you to give you the opportunity to make changes in your life and encourage you to achieve worthwhile results.
What is your privacy policy?
All of our sessions are completely confidential. We follow the National Privacy Principals as outlined in the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2001. If you need to contact us about privacy or to access your personal information please contact: Shape It Up! Lifestyle Solutions PO BOX 60 Belmont Vic 3216.
We take your privacy very seriously and if we send information out to you in the mail this is always done with a plain envelope. Your confidential intake form is also returned to us in a registered envelope, which we provide for your convenience.
When are appointments available?
Appointments are currently available in the evenings, 5 nights per week. Appointment times are 5pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) Appointments during office hours are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10am, 11am, 12pm and 1pm. Please keep in mind that we have permanent clients who may hold the same appointment time each week and as such a specific time may not be available.
What happens in a typical counselling session?
A typical counselling session lasts 45 minutes and you will receive a call at your designated appointment time. Your counsellor will ask you questions to prompt you to talk about and explore what is on your mind. You are encouraged to do most of the talking during a counselling session and your counsellor will be listening and guiding the discussion. Your counsellor may summarise what you are saying from time to time and she may make some suggestions at the end of your session. Because this is solution-focused counselling there may be some discussion about how your lifestyle, diet and sleep are affecting how you are feeling as well as specific actions you can take to improve your situation.
What happens in a typical life coaching session?
A typical consultation lasts 45 minutes and in this time we discuss the goals and exercises that you have been asked to complete as well as setting new goals for the week ahead. We will discuss your day to day life and how you are managing to implement the skills you are learning in your sessions. We will also be developing strategies and management plans and talking through how you are feeling about different issues that arise and which areas of your life you’d like to see further improvement in. There are a number of exercises your coach will use throughout your coaching both in and out of session time.
An email will be sent to you highlighting the important points we have covered and you are welcome to email your coach between sessions to discuss day to day decisions and issues.
I don't have a landline, I only use my mobile, can I still have appointments with you?
The short answer is yes, we can still call you for your appointments and there is no extra cost for this. However, we would like you to consider that the nature of mobile calls can mean that your call is more likely to suffer from issues with coverage and time delays which can impact on the effectiveness of communication between you and your consultant, and for this reason we don't recommend mobile calls for your sessions unless you have no other option. If you must use a mobile please ensure that you take your call in a quiet, private place that has the best reception possible.
Why do you conduct your sessions over the phone?
At Shape It Up! we've structured our entire business in a way that makes our services more affordable and accessible. By holding appointments over the phone we are able to offer our services to clients across Australia, including clients who are living busy lifestyles, are at home with children, are isolated, travel for work, or otherwise just find phone consulting convenient. It is also easier for us to offer after hours appointments.
Many of our clients would struggle to fit one more appointment into their week if this appointment included driving, parking and waiting in a waiting room, so phone consulting really aids our clients to be more efficient with their time. Many clients also find it more relaxing and less intimidating talking about private matters when they are in the comfort of their own home or office and we find phone consulting to be very effective for this reason.
Running a phone service is more affordable for us, therefore we can keep the cost of your sessions to a minimum which makes your appointments more affordable.
During a phone session your consultant is sitting at a desk with your file in front of her and we ensure the same level of professionalism that you would find with a face-to-face service.
What are your credentials?
Mimi Loois holds:
BA from Deakin University (Philosophical Studies)
Diplomas in Counselling, Life Coaching, Stress Management Consulting and Clinical Nutrition
Mimi is registered as a Blackmores Professional Consultant and is a member of Nutrition Australia
Mimi has been working in the field since 2007 and has accumulated hundreds of hours of experience working with clients.
How much does it cost and how do I pay for my sessions?
You can purchase your sessions through our secure Online Store with Paypal or credit card. Payments can also be made with direct bank deposit (at the Bendigo Bank or over the internet) or through personal cheque or money order. Payments are due before your appointment commences. Ongoing clients often find it convenient to pay for a number of sessions at one time. The cost of each of our services is $69 a session. If 5 sessions are booked and payed for at one time the cost of each session is $59 per session.
Can I get a Medicare Rebate for Counselling Sessions?
At present Medicare does not offer rebates for phone counselling services, however, if you take into account that we charge well below the industry standard you may find that our services are more affordable even without a rebate.
Can you please explain life coaching?
The simplest way to explain life coaching is to say that a life coach is trained to help you to improve your life in ways that you want to improve it. This often involves setting goals, but not always. Life coaching keeps you accountable for what it is that you want to achieve and a coach will start by asking you a lot of questions to help you figure out what it is that really needs to change in your life. Once you've figured this out, your coach will support you to make the necessary changes and move forward in much the same way that a sports coach helps someone improve their game.
Life coaches have techniques they use to help you to stay motivated and typically coaches are friendly, supportive and good at organising things. Having a life coach is like having a professional organiser, cheerleader and confidante all rolled into one.
How do I know if I will achieve everything I want to achieve in my life coaching sessions?
Firstly, it is advisable to have a 20 minute introductory consultation before undertaking coaching to ensure that you and your coach are a suitable match. At this time you can also clarify what you want to achieve so that we can ensure that this is the focus of your program.
Generally it takes time to make sustainable changes in lifestyle patterns. We are not looking for fast, short lived results but for meaningful and sustainable results that will make a genuine difference to your life.
The more dedicated you are to completing the set weekly/fortnightly goals and exercises the faster you will make progress with your life coaching. In short, you can’t know if you will achieve everything you want to achieve but you can be sure that your coach will work with you to give you the opportunity to make changes in your life and encourage you to achieve worthwhile results.
What is your privacy policy?
All of our sessions are completely confidential. We follow the National Privacy Principals as outlined in the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2001. If you need to contact us about privacy or to access your personal information please contact: Shape It Up! Lifestyle Solutions PO BOX 60 Belmont Vic 3216.
We take your privacy very seriously and if we send information out to you in the mail this is always done with a plain envelope. Your confidential intake form is also returned to us in a registered envelope, which we provide for your convenience.
When are appointments available?
Appointments are currently available in the evenings, 5 nights per week. Appointment times are 5pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) Appointments during office hours are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10am, 11am, 12pm and 1pm. Please keep in mind that we have permanent clients who may hold the same appointment time each week and as such a specific time may not be available.
What happens in a typical counselling session?
A typical counselling session lasts 45 minutes and you will receive a call at your designated appointment time. Your counsellor will ask you questions to prompt you to talk about and explore what is on your mind. You are encouraged to do most of the talking during a counselling session and your counsellor will be listening and guiding the discussion. Your counsellor may summarise what you are saying from time to time and she may make some suggestions at the end of your session. Because this is solution-focused counselling there may be some discussion about how your lifestyle, diet and sleep are affecting how you are feeling as well as specific actions you can take to improve your situation.
What happens in a typical life coaching session?
A typical consultation lasts 45 minutes and in this time we discuss the goals and exercises that you have been asked to complete as well as setting new goals for the week ahead. We will discuss your day to day life and how you are managing to implement the skills you are learning in your sessions. We will also be developing strategies and management plans and talking through how you are feeling about different issues that arise and which areas of your life you’d like to see further improvement in. There are a number of exercises your coach will use throughout your coaching both in and out of session time.
An email will be sent to you highlighting the important points we have covered and you are welcome to email your coach between sessions to discuss day to day decisions and issues.
I don't have a landline, I only use my mobile, can I still have appointments with you?
The short answer is yes, we can still call you for your appointments and there is no extra cost for this. However, we would like you to consider that the nature of mobile calls can mean that your call is more likely to suffer from issues with coverage and time delays which can impact on the effectiveness of communication between you and your consultant, and for this reason we don't recommend mobile calls for your sessions unless you have no other option. If you must use a mobile please ensure that you take your call in a quiet, private place that has the best reception possible.
