Concussion assessment & recovery care · Gold Coast Concussion assessment and recovery care, when symptoms persist.

Neuropsychological assessment, psychological treatment and a plan for getting back to school, work and sport, for children, adolescents and adults after concussion, including sport-related concussion. We work within your doctor-led team.

Request an appointment Make a referral

Recently injured? A suspected concussion needs removal from play and medical assessment, with no same-day return to sport. Read the urgent-care signs.

Southport, Gold Coast Telehealth for consultations, therapy & follow-up WorkCover & motor accident (CTP) referrals welcome Funding may be available where eligible

Safety first

Recently injured?

We are not an emergency or sideline concussion service. A person with a suspected concussion should be removed from sport or risk activity, medically assessed, and not return to play on the same day. Seek urgent medical care for: worsening headache; repeated vomiting; a seizure; increasing confusion or drowsiness; loss of consciousness; weakness or tingling; double vision; marked unsteadiness; or unusual behaviour. In an emergency, call 000.

Who this is for: Children from about five, adolescents and adults whose recovery after concussion is complex or slower than expected, people concerned after repeated concussions, and their treating teams.
What it can clarify: What is keeping symptoms going, how thinking is affected, and what will help at school, at work and in sport.
What you receive: A plain-language report that answers the referral question, a recovery plan, and treatment where it is needed.
Format: Assessment in Southport, paced around fatigue and age; consultations, therapy, feedback and school or workplace meetings in person or by telehealth.
Next step: Request an appointment, book a 15-minute discovery call, or make a referral.

Registered clinical neuropsychologists recovery-focused practice AHPRA registered

Most concussions settle within days to a few weeks. Our service is for the smaller group whose recovery is complex, limiting daily life or taking longer than expected. It is also for anyone worried about their thinking or mood after repeated concussions.

Symptoms continuing beyond four weeks are described as persisting symptoms after concussion, sometimes called post-concussion syndrome. Your GP, paediatrician, sports and exercise physician or rehabilitation team leads the medical care. We contribute the assessment, the psychological treatment, and the practical plan for getting back to school, work and sport.

Choosing the right service

Is this the right service?

Under the Australian and New Zealand concussion guideline, specialised cognitive assessment is considered when thinking difficulties limit daily function, persist beyond four weeks, and have not settled as other contributing factors are treated. Psychological treatment is recommended alongside other care for persisting symptoms.

Our service fits when

Concentration, memory, thinking speed or mental stamina remain difficult beyond four weeks
Return to school, university, work or sport has stalled, or is held back by worry about symptoms or re-injury
Sleep, fatigue, pain, headaches, mood, anxiety, ADHD or medication are interacting with recovery
There have been repeated concussions, or you are concerned about your thinking or mood after several
A treating doctor wants standardised cognitive information, a treatment plan, or both

Another service is the right first step for

Emergency care, or a head injury that is getting worse: urgent medical assessment
Sideline or same-day assessment, or routine review of an uncomplicated concussion that is improving
A return-to-play certificate on its own: clearance is a medical decision
Mainly neck, balance, visual or exercise-tolerance symptoms: physiotherapy, optometry or sports medicine lead here

How we help

Assessment and care after concussion

Early guidance when recovery is at risk of stalling

Current guidance recommends relative rest, not strict rest, for the first 24 to 48 hours, then a gradual return to low-risk activity, and most people need nothing more. A slow recovery is more likely with a heavy symptom load, marked distress, previous concussions, a history of anxiety or depression, or a return to school or work that has stalled. In those situations, early explanation and brief support help: in Australian trials, early written information and a single education session reduced symptoms and stress at three months.

Neuropsychological assessment

A standardised, individually interpreted picture of attention, learning, memory, processing speed and executive functioning against age expectations. It also weighs the factors contributing to the picture: sleep, pain, fatigue, mood, anxiety, medication and pre-existing learning or attention differences. The report explains how the symptoms affect school, study, work and daily life, gives practical recommendations, and provides a post-injury benchmark for monitoring change where follow-up is clinically justified. Testing is one source of information and is never used alone to diagnose concussion or to clear a return to sport.

Treatment for persisting symptoms

Persisting symptoms are real, but they are not specific to one cause. Headache, migraine, neck injury, balance or visual problems, fatigue, sleep, pain, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, ADHD and medication can all influence how a person feels and thinks. Our psychologists treat the contributors that psychological treatment can change. That includes understanding what is keeping symptoms going, cognitive behavioural strategies for worry, low mood, sleep and headache-related distress, and pacing and graded activity without boom and bust. It also includes strategies for attention and memory, and support for adjustment and fear of re-injury. Sessions are individual, with family sessions for children and adolescents. In young people, a recent Australian randomised trial found that individualised, symptom-targeted multidisciplinary care was associated with faster recovery than usual care.

Getting back to school, work and play

A graded plan agreed with you, your school or employer and your treating doctor, using the adjustments set out in the lists below. We write letters the school or workplace can act on, and set review points for winding the adjustments back. For sport, we work with the club or team medical staff on the psychological side of returning; clearance itself stays with the treating doctor.

Athletes and repeated concussions

For community and professional athletes, and for anyone concerned about changes in their thinking or mood after several concussions. We provide a detailed cognitive and psychological picture for the treating doctor, and monitoring against a post-injury benchmark where earlier results exist. We also support the decision about continuing in a contact sport. That decision is individual, made with the treating doctor, and no single factor decides it.

Return to daily life

Return to school, study and work

A successful return is gradual and based on function, rather than waiting for every symptom to disappear. A plan may include:

Shorter school or work periods initially, with gradual increases in hours, duties and cognitive demand
Reduced or prioritised workload, and extra time for assignments, examinations or complex tasks
Additional breaks and management of cognitive fatigue
Review points for winding back adjustments as recovery progresses

For children and adolescents, an early return to school with temporary adjustments is preferred over a prolonged absence. A full return to learning is recommended before an unrestricted return to sport. With your consent, we write a short letter to the school setting out the adjustments.

Sport

Return to sport

Return to sport is a staged medical process. Our assessment and treatment may inform it, but we do not issue medical return-to-play clearance.

A graded return to activity and sport, progressing as symptoms allow
For youth and community sport, current Australian guidance recommends at least 14 days symptom-free at rest before contact training, and at least 21 days from injury before competitive contact sport
Medical clearance from the treating doctor before returning to contact or collision sport; codes and clubs may impose additional requirements
Decisions after repeated concussions are individual and need a multidisciplinary medical assessment

What is involved

How care is organised

Clinical review. A psychologist or neuropsychologist reviews the enquiry or referral and whether another service should be involved first. A 15-minute discovery call is available first.
Initial consultation. The injury, recovery so far, previous concussions, current concerns, health and mood, sleep, pain, medication, and school, work and sport participation, with standardised symptom measures. With consent, information from a parent, partner, teacher or treating professional. It ends with an explanation, a first plan, and a decision about what comes next: assessment, treatment or both.
Assessment where it adds value. Individually selected testing, paced around fatigue, age and current symptoms, with breaks. Some assessments are divided across appointments, and sessions for children and teens are shorter.
Treatment and planning. Individual sessions, family sessions for children and adolescents, and school or workplace liaison, with progress measured at agreed review points.
Report, feedback and handover. A plain-language report that answers the referral question and gives practical recommendations, explained to you and, with consent, shared with the treating doctor, rehabilitation team or school. At discharge you receive a written plan for what to do if symptoms return, or after any future head injury.

What to tell your child: describe the day simply, as time with someone who wants to understand how they are thinking and feeling since their knock.

For referrers

For GPs, paediatricians and specialists

Referrals are welcome for:

Functionally limiting cognitive symptoms beyond four weeks
A stalled return to school, study or work
Several interacting contributors: sleep, pain, mood, anxiety, ADHD, learning differences or medication
Repeated concussions where you want a detailed cognitive and functional picture
Psychological adjustment difficulty after concussion, with or without a cognitive complaint
Early support where risk factors for a slow recovery are present
People under 17, or outside public-service criteria

Please include the date and mechanism of injury, previous concussions, and current symptoms and their course. Add school, work and sport participation, relevant history and medications, any imaging or previous assessments, the question to be addressed, and the funding source.

Where an insurer, solicitor or court requires an independent opinion, use our WorkCover or medico-legal pathways; we do not provide independent opinions on people we treat. Refer through our referrer page; every referral is acknowledged on receipt.

Cost & funding

Cost and funding

Focused neuropsychological concussion assessment

Includes the clinical interview, targeted testing, scoring, interpretation, feedback and a written report. Where a consultation rather than immediate testing is appropriate, we advise first whether formal testing is likely to add value. More complex, multi-source or compensation assessments are individually quoted. You receive a written estimate before booking, and a booking fee for privately funded assessments is credited to the total.

Treatment sessions

Psychological treatment is charged per session, with the plan and review points agreed at the start. Medicare rebates may apply to therapy sessions with a mental health treatment plan from your GP or psychiatrist, where a condition such as anxiety or depression has been diagnosed.

Funding pathways

Neuropsychological assessment is not rebated through Medicare's Better Access program. Assessment and treatment may be funded privately or, where approved in advance, through WorkCover Queensland, CTP insurance, DVA or another insurer. NDIS funding is relevant only when an assessment addresses the functional impact of a permanent disability. It does not ordinarily fund acute concussion diagnosis, short-term rehabilitation or return-to-sport assessment. See our fees and policies.

Written estimate before bookingWorkCover QLDCTP (motor accident)Private

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Does everyone need testing after a concussion?

No. Most people do not need a neuropsychological assessment after an uncomplicated concussion that is improving normally. Assessment is useful when cognitive symptoms are functionally limiting, persist beyond four weeks or present a complex clinical question.

Do you provide treatment as well as assessment?

Yes. Psychological treatment for persisting symptoms is a service in its own right, with or without an assessment. It covers what keeps symptoms going, worry, mood, sleep and headache-related distress, pacing, and the return to school, work and sport.

Do I need a referral?

A referral is not required for a privately funded appointment. Concussion diagnosis, medical management and return-to-sport clearance are medical decisions. We usually work with the person's GP, paediatrician, sports physician or rehabilitation specialist.

Can you clear me or my child to return to sport?

No. Medical clearance is provided by the treating doctor. Neuropsychological findings may contribute to that decision in selected complex cases.

I have had several concussions. Can you tell whether they have affected me?

A detailed assessment describes your current thinking and mood against age expectations, and against your own earlier results where they exist, and identifies what else may be contributing. With your doctor, we then plan monitoring, treatment or changes to activity.

Can the assessment be completed by telehealth?

Consultations, therapy sessions, discussions with family or teachers, and feedback can often be by telehealth. Standardised cognitive testing is usually completed in person in Southport.

What if the concussion happened months or years ago?

Assessment and treatment may still help if there is a clear cognitive, emotional or functional question. The longer the time since the injury, the more important it is to consider other medical, psychological, developmental and life factors that may be contributing.

Request an appointment

Tell us how long ago the concussion happened and what is still difficult. Our team and a psychologist review every enquiry, and we reply by email within two working days with the right starting point, assessment, treatment or both, and the likely cost. Private enquiries do not need a referral.

GP, paediatrician or specialist? Make a professional referral · Phone enquiries are welcome during business hours on 0452 452 262; if we are with a client, please leave a message and we will call you back.

Request an appointment Book a 15-minute discovery call

Sources: Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Clinical Practice Guideline for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion, 2025; Australian Institute of Sport and Sports Medicine Australia, Australian Concussion Guidelines for Youth and Community Sport; Patricios JS, et al., Consensus statement on concussion in sport, Amsterdam 2022; Anderson V, et al., randomised trial of individualised multidisciplinary treatment for young people with persisting symptoms after concussion, 2026; Rytter HM, et al., Nonpharmacological treatment of persistent postconcussion symptoms in adults: systematic review, meta-analysis and guideline recommendation, 2021; Ponsford J, et al., early intervention after mild head injury in adults, 2002, and in children, 2001; Mittenberg W, et al., cognitive-behavioural prevention of postconcussion syndrome, 1996; Makdissi M, et al., retirement and discontinuation after sport-related concussion: systematic review, 2023.