You do NOT need a referral to seek treatment at The Newcastle Headache Clinic if you are a private patient, however if you have any concerns in relation to this type of treatment for your headache or migraine, we would encourage you to speak with us, your GP or a specialist for advice on this matter.

One of the principles our treatment technique, is that irrespective of how long you have been experiencing headache or migraine, significant improvement is expected within 5 treatments, otherwise ongoing treatment cannot be justified.

You may not necessarily be ‘cured’ in this time but to justify any further treatment, appreciable changes need to be evident. Importantly, for the best possible chance of creating a change in these first 5 treatments, the treatments need to be close together. For example two treatments in the first week followed by two in the second and then one in the third significantly increases the chances of a successful outcome.  If intervals between the first 5 treatments are any longer, the changes or momentum created in the previous treatment are lost. However this is only a guide – if improvement is evident within 2-3 treatments then intervals between treatments will be increased.

If there is no appreciable improvement after 5 treatments then it is unlikely that ongoing treatment will benefit you. In this case we discuss other options and with your consent, liaise with your doctor.  It is in no-one’s interest to keep coming for treatment that is not helping.

If there is improvement, ongoing treatment (with increasing intervals between sessions) can be recommended with confidence.

Your initial appointment will be approximately 1 hour with each subsequent visit lasting 30 minutes. These times may vary depending on the nature of your complaint and the complexity of treatment involved.

Generally loose fitting clothing is ideal, however just your normal everyday clothing is certainly acceptable. You should expect to lie down at some stage of the consultation so take that into consideration when choosing what to wear.

We ask all patients to bring along any relevant information in relation to your injury, including XRAY, CT, MRI, and ultrasound reports.

You will meet your treating therapist and discuss with them the nature of your headache or migraine. We ask for open and honest two way communication and will endeavour to ensure that all aspects of the treatment are delivered in a gentle manner and in terms that you fully understand.

The initial consultation will be the first step toward confirming whether there is a correlation between your neck and your headache or migraine. If the results of the initial assessment prove this link, then your therapist will develop a plan for ongoing treatment of this complaint.

Yes. If you have private health insurance we are able to make the claim immediately for you (HICAPS), which will then leave a gap payment that is payable on the day of treatment. Any Medicare funded appointments will be required to be paid in full on the day of treatment and we will then process your claim through Medicare directly who will pay the scheduled rebate directly to you.

The Newcastle Headache Clinic is a specialist service that operates to support those in our community who suffer from debilitating headaches and migraines. In order to ensure that we can see as many patients in the small amount of time that we have available we need to ensure that all available appointment times are utilised. As such, any patient who does not provide at least 24 hours’ notice of their intention to cancel or not attend a scheduled appointment will be charged 50% of the scheduled fee for that appointment time.

Missed appointment will set you back in your recovery, so we ask that wherever possible you keep all your appointments.

The diagnostic accuracy of the Watson Headache® Approach is unparalleled. It can confirm if disorders in the upper neck are responsible for headache or migraine and determine the exact nature of the disorder as well as which spinal joints are involved. There is no guesswork and no cracking or manipulation. Its unique and powerful feature involves temporary reproduction and resolution (easing) of usual head pain. For further information, go to: www.WatsonHeadacheApproach.com.