Advance Care Planning
A supportive and personal approach
Next Door Counselling & Consultation offers a supportive, person-centred Advance Care Planning service. Our practitioners have more than 10 years of experience working alongside older adults, people living with chronic or changing health conditions, and their families. They have also completed specialised training in Advance Care Planning.
We know these conversations can feel hard. Our team will sit alongside you, helping you make sense of what matters most and put your wishes into words, with warmth, sensitivity and no pressure.
We generally meet with you for two sessions. This gives us the time to get to know you, understand what is important to you and help you develop a plan that truly reflects who you are.
Who we work with
Who is this service for?
Advance Care Planning may be helpful if you:
Are living with a chronic or progressive health condition
Have recently received a significant diagnosis
Are experiencing changes in memory or cognition
Are preparing for surgery or significant medical treatment
Are entering your senior years and want to have your affairs in order
Do not have family available to advocate for you
Want to make future decisions clearer for the people you love
Simply want greater choice and control over your future care
You do not need to be seriously unwell to begin Advance Care Planning. In fact, it is often easier to have these conversations while you are well and able to consider your choices without urgency.
The basics
What is Advance Care Planning?
Advance Care Planning is the process of thinking about, discussing and recording your values, beliefs and preferences for future healthcare. It helps the people close to you and your healthcare team understand how you would like to be cared for if illness or injury means you are no longer able to communicate or make decisions for yourself. Advance Care Planning may include:
Advance Care Planning is not only about medical treatment or completing a form. It is about helping the people caring for you understand who you are and what matters most to you.
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An Advance Care Directive is a formal legal document that allows a person with decision-making capacity to record their values, preferences and instructions for future healthcare. In Victoria, an Advance Care Directive can include:
A values directive, describing your values and preferences to guide future medical decisions.
An instructional directive, containing legally binding instructions about medical treatments you consent to or refuse in particular circumstances.
Further information about Victorian Advance Care Directives is available from Advance Care Planning Australia.
WHY IT MATTERSWhy complete an Advance Care Plan?
Advance Care Planning can help you maintain choice, dignity and a sense of control over your future care. It can also reduce uncertainty for your family and healthcare team by helping them understand what you would want if they ever needed to make decisions on your behalf.
Your preferences may include significant medical decisions, but they can also include the personal details that help you feel safe, comfortable and connected to yourself. This might include having your nails painted, listening to particular music, keeping photographs or religious items nearby, having certain people with you, or placing a strong emphasis on comfort and quality of life.
These details may appear small to someone else, but they may be deeply important to you. Your plan should reflect these things because they are part of who you are.
WHAT TO EXPECTHow do the sessions work?
Session One: Getting to know you
Our first session is about you, your life, beliefs, values and the things you hold close. Together, we explore:
What makes your life meaningful
What quality of life means to you
What brings you comfort
What you would find difficult or unacceptable
Your cultural, personal or spiritual beliefs
What you would want others to understand about you
Who you would trust to speak on your behalf
Session Two: Putting your wishes into words
During the second session, we work through the relevant Advance Care Planning documents together and support you to clearly record your wishes. You will also receive guidance about what needs to happen next. This may include:
Discussing medical treatment instructions with your GP
Appointing a medical treatment decision-maker
Arranging the required witnessing
Providing copies to your GP and healthcare team
Sharing your plan with the important people in your life
Safely storing your documents
Our practitioners can support you through the planning and documentation process. Your GP or treating medical practitioner remains responsible for providing individual medical advice.
Some people already have very clear ideas about what they want. Others find it difficult to narrow these things down or put them into words. Both are completely okay.
This is why we dedicate a full session to gently exploring what matters most to you. We take the time to listen, ask thoughtful questions and help you find the words that feel right.
SUPPORT ALONG THE WAYWhen these conversations feel difficult
Talking about declining health, future care or the end of life can bring up many emotions. You may feel uncertain, overwhelmed or conflicted about what you want. Family members may also have different beliefs, fears or expectations.
NDC offers specialised counselling and support as part of this process. We provide a safe and respectful space to work through difficult feelings, clarify what matters to you and navigate sensitive conversations with the people you love.
Our role is not to tell you what to choose. It is to listen, help you explore your choices and support you to create a plan that reflects your own voice, values and wishes.
FEES / INSURANCEFees and private health insurance
Private health insurance rebates may be available, depending on your health fund, level of cover and the practitioner providing the service.
We recommend contacting your private health insurer before your appointment to confirm whether counselling or social work services are included in your policy. We can provide an appropriate receipt following your appointment.
Session fee$150
/ 50 Mins
Two sessions are generally recommended.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENTYour life is personal, and your care should be too.
An Advance Care Plan can help keep your voice at the centre of your care, even if there comes a time when you are unable to speak for yourself. Our team is ready to sit alongside you through these important conversations with warmth, sensitivity and respect. Contact Next Door Counselling & Consultation to learn more or book your Advance Care Planning sessions.