What does a Psychology Allied Health Assistant (AHA) do?
When your child is working with a psychologist, the strategies discussed in sessions can be incredibly helpful — but sometimes the real challenge is putting those strategies into practice in everyday life.
This is where a Psychology Allied Health Assistant (AHA) can make a real difference.
A Psychology AHA works under the guidance and supervision of a psychologist to help children and young people practice and apply the skills they are developing in therapy. Rather than replacing the psychologist, an AHA helps bridge the gap between the therapy room and everyday life.
What can a Psychology AHA help with?
Daily living skills and independence
An AHA can also support children to develop practical skills that help them become more independent at home, school and in the community.
Depending on their goals, this could include:
Getting ready for school
Following routines
Organising belongings
Completing age-appropriate household tasks
Building independence with daily routines
Practising community participation
supporting transitions between activities
developing planning and problem-solving skills
The aim isn't to do these things for a child. It is to provide the right level of support so they can gradually do more for themselves.
Parental guidance and support
AHAs can also help parents put agreed strategies into practice. For example, a psychologist may develop strategies around routines, emotional regulation, independence or behaviour. The AHA can then support the child to practise these strategies consistently while providing feedback to the psychologist about what is working well and where further support may be needed.
This creates a team approach between the child, family, AHA and psychologist.
Emotional regulation
An AHA can help children practise strategies for recognising, understanding and managing their emotions.
This might look like:
Practising calming and regulation strategies
Identifying emotions and body signals
Working through everyday frustrations
Supporting a child to use strategies they have learned in psychology sessions
Helping children build confidence in managing challenging situations
The focus is on practising skills in real-life situations, so that strategies become easier to use independently.
Social skills and social support
For children who find social situations challenging, an AHA can provide opportunities to practise skills in a supportive and predictable environment. This may include:
Starting and maintaining conversations
Taking turns
Flexible thinking
Problem-solving with peers
Managing disagreements
Understanding social cues
Developing confidence in social situations
Social skills are often best learned through practice, rather than simply talking about them, an AHA can provide that opportunity.
Why include AHA in your child’s care?
One of the biggest benefits of working with an AHA is that it can provide more regular, practical support at a lower cost than seeing a psychologist for every session.
Psychologists play an important role in assessment, treatment planning, clinical intervention and ongoing review. An AHA can then help with the implementation and practice of those plans. For example, a psychologist might work with a child on emotional regulation and develop a personalised set of strategies. Rather than only practising these skills during occasional psychology appointments, an AHA might work with the child each week to practise those strategies during everyday activities.
This can help children move from:
"I know what I'm supposed to do" → "I can actually do it."
AHAs can also provide support in different environments, depending on the child's goals. This may include the home, school, community or clinic.
What qualifications does a Psychology AHA have?
A Psychology AHA's qualifications can vary depending on their role and experience. At Home Psychology and Speech Therapy, our Psychology AHAs have a background in psychology and are continuing their education and professional development, with some working towards becoming registered psychologists. Importantly, an AHA is not a registered psychologist and does not provide independent psychological assessment or therapy. They work under the direction and guidance of a qualified psychologist, with their role and activities tailored to the psychologist's clinical recommendations. This means your child's support remains connected to their broader psychological care, while giving them additional opportunities to practise skills between psychology appointments.
Meet our team to learn more about our practitioners and their backgrounds.
Pricing and AHA support at
Home Psychology and Speech Therapy
How much does psychology AHA support cost?
At Home Psychology and Speech Therapy, AHA sessions have a lower listed fee than standard psychologist sessions. Visit our fees and rebates page for current pricing, and contact our team to discuss the costs of your child’s proposed support, including any additional charges or applicable funding.
AHA support at Home Psychology and Speech Therapy
Our practice is based in Caringbah, in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire. If your child needs more support using their therapy strategies day to day, their psychologist can help determine whether AHA support is appropriate.
Contact our team to discuss your child’s needs, current availability, and how AHA support might fit into their care.
Further reading:
NSW Health’s Allied Health Assistant Framework explains supervised and delegated AHA roles within NSW Health.
