Counselling

Careers in counselling are on the rise. Counsellors provide support to individuals, couples, families, groups and organisations across a range of age groups and issues, including loss and grief, life transitions, relationships, parenting, addiction, trauma, child and adolescent development, abuse, mental health and wellbeing.

The Australian Government initiative Job Outlook website states that Health Care and Social Assistance is Australia’s largest and fastest growing industry, with the future growth of counselling predicted as being ‘Very Strong’.

Obtaining a post-graduate degree in counselling provides enhanced employment opportunities within the counselling, health, education and human services sectors as well as private practice.


About our courses

Why study Counselling at UNE?

Whether you are new to the profession or seeking to expand your current knowledge and skills, at UNE we have been training university-qualified counsellors for over 25 years.

Our long established, specialist, post-graduate courses are taught by passionate and experienced academics and practitioners, ensuring that you gain the theoretical knowledge and skills required for contemporary, interdisciplinary practice.

The combination of online learning and mandatory intensive schools means that you are able to integrate theoretical learning with skills-based practice and supervision.Our flexible, blended delivery learning experience is designed to help you balance family, work and study across UNE’s trimesters. There are a number of entry/exit points and workload options to help tailor your study to meet your individual needs.

Accredited Courses

Both the Graduate Diploma in Counselling and the Master of Counselling are accredited by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), a national peak association, and Australia's largest single registration body for counsellors and psychotherapists. Student membership with the ACA is available while undertaking the courses, with professional membership eligibility after graduation. Graduates who engage in ongoing professional development are also eligible to be listed on the Australian Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (ARCAP), an independent national register of qualified counsellors and psychotherapists.

Graduate Diploma in Counselling

The Graduate Diploma in Counselling provides professional training to prepare graduates to work in a diverse range of counselling contexts. Offering a combination of theoretical and experiential learning via distance education, the course is ideally suited to individuals wishing to gain an industry-recognised qualification whilst continuing to meet their work and family commitments. The course provides a direct pathway to the Master of Counselling at UNE.

Course Details

Master of Counselling

The Master of Counselling offers an integrative approach to counsellor training and supervision, drawing upon a wide range of theories and evidence-informed practice to equip students with the advanced knowledge and skills-based competencies required by contemporary counselling practitioners. Emphasis is given to producing counsellors who are ethical, self-reflexive, and committed to lifelong learning and ongoing professional development.

Offering a combination of theoretical and experiential learning via distance education, the course is ideally suited to individuals wishing to gain an industry-recognised qualification whilst continuing to meet their work and family commitments. The course provides a pathway to the Doctor of Philosophy and other doctoral programmes for those students who meet other entry requirements to these programmes.

Course Details