About The Course

Who is recommended to enrol in this course: 

If you have a passion for helping people, and enjoy the challenge of changing lives, then the Diploma of Counselling is the perfect course for you. If you are an existing worker or have experience in the related industry, or you have ‘lived experience with mental health’ please inform our Enrolment Consultants during your enrolment conversation as you may be eligible to enrol as an existing worker and may be able to complete your studies faster.

Potential career outcomes

• Carer
• Carer consultant
• Case Worker
• Counsellor
• Therapist
• Social worker
• Advocacy Worker
• Youth peer worker
• Mental Health Peer Worker
• Peer Education Officer
• Consumer consultant
• Aboriginal peer worker

What you will learn

The theory and practice of core counselling methods including:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Person Centred Therapy
• Solution Focused Therapy
• Narrative Therapy
• Gestalt Therapy
• Acceptance Commitment Therapy
• How to work within a case management system
• The skills to assess clients and select the ideal counselling methods to meet their needs
• How to navigate legal and ethical frameworks
• Communication and how to work as part of a healthcare team
• Setting up your Counselling practice 

Learning materials

Your learning materials are accessed through our online Learn Centre.

These include:

• Online learning content
• Additional resources
• Scheduled live facilitated workshops
• Discussion forums
• Links to key online resources

Once you are enrolled in this course, you will receive access to the first Module, which contains the first set of units for the course.
When you have successfully completed those units, you'll be given access to the next Module. 

The Academy of Mental Health and Counselling may make changes to the course from time to time to reflect changes in the industry. 

There are 17 topics, 13 core topics, and 4 elective topics.

Assessment details

• Online knowledge check
• Case studies
• Demonstrations
• Presentations
• Written reports

Recognition of Prior Learning

We understand that you may already have many skills, knowledge, and areas of expertise you have developed along your career journey.
These are referred to your ‘lived experience’. You will be invited to discuss these experiences with your facilitator and/or coach and are referred
to as competency conversations (Recognition of Prior Learning). The competency conversations will provide the opportunity for you to be recognised for your previous experiences relevant to specific units. 

The Academy of Mental Health and Counselling has developed a ‘lived experience’ competency conversation (Recognition of Prior Learning) application kit for this course.

The Student Handbook, available in the Key Student Information section of our website, provides more information regarding your competency conversations (Recognition of Prior Learning). Alternatively, you can contact the Student Career Advisor to discuss your competency conversations and Recognition of Prior Learning options. 

Course duration

The Diploma of Counselling course is a maximum 24 months. There is a self-paced online course and regular scheduled live facilitated workshops. You will be provided with a Training Plan with scheduled dates for the facilitated workshops. Participants will create their individual coaching schedule with their assigned coach. Your one-on-one coaching sessions are scheduled between the live facilitated sessions.

Course completion

As this is a non-accredited course, upon your successful completion of this course you will receive a Certificate of Participation for the Diploma of Counselling.

Work Placement

What is a work placement?

As an important integrated component of your course, you are expected to participate in a work placement relevant to your area of interest.
This will provide you with the opportunity for practical hands-on experience and application of the learning content undertaken during your course. You will also be allocated a supervisor during your work placement. Your supervisor will be someone with involvement in the industry,

who can mentor you during your placement.

What are the benefits?

• Your work placement will provide you with the opportunity to inculcate your knowledge into practice.
• Develop a network within the industry to assist with your job search following your course completion.
• Work placement brings the learning to live and is often the most rewarding part of a student’s course.

       Working face-to-face with clients and colleagues in your chosen field makes a huge difference to your career confidence.

How do I find a work placement?

The Academy of Mental Health and Counselling will work with you to secure an approved work placement in your area of interest. 

When looking for a suitable work placement host organisation, you may like to consider: 

• Are you currently or previously working or volunteering in the industry your course is related to? 
• Could you potentially undertake your work placement at this location?
• Do you have contacts that could recommend a suitable work place?
• If this is a new industry you are entering, what research have you undertaken prior to the work placement timeframe?

Work placement summary

Work placement can begin after you have completed the first 5 units. A gentle reminder is that the structured workplace learning must be undertaken in an approved facility that provides formal counselling services.

Work placement hours

This course contains a minimum of 160 hours of work placement. 

Host organisation

You will need to secure your own Work Placement, however The Academy of Mental Health and Counselling can provide advice and direction through our Work Placement Support Team.

There are several statutory checks that may be required by workplaces.  Please be aware, these checks may vary by state. In addition, individual workplaces may impose additional requirements on students undertaking work placement. You will be responsible for the costs of any such checks or requirements.

These could include:

• National Police Check
• Working with Children Check (or state equivalent)
• First Aid Certificate
• Signing of a Confidentiality Agreement
• Signing a Code of Conduct. 

Your work placement must be undertaken and completed in Australia. 

Please note: You are responsible for the costs of any travel, accommodation, statutory checks or other expenses and requirements related to your work placement.

Your work placement supervisor 

Your work placement supervisor will be required to have:

• At least 3 years experience within industry and/or
• Hold a minimum qualification of the Diploma of Counselling or equivalent.
• The purpose of the supervisor is to debrief any situations you may experience that could create some form of tension for you. 

Recommendation

The Academy of Mental Health and Counselling recommends that you consider the work placement options in your local area prior to enrolling in this course. 

Requirements

There are several statutory checks which may be required by some workplaces. These could include and are not limited to: 

• National Police Check
• Working with Children Check (or state equivalent),
• Signing of a Confidentiality Agreement
• Signing of a Code of Conduct
• Occupational Assessment, screening, and vaccination against infectious disease
• Hold a current First Aid Certificate

These requirements may vary by state. In addition, individual workplaces may impose additional requirements on students undertaking work placement. You will be responsible for the costs of any such checks or requirements.

Insurance

The Academy of Mental Health and Counselling provides insurance cover for the mandatory work placement you undertake as part of your course. This insurance coverage includes Public and Products Liability Insurance as well as Student Personal Accident Insurance. We also recommend you enquire for your own insurance as you may require this if you are setting up your own practice. 

Additional

More information can be found in the Work Placement Guide. 

Contact our Enrolment Consultants to discuss any questions you might have regarding the work placement requirements of the course.

Requirements

Education

There are no formal education entry requirements for this course.

Minimum age

You will need to be at least 18 years old.

English Literacy and proficiency 

This course involves considerable reading of the learning content, undertaking a range of written assessments and engaging in online forums and discussions. 

Furthermore, there is an expectation of your participation in the live online facilitated workshops and online forums. This relies on your ability of verbal and written communication. As such, entry to the course requires the successful completion of English to Year 12 level.

If you have not successfully completed English at Year 12 level, you can demonstrate equivalency through one of the following:

• Successful completion of a Nationally Recognised Training qualification at Certificate III level or higher; or
• 3 years relevant industry experience in a role that requires the use of written documentation and communication.

The Academy of Mental Health and Counselling recognises that not all people are able to read, write, and perform calculations to the same standard. We suggest you discuss this with your Education consultant at the initial interview. 

Digital Literacy 

As an enrolled student you will require ready access to a computer and the internet. We expect that our students have basic computing skills.

The minimum specifications for your computer are:

All users:

• Microsoft Office 2010 or equivalent
• Broadband internet connection
• 2GB of RAM
• CD-ROM or DVD drive
• Adobe Reader XI or equivalent
• Adobe Flash Player 10 or higher
• Access to printer and associated software
• Access to scanner and associated software
• Digital imaging software
• File compression software

Windows users:

• Microsoft Windows 7 or higher (Windows 8 recommended)
• 1 Ghz or faster processer (2GHz recommended)

Mac OS users:

• Mac OSX v10.5 or higher (Mac OSX v10.6 recommended)
• 1 Ghz or faster processer (2GHz recommended)

Digital Literacy Skills

To successfully complete this course, you will require basic computing skills. This includes:

• Creating, saving, and editing Microsoft Office documents.
• Accessing and searching the internet.
• Downloading and saving documents from websites.
• Uploading documents through websites.
• Participating in online discussions.
• Compressing/zip image files.
• Connecting digital cameras and downloading and storing images.

Physical requirements

It is important to understand that a Counselling role demands prioritising situations and managing time. As a counsellor, you may experience stress and stress related symptoms due to interacting with clients in crisis. You will also be responsible for your own safety, as well as the safety of others.

Language, Literacy, and Numeracy

Each enrolled student will be provided with our language, literacy, and numeracy assessment to ensure you have the required level of skills needed to study our course. This tool can also help you determine your learning level and help you plan your future studies. You can access the Language, Literacy, and Numeracy tool here.