Bachelor of Counselling

Do you aspire to be a professional counsellor? The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Bachelor of Counselling is the degree for you. You will be able to communicate effectively and deal with a wide range of issues, from trauma and addiction counselling to counselling couples and families and addressing grief and loss issues. The Bachelor of Counselling is a three-year program that equips you with both the theoretical background and the hands-on skills needed to work effectively in a challenging and often demanding environment. Contact us to find out more.

Why study this degree?

• Our unique Bachelor of Counselling degree offers you a fully-integrated program of instruction that focuses on the individual's psychosocial, personal and spiritual development throughout their lifespan.
• In Year One, you will study a range of theories and approaches to counselling, explore personal values, belief systems and experiences from culture and family, identify effective self-care strategies and develop attributes essential to professional practice. You will also begin to develop practical counselling skills before moving on to specific areas of counselling children, adolescents, couples and families and older people in Years Two and Three.
• Blending theoretical understanding and hands-on experience, the program covers just about every type of scenario within the human experience. You will learn the interpersonal skills needed to build a positive client alliance which promotes the use of the therapeutic relationship as an organising focus for treatment.
• The program includes a placement in a counselling agency which will provide supervised practice, including a minimum of 40 hours of face-to-face client contact. Your placement allows you to gain practical experience and establish a professional network which may help you secure employment. Upon graduation, you will be entitled to register as a professional counsellor with Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation Australia (PACFA) (*pending approval in Sydney).

Learning outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the Bachelor of Counselling graduates will be able to:
• Evaluate theoretical perspectives of counselling and associated peer-reviewed literature to determine case-appropriate counselling practices
• Differentiate the various stages of human development to determine their implications for counselling
• Assess presenting issues and their causes, develop therapeutic alliances and implement appropriate interventions by using effective counselling skills
• Communicate effectively, in a range of contexts
• Apply standards of the profession when working with clients and colleagues
• Demonstrate professional skills, operating individually and collaboratively as required.

Career opportunities

• Graduates of this program can follow diverse career paths in the private and public sectors; Careers available to graduates include Youth workers, trauma counsellors, drug and alcohol counsellors, and family counsellors.