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Notes

The Clinical Supervision specialisation will be discontinued from Semester 2, 2019. There will be no further intake after Semester 1, 2019.

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Professional accreditation

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Mental Health Counselling) is designed to meet the Clinical Members of PACFA who have completed this qualification may apply to be registered as Mental Health Practitioners. For those seeking registration as a counsellor, please refer to the Master of Counselling.

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Foundations of Practice) is designed to address most of the training standards in the .

This program is an admission requirement for the Master of Counselling qualification. The Master of Counselling is designed to meet the training standards for entry into the counselling profession in Australia. The core courses will meet the majority of the person-to-person training requirements of the Masters program and as required by the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) training standards. Membership with PACFA enables registration as a Counsellor with the (ARCAP).

Graduates of the Graduate Diploma of Counselling will be able to apply for membership of the . Membership with the ACA enables registration as a Counsellor with the (ARCAP).

Note: Registration as a Counsellor on the national counsellor register (ARCAP) can be via one of two pathways - membership with ACA or PACFA.

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Program aims

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling is available to graduates of human services, health, nursing, psychology and other allied health disciplines. The Graduate Diploma of Counselling is a program that allows students and professionals to develop knowledge and expertise in one of four counselling areas:

• Alcohol and Drug Studies

• Child, Youth and Family Therapy

• Clinical Supervision (this specialisation will not be available from Semester 2, 2019)

• Mental Health Counselling

• Foundations of Practice^*

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Program objectives

On completion of the award, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of theories and models fundamental to fields associated with counselling

2. Demonstrate advanced interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills

3. Demonstrate ability to apply critical reasoning, judgment and problem solving to a range of professional, legal, and ethical practice issues

4. Demonstrate ability to contextualise knowledge within a counselling context.

5. Demonstrate ability to apply discipline knowledge and professional practice skills in formative development as a counselling practitioner and demonstrate autonomy, expert judgment, adaptability and responsibility as a practitioner or learner.

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Australian Qualifications Framework

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is a single national, comprehensive system of qualifications offered by higher education institutions (including universities), vocational education and training institutions and secondary schools. Each AQF qualification has a set of descriptors which define the type and complexity of knowledge, skills and application of knowledge and skills that a graduate who has been awarded that qualification has attained, and the typical volume of learning associated with that qualification type.

This program is at AQF Qualification Level 08. Graduates at this level will have advanced knowledge and skills for professional or highly skilled work and/or further learning.

The full set of levels criteria and qualification type descriptors can be found by visiting .

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Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission, applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

All specialisations

• Completion of an Australian university three year Bachelor degree in any area or equivalent.

• English Language Proficiency requirements for Category 3.

All students are required to satisfy the applicable .

If students do not meet the English language requirements they may apply to study a ¾«¶«´«Ã½app-approved . On successful completion of the English language program, students may be admitted to an award program.

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Program fees

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the

Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called provided they meet the residency and citizenship requirements.

Australian citizens, Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who will be resident outside Australia for the duration of their program pay full tuition fees and are not eligible for .

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. Students are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

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Program structure

Foundations of Practice specialisation

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Foundations of Practice) consists of five Level 5 compulsory courses and three Level 5 approved courses.

Alcohol and Drug Studies specialisation

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Alcohol and Drug Studies) consists of seven Level 5 compulsory courses and one Level 5 approved course.

Child, Youth and Family Therapy specialisation

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Child, Youth and Family Therapy) consists of eight level 5 compulsory courses.

The Clinical Supervision specialisation will not be available from Semester 2, 2019.

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Clinical Supervision) consists of seven Level 5 compulsory courses and one Level 8 approved course.

Mental Health Counselling specialisation

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Mental Health Counselling) consists of seven Level 5 compulsory courses and one Level 5 approved course.

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Program completion requirements

Students must have successfully completed the core and approved courses (as applicable) to successfully complete the program.

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Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 3 years to complete this program.

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IT requirements

Students should visit the USQ to check that their computers are capable of running the appropriate software and versions of Internet web browsers and to check the minimum and recommended standards for software.

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Residential schools

The attendance requirement of residential schools within this degree is indicated by the following letters: V = Voluntary; O = Optional; C = Compulsory; R = Recommended; HR = Highly Recommended; M = Mandatory. To find out more about , visit the to view specific dates for your degree, or visit the .

There are mandatory residential schools held at Ipswich, Springfield or Toowoomba campus, and mandatory synchronous online tutorials for:

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Articulation

A student successfully completing all courses in the Graduate Diploma of Counselling may apply to articulate into the Master of Counselling provided the student has not graduated from the Graduate Diploma. Entry into the Master of Counselling is not automatic and students will need to meet additional requirements including completion of the Graduate Diploma of Counselling with a GPA of at least 5.0, and an application which is supported by two referees as well as a structured interview (refer Master of Counselling handbook entry).

A student articulating into a higher degree will only receive the award of the higher degree that they complete. Such students will be given full credit for all courses completed whilst studying the Graduate Diploma. Students must advise the Faculty in writing of their intention to articulate and this must occur prior to completion of the Graduate Diploma of Counselling.

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Related programs

The Graduate Diploma of Counselling is nested with the Graduate Certificate of Counselling and the Master of Counselling .

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Exit points

Students may exit after four courses with a Graduate Certificate of Counselling provided they have met the requirements within the program structure of the Graduate Certificate of Counselling.

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Credit

Exemptions/credit will be assessed based on the .

Recommended enrolment patterns

In this section:

• Foundations of Practice specialisation recommended enrolment pattern
• Alcohol and Drug Studies specialisation recommended enrolment pattern
• Child, Youth and Family Therapy specialisation recommended enrolment pattern
• Clinical Supervision specialisation recommended enrolment pattern - not available from Semester 2, 2019
• Mental Health Counselling specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

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Foundations of Practice specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Alcohol and Drug Studies specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Child, Youth and Family Therapy specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Clinical Supervision specialisation recommended enrolment pattern - not available from Semester 2, 2019

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Mental Health Counselling specialisation recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.