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Professional accreditation

The Master of Counselling Alcohol and Drug Studies, Child Youth and Family Therapy, Mental Health Counselling and Foundations of Practice specialisations are accredited by the and the .

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Program aims

The Master of Counselling is available to graduates of human services, health, nursing, psychology and other allied health disciplines.

The Master of Counselling has two main streams. The first stream is a qualifying program designed to meet the PACFA and ACA counsellor training requirements for counsellor registration. This stream has a choice of four specialisations. It contains admission processes, foundational courses, residential schools and practicums to ensure training standards are assured to the highest possible standards.

The Master of Counselling is a program that allows students and professionals to develop knowledge and expertise in one of four counselling speciality areas, and at completion, to be eligible to apply for a member of PACFA. The specialist areas are:

• Alcohol and Drug Studies ^*

• Child, Youth and Family Therapy^*

• Mental Health Counselling ^*

• Foundations of Practice^*

The second stream is called the Master of Counselling (Advanced Practice) and is designed to advance knowledge, research, and practice for applicants who are already registered professionals in counselling or related disciplines and thus are not required to meet initial registration requirements. This program does not require students to undertake foundational courses, residential schools, or a practicum. In place of these students can select courses from within the specialisations. This stream offers suitably qualified professionals maximum choices, flexibility, and a simpler admission process.

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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 assessment and treatment.

2. Employ advanced interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills appropriate to the context and format.

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

4. Translate and contextualise knowledge within a counselling context.

5. Demonstrate ability to apply discipline knowledge, ethics, boundaries, and professional practice skills within a counselling role.

6. Identify, interpret and apply research methodologies, including their application to a research question relevant to their area of specialisation by designing and implementing a research project or significant scholarly activity within a selected discipline area.

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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 09. Graduates at this level will have specialised knowledge and skills for research, and/or professional practice 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:

EITHER Master of Counselling (Qualifying)

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

• Completion of the GDCN Graduate Diploma of Counselling at USQ with a GPA of 5 or above.

• Provide two satisfactory Referee Reports and a report to address the indicating the applicant's abilities to successfully undertake the professional and research components of the program; and

• Participate in an interview with a panel of School staff.

• English Language Proficiency requirements for Category 3.

OR Master of Counselling (Advanced Practice)

• Current evidence of full membership of a relevant professional body, such as the Australian Psychological Society, Australian Counselling Association, Australian Association of Social Workers, Australian Counselling Association, or the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia.

• 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 精东传媒app-approved . On successful completion of the English language program, students may be admitted to an award program.

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Requirements for professional experience placements

Practical and/or clinical experience will be undertaken as part of the program (with the exception of the Advanced Practice stream). Students will negotiate supervised industry placement where they will have to demonstrate competency in those components of the course(s) that require application in a counselling situation.

Students undertaking practical and/or clinical experience are responsible for their own transport to and from their clinical placements and are also responsible for their own safety in organising that transport, whether public or private.

Students must have a Blue Card issued by the Commission of Children and Young People and Child Guardian in Queensland or its respective interstate equivalent, or be a registered health professional who qualifies for a professional exemption, to enrol in . These courses must be satisfactorily completed in order to graduate from the Master of Counselling.

Information about application requirements for each state can be found below:

• South Australia (see National requirements) - Organisation鈥檚 responsibility to conduct criminal check only if regular contact with children)

• Tasmania - none required

Mandatory Documents required prior to commencing ANY clinical placements in the program:

• Blue Card or Working with Children Check

• Australian Police Certificate

• Resume

• USQ Student Declaration

• USQ Placement Request Form

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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

Training program philosophy

USQ counselling programs prioritise high quality, research-informed, client-focussed, transferrable counselling knowledge and skills to ensure maximum versatility and responsiveness to client diversity. The programs emphasise respecting client dignity throughout treatment, and emphasise collaboratively designing and adapting treatment to fit client goals, values, strengths, preferences, and treatment response.

Foundations of Practice specialisation

This specialisation is completed as part of the GDCN Graduate Diploma of Counselling, which is a pre-requisite to enrolment in the Master of Counselling. The Master of Counselling (Foundations of Practice) consists of 12 units of compulsory courses and 4 approved courses. Three of the compulsory courses are 2 units each. Students will be required to attend mandatory residential school workshops and mandatory online tutorials for five courses (, , , and ). Students will also be required to take a counselling practicum as part of the Masters of Counselling program.

Alcohol and Drug Studies specialisation

The Master of Counselling (Alcohol and Drug Studies) consists of 13 compulsory courses. Three of the compulsory courses are two units each.

Child, Youth and Family Therapy specialisation

The Master of Counselling (Child, Youth and Family Therapy) consists of 13 compulsory courses. Three of the compulsory courses are two units each.

Mental Health Counselling specialisation

The Master of Counselling (Mental Health Counselling) consists of 13 compulsory courses. Three of the compulsory courses are two units each.

Advanced Practice specialisation

The Advanced Practice specialisation is designed for qualified and practicing counsellors or psychologists. It is not an introductory program, and neither does it have a compulsory practicum.

The Master of Counselling (Advanced Practice) consists of 3 compulsory courses. Two of the compulsory courses are 2 units each. The remaining courses may be selected from the approved courses listed below.

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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 5 years to complete this program.

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Research

The Master of Counselling contains four units (two courses) of research. Students will nominate their preferred research topic from a list of available projects reflecting the research expertise of the academic staff. All research projects must receive ethics approval before they commence and will undergo a risk assessment with an appropriate risk management plan.

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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 synchronous mandatory online tutorials for:

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Articulation

A student successfully completing Master of Counselling may apply for entry to the Doctor of Philosophy.

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Related programs

The Master of Counselling is nested with the Graduate Certificate of Counselling and the Graduate Diploma 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. Students may exit after eight courses with a Graduate Diploma of Counselling provided they have met the requirements within the program structure of the Graduate Diploma 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
• Mental Health Counselling specialisation recommended enrolment pattern
• Advanced Practice 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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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.

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Advanced 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.

Students should consult the Program Coordinator via usq.support@usq.edu.au.