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Professional accreditation

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

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Program aims

The aim of this program is to equip students with advanced counselling skills. The Master of Counselling prepares students for practice, extends practice into specialist areas, and can be a pathway to a Doctorate. The Master of Counselling has two main pathways, each designed for different purposes. The aim of the qualifying pathway is to enhance students鈥� counselling skills and knowledge and to prepare them for registration as counsellors. Students completing the Master of Counselling in through this pathway will, at completion, have met the training requirements for membership with PACFA and the ACA. This pathway has a choice of four specialisations.

• Alcohol and Drug Studies

• Child, Youth and Family Therapy

• Mental Health Counselling

• Foundations of Practice

This Master of Counselling contains special admission selection requirements, foundational courses, mandatory residential schools and online tutorials, and practicums to ensure that the training standards are of the highest quality. Please note that students must be enrolled in or have completed the USQ GDCN Graduate Diploma of Counselling (or equivalent) prior to applying for the Master of Counselling. The Master of Counselling also includes two research options 鈥� a Research Project option that involves completion of a full Research Project, and a Capstone Experience option, that involves completion of a smaller piece of research.

The second pathway 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 pathway does not require students to undertake foundational courses, residential schools, or a practicum. It offers maximum choices, flexibility, and a simpler admission process. However, it does not lead to registration as a counsellor. The Master of Counselling (Advanced Practice) includes two research options 鈥� a Research Project option that involves completion of a full Research Project, and a Capstone Experience option, that involves completion of a smaller piece of research.

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

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Program objectives

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

1. Apply a core body of knowledge, including contemporary theories and models central to counselling assessment, treatment, and clinical supervision.

2. Effectively utilise a range of advanced interpersonal, written, oral and digital literacy skills appropriate for communicating with diverse audiences including clients and professionals.

3. Apply critical reasoning, problem solving, and professional and ethical judgement with initiative to identify and resolve a range of therapeutic, professional, legal and ethical practice issues.

4. Consolidate theory and practice within an integrative framework to effectively provide counselling within diverse cultural and practice contexts and client groups.

5. Critically evaluate relevant research literature, methodologies and findings to inform practice development and conduct research.

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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 at least 50% of the GDCN Graduate Diploma of Counselling at USQ with a GPA of 5, or above, or completion of an equivalent qualification at another institution.

• 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

• For the qualifying specialisations (Alcohol and Drug Studies; Child, Youth and Family Therapy; Mental Health Counselling; and Foundations of Practice) the program consists of 7 core courses. These specialisations include 5 courses with Residential Schools (; ; ; ), , a 2-unit Placement Course () and a Research Methods Course () as well as 4 specialisation courses that vary depending on specialisation. Students can choose between completing a Research Project Pathway (; ) or a Research Capstone Project Pathway () and can select a number of elective courses depending on their specialisation and the research pathway chosen.

• For the Advanced Practice specialisation, the program consists of 1 compulsory Research Methods course (). Students can then choose between completing a Research Project Pathway or a Research Capstone Project Pathway and can select a number of elective courses depending on their specialisation and the research pathway chosen.

Program Training 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. The focus is on feedback informed therapy, and matching treatment to client needs and preferences.

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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.

Specific specialisations

In this section:

• Foundations of Practice specialisation
• Alcohol and Drug Studies specialisation
• Child, Youth and Family Therapy specialisation
• Mental Health Counselling specialisation
• Advanced Practice specialisation

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Foundations of Practice specialisation

This specialisation is completed as part of the GDCN Graduate Diploma of Counselling, Completion of at least 50% of the GDCN Graduate Diploma of Counselling is a pre-requisite to enrolment in the MCCO Master of Counselling. The MCCO Master of Counselling (Foundations of Practice) consists of 7 core courses, one of which () is a 2 unit course. Students can then either elect to complete a Research Project (4 units 鈥� and ) or a Counselling Capstone Course (2 units 鈥� ). Students completing the Research Project may select 4 additional units, while students completing the Capstone Course may select 6 additional units. Students will be required to attend mandatory residential school workshops and mandatory online tutorials for five courses, ; ; ; ), . Students will also be required to take a counselling practicum () as part of the Master of Counselling program.

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Alcohol and Drug Studies specialisation

The Master of Counselling (Alcohol and Drug Studies) consists of 11 core courses, one of which () is a 2 unit course. Students can then either elect to complete a Research Project (4 units 鈥� and ) or a Counselling Capstone Course (2 units 鈥� ). Students completing the Capstone Course may select 2 additional units. Students will be required to attend mandatory residential school workshops and mandatory online tutorials for five courses, , , and ) and . Students will also be required to take a counselling practicum () as part of the Master of Counselling program

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Child, Youth and Family Therapy specialisation

The MCCO (Child, Youth and Family Therapy) consists of 10 core courses, one of which ( ) is a 2 unit course. Students can then either elect to complete a Research Project (4 units 鈥� and ) or a Counselling Capstone Course (2 units 鈥� ). Students completing the Research Project may select 1 additional unit, while students completing the Capstone Course may select 3 additional units. 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 Master of Counselling program.

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Mental Health Counselling specialisation

The Master of Counselling (Mental Health Counselling) consists of 10 core courses, one of which () is a 2 unit course. Students can then either elect to complete a Research Project (4 units 鈥� and ) or a Counselling Capstone Course (2 units 鈥� ). Students completing the Research Project may select 1 additional unit while students completing the Capstone Course may select 3 additional units. Students will be required to attend mandatory residential school workshops and mandatory online tutorials for five courses, , , and ) and . Students will also be required to take a counselling practicum ( ) as part of the Master of Counselling program.

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Advanced Practice specialisation

The Master of Counselling (Advanced Practice) consists of 1 core course. Students can then either elect to complete a Research Project (4 units 鈥� and ) or a Counselling Capstone Course (2 units 鈥� ). Students completing the Research Project may select 11 additional units, while students completing the Capstone Course may select 13 additional units.

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Research

Students must choose between completing a Research Project Route and a Capstone Counselling Project Option. Students completing the Research Project Option take 4 units (2 courses) of research; while students completing the Capstone Counselling Project Option take 2 units (1 course) of research. Enrolment in the Research Project Option is dependent on the availability of a supervisor who is willing to supervise the research project; topics for the Research Project will be jointly determined by supervisors and students.

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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: 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 who has taken the Research Project Route 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.