Master of Counselling, Rehabilitation and Mental Health

All applicants:

Successful completion of an Australian bachelor degree (or equivalent).

Specialisation - recommended: Health Sciences, Psychology, Behavioural Sciences or other relevant field.

Applicants with industry experience will also be considered.

Students who have completed Graduate Diploma in Rehabilitation Counselling (PHG0001CI) can enter the course via Cognate pathway and receive up to 120 credit points (1 year).

Academic entry requirements

• Applicants may be required to attend an interview. Details will be provided by telephone or email to applicants required to attend. Selection interview for short-listed applicants (in person or via videoconference) to assess potential suitability as a practicing counsellor. Interviews may involve case studies, decision-making and analyses of hypothetical scenarios.

Inherent requirements

Behavioural and relational skills

Core requirement Students must be able to manage their own responses and behaviour to work effectively in a range of learning environments with diverse people and tasks. This includes the capacity to be receptive and respond appropriately to constructive feedback. Students should also be able to work with others in a team or group environment and make and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of individuals in order to complete tasks or for professional practice. See also Student behaviours policy for more information. Course-specific requirement Master of Counselling, Rehabilitation and Mental Health must demonstrate strong interpersonal and interpersonal communication skills that will allow them to continuously develop their communication and counselling skills throughout their careers. Students must be able to manage personal responses, beliefs or preferences in order to work in an ethical and socially responsible manner with diverse groups , for example to be able to work with people from ethnically and religiously diverse backgrounds.

Cognition

Students must be able to locate, acquire, retain and apply knowledge as part of their learning and for assessment. They must have the ability to sustain their attention over a designated period, maintain their focus in a variety of learning environments and remember information long enough to complete tasks in a reasonable and safe timeframe. Master of Counselling, Rehabilitation and Mental Health students must be able to use retained knowledge to determine safe and appropriate care decisions. Students must be able to notice, focus their attention and process information in order to respond in an ethically and socially responsible manner that recognises the perspectives of multiple stakeholders and legislative requirements. For example, for a client in a return to work setting they must be able to focus on and respond to changing information from clients in order to respond in an appropriate manner that recognises both the duty of care for the client and the client's rights and responsibilities as stipulated by legislation.

Sensory Capability

Students should possess the ability to interact with visual, auditory or tactile inputs sufficiently to manage their learning environment and to meet professional performance needs. Master of Counselling, Rehabilitation and Mental Health students must be able to process visual and or auditory information and monitor the broader environment for client safety, including observing multiple people and events simultaneously. Students must be able to detect changes in client voice, vocal content, posture, movement and other responses to clinical treatments.

International students:

English language requirements

6.5 IELTS (Academic) with no individual band less than 6.0.

After graduation, you could work across a wide range of industries, including allied health, education, government, sports, and more.

Possible roles include:

• Rehabilitation counsellor
  • Support people who are injured or experiencing disability or disadvantage, through the counselling process, to reintegrate into work and/or the community.
• Counsellor
  • Work with individuals who are experiencing personal difficulties and help them to make meaningful and helpful changes geared toward promotion of wellbeing in their lives.
• Mental health counsellor
  • Promote individual and/or community mental health and wellbeing through helping individuals, families, groups and/or communities to process difficult emotions, and through assessment and treatment of mental health disorders and trauma.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counsellor
  • Assist employees, through the counselling process, with personal problems impacting their work performance, health and/or wellbeing.
• Student wellbeing coordinator
  • Provide welfare support, through the counselling process and coordinate development and wellbeing programs for students.