Graduate Certificate of Counselling
2025 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2025 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Graduate Certificate of Counselling |
| Deakin course code | H558 |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health |
| Campus | This course is only offered Online |
| Online | Yes |
| Duration | Up to 1 year of part-time study. |
| Course Map - enrolment planning tool | This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025 Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central. |
| Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition | The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8 |
This course can form a nested pathway to the Graduate Diploma of Counselling. | |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Indicative student workload
- Professional recognition
- Career opportunities
- Participation requirements
- Pathways
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Course rules
- Course structure
- Fees and charges
Course overview
Our Graduate Certificate of Counselling will provide you with essential knowledge and skills in counselling required to effectively and compassionately support individuals with mild or moderate mental health problems and normal developmental issues. The course has a particular focus on telecounselling and counselling diversity, both of which are of increasing importance and experiencing higher demand in Australia and globally.
Want to expand on your current career in helping others or start a new career path in counselling?
This course will be a perfect fit for you if you’ve considered a career related to counselling or would like to develop counselling expertise to support your current role and expand your career opportunities (i.e. support workers, social workers, teachers, student advisors, nurses, supervisors, managers, doctors, occupational therapists etc.).
As a graduate, you will be armed with practical knowledge and expertise relating to counselling micro-skills, mental health issues, professional practice issues, and human development.
By studying counselling with Deakin, you will be joining a university ranked well above world standard for our Psychology and Cognitive Sciences research.*
*Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) 2018
Alternative Course offerings
You can choose to continue your studies in counselling by applying for our Graduate Diploma of Counselling. After successful completion of the Graduate Certificate of Counselling you will only need to complete four more units to graduate with the diploma level qualification.
Indicative student workload
As a student in the Faculty of Health you can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include lectures, seminars, workshops, online interaction and clinical placements. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.
The course requires a part-time commitment, with a substantive load of required learning activities and study time. Although the course is designed for working health professionals, students will on average spend 150 hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities per unit credit point.
Professional recognition
The Graduate Certificate will not be accredited as the minimum requirement for Australian Counselling Association accreditation is a Graduate Diploma. H658 Graduate Diploma of Counselling is accredited by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA).
Career opportunities
The course has been designed to foster practical counselling skills that can be applied in-person, over the phone, or online via videoconference. There is a growing demand for these skills across a range of occupations related to mental health, disability, allied health and social support services, with an expected very strong increase in demand over the next five years.*
As a counsellor you will provide advice and information on relationships, social, educational, occupational and a range of other every-day life difficulties. You will develop rapport and a healthy therapeutic relationship with people to help them to identify and define their emotional issues through a range of therapies including cognitive behaviour therapy, interpersonal therapy, and other talking therapies.
*Australian Government Job Outlook
Participation requirements
See individual unit descriptions for full details.
Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability.
Pathways
Course Learning Outcomes
| Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities | Demonstrate specialist knowledge of counselling roles, skills, and theory across the lifespan to a variety of audiences relevant to professional counselling. |
| Communication | Employ clear written and oral communication skills in order to effect therapeutic change in counselling. |
| Digital literacy | Select appropriate digital tools to find, use, and disseminate information in counselling practice. |
| Critical thinking | Identify, synthesize, integrate, and critically reflect on research to inform counselling practice. |
| Problem solving | Appraise, select, and apply specialized counselling skills and knowledge to solve complex problems in the field of counselling. |
| Self-management | Demonstrate high level self-management and awareness in learning and practice that reinforces the importance of responsibility, accountability, and ethics in professional counselling. |
| Teamwork | Work effectively in supervisory, leadership, and managerial capacities. Communicate and collaborate with other mental health professionals to support clients. |
| Global citizenship | Evaluate and apply ethical principles to work productively in the field of counselling within diverse social, cultural and environmental contexts. Collaborate and communicate in a self-reflective manner. |
Course rules
To complete the Graduate Certificate of Counselling students must pass 4 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:
- DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
- 4 credit points of core units
Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.
Note:
- This course is part-time only.
- The Graduate Certificate in Counselling is nested within the Graduate Diploma of Counselling. Students in the Graduate Certificate can easily transition into the Graduate Diploma.
Course structure
Trimester 1 Entry
Trimester 1
| DAI001 | Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0 credit points) |
| HPY730 | Principles of Counselling and Telehealth |
| HPY734 | Ethical and Legal Issues in Counselling |
Trimester 2
| HPY731 | Mental Health Counselling |
| HPY733 | Lifespan and Developmental Counselling |
Trimester 2 Entry
Trimester 2
| DAI001 | Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0 credit points) |
| HPY731 | Mental Health Counselling |
| HPY733 | Lifespan and Developmental Counselling |
Trimester 1
| HPY730 | Principles of Counselling and Telehealth |
| HPY734 | Ethical and Legal Issues in Counselling |
Course duration
Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.
Further information
Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.
- Contact Student Central
Fees and charges
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.