University of Canberra

Master of Counselling

The Master of Counselling provides advanced training in counselling, as well as a pathway to registration with the Australian Counselling Association – the nation’s professional accreditation body for counsellors and psychotherapists. The course places an emphasis on skills development, interactive teaching, experiential learning and self-awareness, supporting the student to:

• Develop skills in critical thinking, communication, problem solving, and advanced approaches to working with clients.
• Access experiential, collaborative and holistic approaches to learning, enabling the development of in-depth practical knowledge and skills, self-awareness and reflexivity.
• Work with diverse range of clients, respecting the importance of social and cultural contexts.
• Access the most recent and relevant academic conventions and materials to complete a research project.
• Students will undertake counselling placements within an appropriate agency, while being guided by qualified clinical supervisors and learning from peers.

This course includes a compulsory placement of 200 hours. Students will be expected to travel up to 1.5 hours to attend a placement, or in the case of regional and remote students, may need to travel further or potentially relocate for the duration of the placement if one cannot be secured in their area. In addition to the placement requirements, students will be required to attend a 5-day intensive workshop in person. The location of this is to be determined, with an on-campus site being certain.