Master of Counselling
Master of Counselling
More than 43% of Australians aged 16 to 85 have experienced a mental health challenge throughout their life. With growing demand for counselling services, our Master of Counselling will help you build the advanced analytical and communication skills needed to support individuals, couples, and groups through mild to moderate mental…
Categories
COURSE DESCRIPTION
More than 43% of Australians aged 16 to 85 have experienced a mental health challenge throughout their life. With growing demand for counselling services, our Master of Counselling will help you build the advanced analytical and communication skills needed to support individuals, couples, and groups through mild to moderate mental health and developmental challenges.
Want to take the next step in your career and help people improve their mental wellbeing?
Whether you are from a counselling background or a related field like teaching, healthcare, or social work, the Master of Counselling will equip you with the skills to connect with and compassionately support your clients. You will graduate with 200 hours of practical experience, preparing you to provide personalised support to clients tailored to their unique circumstances. Through practical learning opportunities, you will learn how to apply complex counselling theories to identify and address emotional issues, using cognitive behaviour therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and other talking therapies.
Your learning will be shaped by our School of Psychology’s cutting-edge research, rated as well-above world standard^. You will critically explore contemporary research in the field, as well as a diverse range of specialist counselling topics including trauma, grief, sex and sexuality, relationship counselling, and group counselling. In addition to working with clients face-to-face, you will learn how to provide support via video call, telephone, and through other digital communication tools, which are each becoming increasingly important in modern counselling practice.
As a Master of Counselling graduate, you will demonstrate specialist knowledge of counselling roles, as well a practical understanding of skills, theory, interventions, and ethics across the lifespan to a variety of audiences. This includes:
counselling micro-skills
mental health issues
professional practice issues
human development
counselling diverse populations
counselling therapies
ethics.
Complement your theoretical learning with 200 hours of valuable placement experience#, where you will engage with clients of diverse backgrounds and age groups. Enabling you to further enhance your skills in building rapport with clients and providing personalised support through assessment and intervention strategies. Your placement hours will include autonomous direct client contact, non-contact activities, supervised training, as well as collaboration with other mental health professionals, preparing you to work in supervisory, leadership, and managerial roles.
Career outcomes
There is strong demand for counsellors in Australia, with 14.2% projected employment growth by November 2026. Counsellors work across a broad range of roles related to mental health, disability, allied health, and social support services. Some roles may include:
youth work and school counselling
mental health support
career and professional guidance
telephone/online counselling services
trauma counselling
drug and alcohol counselling
grief support
relationship and family counselling
sex and sexuality support services.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
Deakin University is ranked in the top 1% of universities worldwide (ARWU).  It is a global leader in many areas of study including accounting and finance, business, engineering, education, nursing, sport science, and sport management. It is known for its industry-based learning, with all degrees offering the opportunity for work placements. Deakin has four campuses across the state of Victoria, offering high-quality teaching and first-rate facilities.  Our students love studying here – that is why Deakin University has been ranked #1 for course and student satisfaction in Victoria for 13 years (Australian Graduate Survey 2010–2015, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2016–2022 (GOS)).
