Boundaries are essential in maintaining healthy, ethical, and effective professional relationships in the field of counselling. While counsellors often develop strong, empathetic connections with clients, it is vital to uphold clear boundaries to protect both the therapeutic process and the counsellor’s emotional well-being. The concept of friendship in counselling adds a layer of complexity to…
The rise of virtual counselling has transformed the mental health care landscape—making therapy more accessible, removing geographic barriers, and empowering people to seek support from the comfort of their own homes. With telehealth platforms now offering therapy via video calls, chat, and mobile apps, an important question emerges: Does virtual counselling eliminate the need for…
Running your own counseling practice offers a deeply rewarding opportunity to support others while building a fulfilling and successful business. However, like any business venture, it also comes with potential risks. Insurance is a vital component in protecting your counseling practice from unexpected challenges. It provides financial security, legal coverage, and peace of mind—allowing you…
Australia’s mental health sector stands at a crossroads. The recent draft of the National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists has sparked widespread concern among practitioners, educators, and community advocates. At the heart of the issue is a move that threatens to sideline vocationally trained counsellors—those who have dedicated their careers to serving Australians in every…
For counselling to be successful, it requires the client to share their experiences and behaviour honestly. Ideally, the counselling relationship is a close and trusting one that allows this to happen. However, many clients are used to concealing and avoiding the things that need to be discussed. And of course, it takes time to build…
Clients go to counsellors often because they feel stuck in some way and need help to resolve or get past something. But sometimes a counsellor will come across a client that makes them feel stuck. There are some people that prove difficult to help, you can reach a point with them where you don’t know…
Loneliness is a very common human experience and different people experience different levels of it, with differing causes and effects. Loneliness can eventually lead to anxiety and depression and cause low self-esteem, lowered self-confidence, stress, and social issues. But it does not have to be a permanent negative state and should not be viewed as…
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a national scheme that provides funding to eligible people with disabilities and connects them to services in their community, including counselling. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is responsible for implementing the NDIS and delivering it to Australians who have significant and permanent disabilities. There are common misconceptions…
The difficulty in addressing shame is that it can be so heavily concealed. Shame is not necessarily always traumatic or terrible for us. Feeling shame can help us towards development and maturity, but internalising it continuously is not positive for anyone. People can carry deep shame for a long period that even those close to…
Networking is essential to your professional success as a counsellor. When you are starting out, making connections with other mental health practitioners will help you gain professional contacts that will help you in your practice. Even once you have worked as a counsellor for years, you still need to revise and update your network occasionally.…