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.…
With modern technology it has become more viable for almost anyone to access the expertise of a counsellor online through apps such as Zoom. Online counselling is a service that can offer clients the same degree of support and confidentiality that a traditional consultation does, while offering a more convenient alternative for people that have…
As a counsellor, you will inevitably come across difficult clients in your career and will need to deal with them appropriately. When you do come across such a client, it is important to keep in mind the client’s background, their thoughts and attitude towards counselling, and if they have issues such as anger. A client’s…