Graduate Certificate or Diploma of Counselling overview
Both the Graduate Certificate and Diploma of Counselling are excellent ways for people of varying experience levels to gain useful counselling skills. Throughout the six month duration of a certificate in the field, students without any prior experience can gain knowledge of counselling theory, whereas those with several years of experience can become well acquainted with techniques that improve their existing abilities. Diplomas are similar in this way, but cover more extensive theory and take a year to complete, or two years if undergone part-time.
Employment options
A graduate certificate or diploma are equally valid ways of entering a variety of fulfilling areas. Graduates with these qualifications are well equipped to join a suicide hotline, for instance. Organisations like Lifeline are always looking for the right people to join their staff; graduates in counselling are a perfect fit.
Counselling graduates are well-suited to youth work too. ReachOut Australia is an organisation well suited, providing graduates with the opportunity to help disadvantaged young people find their way in life.
You can find more information on counselling careers and specialisations here.
Scholarships and funding
There are a few opportunities for graduate diploma students to gain funding but are not specific to counselling. General scholarships like the Gallipoli Scholarship, for example, provide funding to those who have a descendant who fought in WWI and intend to study in an NSW or ACT university. Other such scholarships have similar unique requirements, so aspiring students should pay careful attention.
Prerequisites and selection process
Both certificates and diplomas in counselling require a prior bachelor degree to enter, but this degree can be from any discipline. Institutions like Edith Cowan University offer the Graduate Certificate of Counselling and Psychotherapy, which require not only a prior bachelor’s degree in any field but the attendance of an interview. It is also important to note that preference for entry is often given to those with prior counselling experience, even at the certificate level.