What is a counsellor?

A counsellor is a person who you talk to so they can help you overcome difficulties in your life. Counsellors are a type of mental health professional. Counsellors help you solve problems and develop problem-solving skills by helping you clarify issues and explore your options.

If you are struggling with issues like relationships, money, or the loss of a loved one, counselling might help you to cope and move on through life.

What do counsellors do?

Counselling is a talking therapy. Counsellors ask questions and listen to you in a non-judgmental, safe and confidential way. You will be an active participant in the sessions.

Counsellors don’t diagnose issues, but they work with you to improve your mental health, help you understand yourself better and help you develop strategies and work towards goals. Counselling can help you gain new insight into situations and can improve your resilience.

Some counsellors provide cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

What other healthcare professionals provide counselling?

Aside from counsellors, other healthcare professionals can provide counselling, including some general practitioners, mental health nurses, mental health social workers, clinical psychologists, psychologists and psychiatrists.

What problems can counselling help with?

Counsellors help people who are facing problems such as stress, financial stress, domestic violence, or bereavement.

Counsellors also support people with mental illnesses like depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Counselling can help with postnatal depression.

In combination with nicotine replacement therapy, counselling can help people quit smoking and can also help with drug and alcohol rehabilitation

Is counselling confidential?

By law, a counsellor must keep most of the things you tell them confidential. There are some exceptions, such as where you or another person is thought to be at risk of harm. A counsellor should outline confidentiality to you in your first session.

Types of counsellors

Counsellors work with individuals, couples, families and groups. Some counselling sessions are done one-on-one and some may be done in groups, or with other family members. It depends on the reason for the counselling and the therapy best suited to the situation.

Examples of different types of therapies used in counselling are acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mindfulness, couples counselling, and group therapies for grief, substance abuse or other issues.

Some counsellors specialise in certain areas, such as addiction counselling or eating disorders. Some counselling can be done through online interactive counselling programs, often supported by mental health professionals.

Some of the most common types of counselling are:

• relationship counselling
• financial counselling
• rehabilitation counselling for people with a disability, health condition or social disadvantage
• school counselling
• veterans counselling (for example, by Open Arms — Veterans and Families Counselling)
• counselling for older people
• counselling for children, teenagers and young adults (for example, by Kids Helpline)
• carers' counselling

There is also counselling to deal with issues such as:

• anger management
• grief and loss
• alcohol or drug addiction
• gambling-addiction
• dealing with eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia

Some counsellors can offer a range of approaches, which means they might find one that suits you. Other counsellors offer only one approach.

After a few sessions you should know whether you feel comfortable with your counsellor. You should not feel judged or criticised. And gradually you should start to see some improvement and feel better. If you don’t feel that you are making progress or you feel that the counsellor isn’t right for you, you should look into changing counsellors.

Do I need a counsellor?

Counsellors can help if you are struggling with stress, feeling overwhelmed, having distressing thoughts, loss of self-confidence, conflict and many other problems. By talking through your concerns, counsellors can help you to see solutions you didn’t know were there. They can also help you find ways to cope better and move on in life.

How can I find a counsellor?

You can find a counsellor for yourself, or you can talk to your doctor about your concerns and ask for a referral.

You don’t need any special qualifications or training to be a counsellor in Australia, although most do have qualifications and training. It is a good idea to check that any counsellor you want to see is registered with a professional body like the Australian Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

Fees vary depending on the counsellor and the number of sessions you need. Medicare does not cover counselling unless it is carried out by specific health practitioners such as a psychologist under a mental health care plan, or done by a doctor or psychologist. Some private health funds may cover a portion of the fees of seeing counsellors.

Free or low-cost counselling may be available through community centres, charities and religious organisations. It is available both face-to-face and online.

You can also find a counsellor in your local area via the Australian Counselling Association website and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia website. You can search for counsellors by languages spoken and type of counselling provided.

Some mental health organisations offer counselling services, for example:

• SANE Australia — free counselling service — 1800 187 263

Need help now?

If you are in immediate danger of harming yourself, call triple zero (000).

Are you having a tough time and you need to talk to someone? The helplines and services below are available 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Further Information

• Lifeline (anyone having a personal crisis) — call 13 11 14 or chat online
• Suicide Call Back Service (anyone thinking about suicide) — call 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue (anyone feeling depressed or anxious) — call 1300 22 4636 or chat online
• MensLine Australia (free telephone and online counselling service) — call 1300 78 99 78
• KidsHelpline (free confidential online and phone counselling service for young people 5 to 25) — call 1 1800 55 1800 or web chat online