Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Foundations of Practice)
PostgraduateUSQ-CFP-GDI2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Build your knowledge of a range of counselling areas
This accredited and flexible counselling course shapes your career and opens doors to further study. You’ll study core counselling topics and choose specialisations that match your goals. Options include alcohol, drug, family, and youth counselling.
- Study method
- Online & on-campus
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 1 year full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 8
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Foundations of Practice)
About this degree
Upon completion of this program, graduates will be able to:
- Apply a core body of knowledge, including contemporary theories and models central to counseling assessment and client-centered therapy that is trauma-informed and culturally sensitive.
- Effectively utilize a range of advanced interpersonal, written, oral, and digital literacy skills that are appropriate from a decolonizing perspective when communicating with culturally diverse audiences, including clients and professionals, utilizing person-first language.
- Apply critical reasoning, reflective practice, and professional and ethical judgment with initiative to identify and resolve a range of therapeutic, professional, legal, and ethical practice issues.
- Consolidate theory and practice within a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive integrative framework to effectively provide counseling within diverse cultural and practice contexts and client groups.
- Utilize relevant research literature, methodologies, and findings to inform practice development and decision-making processes.
- UniSQ’s Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Foundations of Practice) is designed to provide you with foundational knowledge and contextual understanding of counselling practice. During this degree you will study counselling frameworks, professional practice and ethics, and counselling assessment and interventions. The knowledge you acquire will be transferable between nursing, psychology, teaching, welfare, human services or allied health practices. While study is mainly online, you will be required to attend mandatory residential schools at UniSQ Ipswich campus associated with four designated courses to meet the required number of hours of face-to-face instruction and ensure you have the best possible skills preparation.
Recommended study pattern
Year 1
COU5101 Counselling Skills and Applications
COU6103 Presenting Issues and Mental Health
COU5104 Counselling Frameworks
COU5105 Counselling and Diversity Across the Lifespan
COU6102 Professional Counselling Practice, Identity and Ethics
3 x Approved Courses
Award requirements
Completion of 8 units as outlined in the Recommended Study Pattern section.Choose your subjects
Majors
- Alcohol and Drug Studies
- Child, Youth and Family Therapy
- Foundations of Practice
- Mental Health Counselling.
Electives
Approved Course List
COU8011 Assessment for Substance Misuse
COU8012 Motivational Interviewing
COU8013 Introduction to Psychoactive Drugs
COU8014 Relapse Prevention
COU8021 Couple and Family Counselling
COU8022 Child and Youth Counselling
COU8031 Contexts of Mental Health Counselling
COU8032 Mental Health Practice 1
COU8033 Mental Health Practice 2
EDU5325 Child Abuse and Neglect: Intervention, Protection and Prevention
EDU5335 Emotional and Behavioural Problems of Children and Adolescents.
Exit points
Graduate Certificate of Counselling.
Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.
Indicative total fee $26,640
The amount shown here is indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.
Fees may vary depending on:
- the subjects you choose
- credit from previous work experience
- your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.
To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.
As Australia’s #1 university for graduate starting salary (Good Universities Guide, 2022), University of Southern Queensland is the right place to make real progress. Regardless of your education history, your age or your aspirations, at UniSQ you’ll be inspired by quality learning experiences matched with top resources and research. Having delivered distance and online learning for over 40+ years, UniSQ supports you to learn at your own pace—exactly how it suits you.
Learn more about USQ.
Explore USQ courses.
- QS Ranking 2024:
- 24
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 24
How to apply
University of Southern Queensland manages enquiries and applications for this degree.
Complete your details and we'll make sure your enquiry is sent to University of Southern Queensland who will contact you to discuss this degree.
Don't worry, we're still here to help you - you'll receive a personalised follow-up from an Open Universities Australia student advisor to make sure you have found the right degree for you.
Entry requirements
- A bachelor's degree from a recognised university. Proof of meeting the English Language Proficiency requirements is also required.
All students are required to satisfy the applicable English language requirements. For entry to the Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Foundations of Practice) program, applicants are required to meet the Category 3 English Language Proficiency requirements.
- Exemptions/credit will be assessed based on the UniSQ Credit and Exemption Procedure. Claims for credit for previous study should be submitted prior to or at the time of enrolment. Each claim will be assessed on individual merit in line with UniSQ policy.
Study method requirements
Residential School requirements to complete practical components of some courses.
Career opportunities
Professional recognition
A UniSQ Graduate Diploma of Counselling enables you to apply for membership with the Australian Counselling Association. However, if you wish to gain professional accreditation and practice as a counsellor we recommend you go on to study the Master of Counselling. You may be eligible to transfer to the Master of Counselling once you have completed 50 percent of the Graduate Diploma of Counselling (which must include two Foundation of Practice courses).Australian job snapshots
Data sourced from Australian Jobs 2023.
Role | Earnings | Employment change |
|---|---|---|
Careers Counsellors | $75K to $93K | N/A^ |
Counsellors | $75K to $93K | Up 12.6% |
Health and Welfare Services Managers | Over $120K | Up 56.6% |
Social Workers | $75K to $93K | Up 29.8% |
^ There is no data available