The Master of Counselling is designed to prepare compassionate, skilled, and reflective Christian counsellors to help meet the increasing need for community-based mental health support in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, close to half of Australians will experience a “mental disorder” at some time in their life and a fifth will experience this over twelve months or more – almost double that among young people (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2023). When you add in the millions experiencing relationship problems, family violence, trauma, spiritual despair and other personal struggles the demand for well-trained professional counsellors is obvious.
Our course offers a generalist pathway into professional counselling, suitable for students from a wide range of academic backgrounds. It also provides recognition of prior learning for those with previous counselling qualifications. Grounded in the new National Standards for Counsellors, the program equips graduates for professional practice across five core domains of learning:
Graduates of the Master of Counselling are well prepared to enter the profession with confidence, integrity, and a strong sense of vocation—ready to serve individuals and communities with wisdom, skill, and compassion.
Graduates of the Master of Counselling can expect to immediately begin working as professional counsellors through membership with the Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (CCAA) who endorse the course.
The course has also been developed using the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia’s (PACFA) standards for counsellor training. The processes for accreditation by PACFA and the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) are currently under review by each body. Graduates can still apply for membership with either of these bodies through their “General Membership Track”. After completing 750 hours of supervised professional practice post-graduation, graduates will be eligible for clinical registration with the CCAA and PACFA or level 3 membership with the ACA.
Counselling career opportunities include school counsellor roles, counselling for employee assistance program providers, counselling within government or non-profit mental healthcare organisations, church and parachurch counselling centres and private practice.
Students who wish to pursue research or an academic career more generally – including PhD or Doctoral studies – can select the research stream in their final semester and receive more advanced training in research methods as well as an opportunity to complete a research project (RP9010, RP9020).
The course trains prospective counsellors across 16 units, including two practicum units that together provide 80 hours of face-to-face counselling experience and 200 hours total of on-the-job learning, and two special interest stream units that provide students an opportunity to more deeply explore an area of interest.
All students undertake:
Units will be delivered online (including optional hybrid sessions in Melbourne) with periodic in-person intensives in a range of locations nationally.
All applicants will be required to meet Eastern’s General Entry Requirements.
All applicants will be required to meet Eastern’s General Entry Requirements. Apart from academic criteria, applicants’ suitability for the Master of Counselling will be evaluated based on an interview process. Applicants should demonstrate a desire to integrate professional counselling theory and practice with a Christian worldview and broadly align with the college’s statement of faith. A realistic understanding of the career opportunities available to students upon graduation should be demonstrated.
Ideally, applicants will have some prior experience with people-helping in a professional or lay context through Christian ministry (e.g. pastoring, youth work, church volunteer ministry, etc.) or other work experience (e.g. medical, social work, human resources, etc.) and have a sense of personal aptness for and/or keen interest in the field. Applicants should demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills along with resilience and sufficient personal efficacy and organisation skills to be able to complete a course of graduate study
Applicants with higher education study, completed bridging or enabling course
Applicants with a bachelors degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma or masters degree in an unrelated field will be eligible for consideration for admission into the course. Applicants with a higher education degree in a similar field will be eligible for recognition of prior learning for up to 50% of the course.
Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study
Students with a Graduate Diploma of Counselling (or very similar discipline) from a VET institution are eligible for recognition of prior learning up to 50% of the course. VET graduates must complete a short, ungraded bridging unit at their commencement of the course to ensure preparedness for higher education study.
If not born in a designated English-speaking country or studied at least one year tertiary education in English must have IELTS 6.5 overall (with minimum of: speaking 7.0, listening 7.0, reading 6.0, writing 6.0). More information is available on our website..
Eastern College is proud to partner with the Australian Institute of Family Counselling (AIFC). Students with a Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Christian) from AIFC are eligible for RPL for 8 units or the first 50% of the course.
You may also be entitled to credit for prior learning from other institutions or organisations, whether formal or informal. Formal learning can include previous study in higher education, vocational education, or adult and community education. Informal learning can include on-the-job learning or various kinds of work and life experience.
Students with a Graduate Diploma in Counselling or a very closely related discipline can apply for recognition of prior learning and, provided they have achieved sufficient mastery of foundational competencies, enter the Master of Counselling beginning in Semester 3 (ie with 48 credit points remaining). Students with a recent bachelor’s degree in a closely related field and able to demonstrate sufficient grounding in the foundational competencies and knowledge may be eligible to enter the Master of Counselling in Semester 2 (ie with 72 credit points remaining). For further information about credit and recognition of prior learning please see Admissions Information or call the College on 9790 9200 and speak to the Course Coordinator or the Registrar.
Eastern College Australia values the history, culture and languages of First Nations people and we welcome their participation in all of our courses.
Students may exit the Master of Counselling early with a Graduate Diploma in Counselling, by completing all level 8 units (the first year of the Masters). Note that this early exit award does not include professional placement and is therefore unlikely to satisfy professional registration requirements without additional study.
Graduates of the Master of Counselling with the Counselling Research Stream may be eligible for Doctoral level studies, subject to the admission requirements of their prospective institution.
Counselling Core:
Counselling Practicum:
Streams: Choose one
Counselling Research:
Narrative Therapy:
Youth Counselling:
Get in touch through the enquiry button below if you have any questions, we’re here to help.
Or perhaps you’re ready to step out in faith and submit your application today! We’re excited to begin this next season of your life together.
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