Counselling Courses in Western Australia

Modern living is stressful enough, but when you add running a home, raising a family and maintaining a loving relationship the pressure can be too much to bear. Usually, the first relationship to suffer is the marriage (or romantic) relationship. Signs of an impending relationship implosion include lack of communication, constant bickering or arguing, depression, sexual dysfunction and, in extreme cases, violence. Depending on the situation and the couple concerned, counsellors may choose to see the couple together or separately. The most important skills counsellors will gain from counselling courses at Perth’s finest learning institutions include the ability to provide a safe and secure place that encourages open and honest communication, creating an atmosphere of trust and empowering the couple to grow independently, as well as within the relationship.

The aim of couples counselling, obviously, is to try and reunite couples by allowing them to rediscover their love for each other – by rediscovering what attracted them to each other in the first place. It provides vital communication skills that help to prevent emotions bottling up and bursting out and listening skills so that each person feels appreciated and validated. But, not every relationship is destined to succeed. Sometimes counsellors have to help couples let go, in which case therapy is about negotiating the split as painlessly as possible. It may also include an element of grief counselling. Couples counselling courses in Perth will provide students with the skills necessary to determine when a relationship is going to make it and when no amount of effort will put things back together again.

Types of counselling courses in Perth

The Gestalt Training Institute West Australia (based in Perth) offers a four-year training program in Gestalt Therapy designed to help mental health care workers develop their counselling skills. The course is ideal for practising psychologists, social workers and even GPs.

The Perth School of Psychotherapy and Counselling offers courses in psychotherapy and counselling from a psychoanalytic perspective. The course complies with the standards set out by the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Association of WA. In addition to courses for professional or aspirant counsellors, the Perth School also offers counselling services to members of the public.

The Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors offers vocational graduate courses in family counselling, addictions counselling and grief and loss counselling, as well as a Diploma of Counselling and Bachelor of Counselling from its location in Perth. The courses are recognised by the Australian Counselling Association.

Sophia College is a vocational education provider which offers courses in Holistic Counselling, Artistic Therapies, and Buddhist Psychotherapy and Counselling from its locations in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Mandurah and Brunswick. Courses available at the Perth location include Diploma of Holistic Counselling, Advanced Diploma of Holistic Counselling, Vocational Graduate Diploma of Buddhist Psychotherapy, and Diploma of Buddhist Psychotherapy. The counselling courses are nationally accredited and provide pathways into several higher education institutions in Perth, such as Bachelor of Social Work at Edith Cowan University and Central Queensland University.