Bachelor of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Course Overview
The Bachelor of Counselling and Psychotherapy is designed to provide graduates with a broad and coherent body of knowledge relating to the field of counselling and psychotherapy, with an emphasis on embedding a conceptual framework and model of psychotherapeutic practice for the ‘whole person’.
The degree provides you with the theoretical knowledge and therapeutic skills you need to integrate counselling into your existing career or to establish a new career as a counsellor and psychotherapist. This unique course is holistic in that it is inclusive of methods that care for the soul, traditional healing methods and science practitioner methods. Through this you will learn to assist your clients in moving forward towards healing.
Through your experiential learning and personal development, you will learn the skills to engage with clients. You will learn a range of therapeutic models and techniques to engage in ethically and culturally sensitive practices informed by theory, including a specialised trauma informed ‘mind, body and spirit’ approach.
At Ikon, we emphasise self-development and understanding to be both an excellent practitioner and a wonderful human. We recognise that with just theoretical knowledge alone, you are likely to have a limited capacity to make a great counsellor.
This course is accredited by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA). Graduates will be eligible for Level 2 membership with the possibility of increasing membership levels after acquiring the appropriate amount of professional development and experience.
Course Structure
Students are required to successfully complete the following 23 subjects (144 credit points) to be eligible for the award of Bachelor of Counselling and Psychotherapy:
Year One:
- Integrative Psychotherapy in Theory
- Integrative Psychotherapy in Practice
- Models of Contemporary Practice
- Ethics in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice
- Mental Health and Crisis Management
- Embracing Culture, Diversity and Inclusion
- Case Conceptualisation
- Supervised Practice A
Year Two:
- Life Span Development
- Trauma Informed Practice
- Understanding Systems in Psychotherapy
- Integrative Treatment Practice
- Group Work Process
- Elective 1
- Treatment of Grief and Loss
- Narrative, Identity and Integrative Processes
Year Three:
- Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy
- Indigenous Mental Health and Healing Practices
- Elective 2
- Experiential Processes in Psychotherapy
- The Body in the Treatment of Trauma
- Self and the Philosophy of Practice
- Supervised Practice B
Electives: students may choose any 2 of the following.
- Dance, Movement and Embodied Arts
- Sandplay and Symbol Work with Children and Adults
- Ecopsychotherapy
- Helping Young People
- Dreams and Symbols in Psychotherapy
- Eastern Practice and Western Psychology
Entry Requirement
| Admission Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Academic Entry Requirements | Students must satisfy one of the following: Applicants with Recent Senior Secondary Education (within the past two years) must have completed an Australian Senior Secondary Certificate (Year 12). For guaranteed entry applicants must have achieved an ATAR of 65 (or equivalent). Applicants with Vocational Education and Training (VET) study must have completed a vocational qualification at Diploma level or higher. Applicants with Work/Life experience who left senior secondary education more than two years prior to their application, and have not undertaken VET or HE study since, may gain entry based on professional or work experience and/or any non- formal courses undertaken in preparation for tertiary study or that are relevant to the subject area. |
| Language Requirement | |
|---|---|
| IELTS Score (Minimum) | International applicants must have an English Language Proficiency Score of IELTS 6.5 (Academic) with Speaking no less than 6.5; Listening, Writing and Reading no less than 6.0, or equivalent. |
Career Opportunities
The Bachelor of Counselling and Psychotherapy prepares graduates for an exciting career as counsellors or psychotherapists with the skills to attend to the needs of clients in a variety of professional settings, ranging from mental health organisations and agencies through to private practice.
Internship or Work Placements
The course structure includes two placement experiences that total out to 360 hours of work placement.