Counselling is a broad field of study that includes various forms of emotional as well as professional support, including academic advising, art therapy, coaching, psychotherapy, career counselling, school counselling, and many others. It focuses on assisting individuals in overcoming emotional and practical obstacles in their lives such as career planning, marital concerns, stress and health problems. Some counselling techniques can also assist clients in overcoming major mental health problems like long-term anxiety and despair, physical disease, and traumatic experiences.

Counsellors help clients in self-evaluation, taking ownership of one's behaviour, and future decision-making and counsellor-client relationships are based on mutual respect and understanding. In addition, counsellors help promote the best possible development in people, groups, and organisations while taking into account things like diversity in culture, one's past, age, and educational background

Students who pursue careers in counselling gain understanding of human behaviour, sophisticated interpersonal skills, a sense of moral and professional limits depending on the career route they choose. Counsellors must have deep self-awareness, strong empathy, a desire to help others, and the capacity to control relationship-based processes occurring between them and their patients or clients.

Study levels:

Different colleges and universities offer a wide variety of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in Counselling and these include:

• Bachelor of Arts in Counselling
• Bachelor of Arts in Human Development
• Bachelor Degree in Family Counselling and Guidance
• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology: Concentration in Mental Health
• Bachelor of Science in Professional Counselling
• Bachelor of Arts in Holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy
• Bachelor of Arts in Behavioural Health
• Bachelor of Arts in Counselling and Sociology
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology
• Master of Professional Counselling
• Master of Arts in Social Integration
• Master Degree in Counselling
• Master of Arts in Couple and Family Counselling
• Master of Science in Counselling
• Master of Science in Addiction Counselling
• Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy
• Master of Arts in Human Resource Counselling
• Master of Psychology in Grief Counselling
• Master in Third Generation Therapies
• Associate Degree in Counselling and Psychology
• Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling
• Doctoral Degree (PhD) in Counselling

Specialisations:

Counselling is a broad category that includes several sub-fields and so individuals who plan to earn a master’s or doctoral degree in counselling or a related area of expertise should be aware of the areas of specialty. These include:

• Marriage and Family
• Guidance and Career
• Rehabilitation
• Mental Health
• Substance Abuse
• Educational
• Debt Counselling
• Child Development
• Eating Disorder
• Grief Counselling
• Art Therapy
• Music Therapy
• Anxiety Disorder
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Bipolarity
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Schizophrenia
• Addiction Psychology
• Biopsychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Employability:

A career in numerous fields, including education, human resources, community mental health, private practice, social care services, substance abuse treatment, sexual assault, and corrections, are open to counselling graduates.

Graduates can also choose to work in an area like bereavement support, relationships or addiction, set up their own practice and work for themselves, become a counsellor supervisor or move into management or consultancy

Popular job titles include:

• School Counsellor
• Clinical Social Worker
• Organizational Counsellor
• Adult and Geriatric Counsellor
• Group Counsellor
• Therapist
• Sports Psychologist
• Health Psychologist
• Social or Human Rights Worker
• Social and Community Service Manager
• Health Educator
• Career Counsellor
• Grief Counsellor
• Military Counsellor
• Pastoral Counsellor
• Substance Abuse Counsellor