Employers are looking for graduates who can quickly adapt to organisational objectives and become an important member of their team. Undertaking an internship placement component as part of your UniSC degree helps you prepare to meet industry expectations.

Counselling placement courses

The Counselling Placement courses COU363 Counselling Placement 1 and COU364 Counselling Placement 2 enable students to complete their placements in their final year of studies. They provide an opportunity for students to obtain academic credit for a course at university at the same time as gaining valuable experience in the workplace prior to completing their studies and seeking employment in their chosen field.

Counselling development supervision courses

The Counselling Development and Supervision courses COU361 Counselling Development and Supervision 1 and COU362 Counselling Development and Supervision 2 provide on campus supervision and counselling development in conjunction with the placements. This provides students with weekly professional counselling supervision in a group learning environment along with ongoing professional development.

The placement experience

Fields of practice

Examples of the fields of practice offered by organisations that recently hosted UniSC Bachelor of Counselling placements include:

• Identity Theft
• Domestic Violence
• Mental Health
• Disability
• Youth Work

Structure of placement

Students undertake a placement of 250 hours in a counselling organisation. The placement is normally 2–3 full days per week across either semester 1 or semester 2. This provides an opportunity for students to become immersed in organisation practice and develop professional relationships with colleagues, clients and the community. Students will transfer campus based learning into a supportive workplace environment, enabling them to develop new skills as they put their theories into practice.

Insurance

Students undertaking a placement are covered by the University’s insurance policies for worker’s compensation and third party insurance.

Assessment

Students are required to submit reports on their placement experience which will be assessed by their allocated academic supervisor from the School of Law and Society. These reports are in addition to any work allocated by the workplace supervisor.

A Counselling Placement provides students with the opportunity to develop links to theory learnt on campus in a practice based setting; reflect on theory supporting practice; critique their developing skills, theories and knowledge; develop a range of essential skills sought by employers; establish a work history; and create networking contacts.

Important information

The planning and coordination of placements by the Field Education Coordinator can take up to six months. To commence this planning process, students will receive an email toward the beginning of the semester and prior to commencing placement, which will provide instructions on this process.

Registering for placement and enrolling in the courses are two separate functions of student placement. Students will need to enrol in COU361, COU363 or COU362 and COU364 when enrolments open for all courses. Registering for a placement does not include enrolment.

Contact

For general enquiries about work integrated learning opportunities please contact:

Email:Counsellingplacement@usc.edu.au or TechOpsWil@usc.edu.au
Telephone: +61 7 5459 4560