A survey of advertised Australian counsellors

Abstract

As counselling is a developing profession without statutory regulation in Australia, anyone can engage in counselling practice and use "counsellor as a professional title. Not much is known about those who call themselves counsellors in Australia. This survey research in a field setting aimed to describe Australian Yellow Pages Advertised Counsellors, thus providing a snapshot of advertised counsellors in Australia. This research was thus designed to describe those who are engaging in advertised counselling practice in Australia. Data was collected using a multiple mailing survey method and resulted in a 62.2% return rate. The counsellors' (1) demographic characteristics, (2) counselling training and development, (3) provision of counselling services, and (4) professional involvement were assessed. Advertised Australian counsellors tend to be female, mature, Caucasian, married or partnered, heterosexual, have families, and hold Christian beliefs. The majority of counsellors live in urban areas. The field could arguably benefit from increasing the diversity of its members. Nevertheless, advertised Australian counsellors are qualified professionals who tend to hold university qualifications and are likely to have received their training in counselling from a university provider. They are experienced service providers and engage in ongoing supervision as a supervisee. Moreover, these counsellors are involved in a variety of professional organizations. Advertised Australian counsellors, however, often struggle with issues related to burnout. They demonstrate their belief in the power of counselling by engaging in personal counselling. Advertised Australian counsellors actively engage in professional development, read professional journals, and report wanting further training regarding cognitive behaviour therapy, family therapy, EMDR, hypnosis, and traumarelated difficulties. The majority of counsellors indicate making $40,000 or less per year. Survey results clearly indicate that the professionalisation of counselling is underway. © 2006 International Union of Psychological Science.