Course Code

GDC

Qualification

Graduate Diploma

Mode

Mixed-mode, intensives and online study

Credit Points

Duration

1 Year (Full Time), 2 Years (Part Time)

Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Holistic Practice)

AQF Level 8

Course Coordinator: Katrina Dickson

The aim of holistic counselling is to promote critical questioning and reflection on the human condition and spirituality, and their relationship to wellbeing.

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The Graduate Diploma in Counselling (Holistic Practice) is a postgraduate course attuned to the increasing complexity and fast paced change of our times, as well as the developing mental health landscape of the early 21st century. But it does so in a unique way, recognising that what is often required to cope and flourish in modern society is the need to slow down and listen to the wisdom within.

At Metavision we combine experiential learning and transformational education to deepen self-awareness. We create and model safe space for students, who are challenged to engage with every aspect of themselves in a truly holistic fashion. Faculty members will support you to develop your capacity for critical questioning, asking you to reflect upon the human condition and spirituality, while nurturing your relationship to your place in the world and your own wellbeing.

The Metavision model facilitates the formation of graduates as skilled and professional counsellors. Graduates will display an advanced level of awareness of self and others, integrity, ethics, rigour and conscious development. Our aim is to produce graduates who have 'done the work' and can lead others on the same path to integration, flow, and an expanded sense of self.

The Metavision Graduate Diploma in Counselling (Holistic Practice) is designed for those wanting to enter a career in these helping, listening and caring professions at the highest level, whether they be graduates of a more conventional Bachelor's degree in psychology, the social sciences or the humanities, or those interested in a career change from something less satisfying. It is also appropriate for current practitioners who wish to gain a formal qualification at a Postgraduate level, while extending their skills and deepening their knowledge into new territory and broader applications.

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Workshop Intensives

Metavision Postgraduate degrees are not your regular university courses. Rather than spacing classes out weekly across a semester, we deliver much of the content in Intensive formats, then back this up with seminar classes throughout the semester. In this way, much of the content is transferred in live settings, either in person or online, while we also engage in experiential exercises. There is space for feedback, debriefing and sharing across the Intensives.

We start each semester of our HE programs with a 7-day Intensive, to get the ball rolling. These include lecture-style classes, interactive experiential exercises, small group work, open discussions and debriefing. Students are immersed in a truly transformational educational experience, which echoes throughout the rest of the semester, during which time we engage with readings by experts in the field and work towards assessment items.

During intensives, students develop face-to-face relationships with their academic teachers, with fellow students, and with support staff. Students need to prepare for workshop intensives by purchasing textbooks, completing pre-readings and learning how to pace their energy and practice self-care. Students are also set up with a Study Buddy (or two), so that they can continue to thrive in small groups, as well as continuing with their own independent learning experiences.

In your second semester of each year, there is also a three-day Intensive, where we discuss the learning from the semester, complete oral examinations, and provide clinical supervision in support of your placement experience.

If for any reason students are unable to attend any part of a workshop intensive, they must immediately contact the Academic Director Higher Education. If there are extenuating circumstances, students may apply for Special Consideration.

Assessment

Students are expected to demonstrate a high level of theoretical integration and competent application of holistic counselling skills. Therefore, the course has been designed with assessments that test each unit’s learning outcomes. Unit outlines provided to students include mapping of assessments against the unit’s learning outcomes and an outline of the graduate attributes developed in the unit.

Marking rubrics are used to ensure consistency in marking and grading, and the provision of clear and helpful feedback to students on how to improve their performance in future assessment tasks.

Student Progression Requirements

Students are expected to maintain good study habits, meet attendance requirements, log in regularly to Sophia learning management system, and submit all assignments by the due date. Students at risk of academic failure will be invited to meet with the Academic Director if they are:

Not meeting attendance requirements,
Fail to submit assessments, and
Have Fail grades for their enrolled units.

The meeting gives students a chance to discuss extenuating circumstances and agree on an academic support plan. Students may bring a support person to the meeting.

Admission

General Entry

A qualification from a university or registered higher education provider at AQF Level 7 (Bachelor’s degree) or higher which has included counselling skills training, or
Relevant experience, training and/or have worked in a cognate field and you do not have an undergraduate degree, and
Satisfy English proficiency requirements (for applicants whose first language is not English and who have not completed a qualification delivered in English), and
Attendance at interview.

Bridging Course

Applicants who have not completed counselling skills training in their previous qualification will be required to attend a bridging course provided by Metavision Institute.

More details can be found here: Foundational Counselling Skills

Credit, RPL and Articulation

Prospective students may apply for credit in the Graduate Diploma course on the basis of prior formal learning at the same AQF level, and RPL for prior informal learning that is relevant and current. An articulation pathway is available for graduates of a Graduate Diploma of Counselling for Mental Health Practice 107.

Attendance

All workshop intensives are held at the Harmony Centre just outside Mittagong NSW.

Students need appropriate clothes for the temperate climate of the Southern Highlands (which can be very cold in Winter and warm in Summer), and their own notebooks, pens, journals and other basic stationery needs.

Students need to organise their own accommodation: an information sheet on accommodation options is sent in your enrolment pack.

Students may travel to the Southern Highlands by car, or by Train from Sydney to Mittagong Station. It is around a 10 min taxi ride.

Graduate Outcomes

Employment outcomes

Graduates will be able to work in the following fields of practice: relationship counselling; grief and loss counselling; trauma counselling; mental health counselling; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer counselling; in educational settings; and employment assistance programs.

Study pathways

Graduates are eligible to progress to the Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy (Holistic Practice) course at Metavision Institute, and to study in Masters courses in related fields at other institutions.

Counselling occupation

According to Job Outlook occupational data published by the Australian Government[1], counselling is a large profession which was made up of 33,000 people in 2020. Fifty-one percent of the workforce works full time, with strong growth in occupational size over the past five years, and future growth to 37,800 people projected for 2025.

Reference: Australian Government. Job outlook: Counsellors.

Core Units

Course Sequence, Units and Credit Points (26 cp in total)

Models for Holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy (101)

3 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 1 Mode: Mixed/Blended

The unit traces the development of the holistic counselling profession from the beginning of modern psychology, with Freudian psychoanalysis and Jungian depth psychology.

Inner Work 1 (102)

3 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 1 Mode: Mixed/Blended

The development of skills in self-awareness through inner work is central to the holistic counselling and psychotherapy model.

The Human Being from a Holistic Perspective (103)

3 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 1 Mode: Mixed/Blended

This 3-credit point unit explores holistic theories of consciousness, drawing primarily on the foundational work of Rudolf Steiner and related figures.

Core Process Oriented Skills 1: Introduction (104)

3 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 1 Mode: Mixed/Blended

Introduces students to the Process Oriented approach of Arnold Mindell, including the contribution of quantum physics, field theory, levels of awareness, consciousness continuum and the dreambody.

Core Process Oriented Skills 2: Working with Body Symptoms and Dreams (105)

3 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 2 Mode: Mixed/Blended

Learn and practice skills for working safely with unfolding sensory and grounded information present in body symptoms.

Core Process Oriented Skills 3: Conflict, Diversity and Relationships (106)

3 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 2 Mode: Mixed/Blended

Develop a deeper understanding of Process Oriented theory and skills for working with conflict, including deep democracy principles and Mindell’s four phase conflict theory

Mental Health Practice (107)

2 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 2 Mode: Mixed/Blended

Explore holistic approaches to mental health, including the recovery model and the Process Oriented approach to understanding altered states

Holistic Counselling Supervision and Practice (108)

6 cp

Study Period: Year 1, Semester 2 Mode: Mixed/Blended

An introduction to the foundational ethical, social and legal aspects of professional counselling practice.

Full Course Fees

Payment Plans are available

Payment plans are available enabling students to pay fees in instalments.

An early bird discount of $1,000 applies until 31 November
Credit Points	Unit Cost	Number of Units	Total
2	$1,677	x 1	$1,673
3	$2,515	x 6	$15,055
6	$5,031	x 1	$5,018

Course Total			$21,746

Other Costs

Application fee: $175 + credit card transaction fee 2.3%
Non-refundable Deposit: $1500 (allocated to course tuition fees) + credit card transaction fee 2.3%
*For transaction-fee free options, please contact us
National Police Check: $41.50 on the Clear to Work website
Textbooks: Students are expected to purchase the required textbooks for each unit
Personal therapy: Five sessions with a PACFA registered counsellor or psychotherapist
Travel and accommodation for workshop intensives

Bridging Course - $1500

Applicants who have not completed counselling skills training in their previous qualification will be required to attend a bridging course provided by Metavision Institute.
More details can be found here: Foundational Counselling Skills

Fee refunds

Students may withdraw from their enrolled units prior to the Census Date, which is Day 4 of each semester, and receive full unit tuition fee refunds. The enrolment fee is not refundable.
Students who withdraw from their enrolled units after the Census Date will not usually receive a tuition fee refund. However, students who require special consideration may apply for a refund on the Fee Refund Application Form.

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Course Dates

Semester and Intensive Dates

Each table below shows all the available dates for the cohort based on enrolment period (intake).

Dates may be changed ahead of schedule - students will be informed of any date changes.

Intake S1 2024
Intake S1 2023

Now Enrolling (GDC-241)
Year 1 - 2024	Start date	Census Date	End date
Semester 1	11 March	29 March
Intensive 1	11 March		16 March
Semester 2	22 July	TBC
Intensive 2	22 July		27 July
Intensive 3	15 November		17 November

In progress (GDC-231)
Year 1 - 2023	Start date	Census Date	End date
Semester 1	6 March	9 March	17 July
Intensive 1	6 March		11 March
Semester 2	17 July	20 July	10 Nov
Intensive 2	17 July		22 July
Intensive 3	10 Nov		12 Nov

Workshop Intensives

Intensives run for the full day on each scheduled day except the last one.

Day	Start	Finish
Intensive Days	9:00 am	5:30 pm
Final Day	9:00 am	1:00 pm
Online discussions	Regularly throughout semester

Course Faculty

Part-Time Study Options

Metavision will now be offering part time study for in 2024. Students can follow a study pathway of two-units per semester, and spread their coursework across two years.

2024 current unit price will apply for 2024 only, pricing for following years are indicative to that year’s price increase if any. Pricing will be released by 31st October each year.
You can switch between part-time and full-time enrolment, but once the first semester of the academic year has commenced you cannot switch until the end of Semester 2.
Before progressing to the next semester, it is essential to finish all required units. If you haven't completed these units in a timely manner, you might need to wait until the following year to fulfil these requirements.
Failing to successfully complete a unit within the assigned semester will necessitate your completion of the current unit provided by Metavision, which may differ from the originally designated unit.
You will still be required to attend 3 intensives per year, part time will need to attend 3 x 3 day intensives while full time will attend 2 x 6 day and 1 x 3 day per year.

Part-Time Options

Accreditation

In addition to being an accredited Higher Education course with TEQSA, Metavision Institute is also applying to the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) for course accreditation of the Masters course. More information about Metavision's Accreditation status can be found on the Accreditation page.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Holistic Practice)

Course Code

Qualification

Mode

Credit Points

Duration

Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Holistic Practice)

Workshop Intensives

Assessment

Admission

Attendance

Graduate Outcomes

Core Units

Models for Holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy (101)

Inner Work 1 (102)

The Human Being from a Holistic Perspective (103)

Core Process Oriented Skills 1: Introduction (104)

Core Process Oriented Skills 2: Working with Body Symptoms and Dreams (105)

Core Process Oriented Skills 3: Conflict, Diversity and Relationships (106)

Mental Health Practice (107)

Holistic Counselling Supervision and Practice (108)

Full Course Fees

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Course Dates

Workshop Intensives

Course Faculty

Christina Nielsen

Katrina Dickson

David Russell

Elsa Henderson

Ramsay Everingham

Francine Bartlett

Ronan O'Conner

Martin Hemsley

Part-Time Study Options

Part-Time Options

Accreditation

Evolving Consciousness Through Holistic Education

Institute

Student Resources