Counselling FAQs

Counselling involves a counsellor (someone who is specially trained in mental health) helping you talk about, understand and work through issues in your life. Counselling provides a space that is nonjudgemental, safe and confidential, where you can express yourself openly and work with your counsellor on things that are important to your health and wellbeing.

Often, your first counselling session is spent completing and discussing important information, like the location and time of sessions, how to contact your counsellor, rules about privacy and confidentiality, and how and when your parent/carer might be involved in your care.

It's totally understandable to feel a little uncertain or worried about what to expect at your first appointment. Remember, counselling is a space just for you and the counsellors are there to help you feel safe and comfortable. 

Counselling can be offered in local Hobsons Bay schools, the Newport Community Hub (level 1) and venues (like other Council buildings). Counselling can also be provided over the phone and through video chat (via MS Teams). You can chat about these different options when you speak to your counsellor.

No. Counselling is free through Hobsons Bay Youth Services. To access the service you simply need to complete a referral form via our website.

Appointments usually last for about 45 minutes. We expect you to arrive on time for your appointment and let us know (with 24 hours’ notice) if you need to cancel or reschedule.

You are allocated up to 12 sessions annually, depending on how much support you need. Your counsellor will discuss the number of sessions you have access to.

If you are leading up to your final appointment and feeling like you need more support, you can discuss this with your counsellor. If it is agreed that more sessions will be beneficial, the counsellor will request approval from the team leader/coordinator to extend the number of sessions, or they will support a referral for you to access longer term support.

Sessions are usually scheduled either weekly or fortnightly at first. This enables the youth counsellor to work with you in a planned way that’s going to be helpful for you. We encourage you to discuss your preferences with your counsellor.

You can discuss anything you like. The counsellors are there to support you with issues that are most pressing for you.

Some common examples of what young people discuss with their counsellor are feeling worried about school, social pressures or problems with friends, issues in the home such as family conflict or family breakdown, trouble managing strong emotions and much more.

That's OK.

Maybe you were encouraged by someone you know to try counselling, but you're feeling unsure. We'd encourage you to give counselling a go before calling it quits; maybe set a goal of three sessions to try it out. We say that because it can take a few sessions to start to feel comfortable.

If you don’t want to continue or would like to try another counsellor, our counsellors will understand. Counselling is completely voluntary. All you need to do is let them know (via phone, text, or email) that you don’t wish to attend any future sessions. This will prevent you from having to avoid their calls (we want to know you are OK).

The youth counsellors at Hobsons Bay Youth Services are mental health professionals who specialise in working with young people. They hold Bachelor or Master level qualifications and are registered with professional bodies, such as the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), Australian Psychological Association (APA), Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). To ensure their skills are up to date, the youth counsellors are required to do ongoing training.

Yes, you can request a different counsellor.

We understand that sometimes you might not 'click' with a counsellor. In this case, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer you some different options that might suit you better.

Counselling is a private and confidential space. The only time a counsellor would talk to your parents is if you are at risk of harm to yourself or others. If this is the case, your counsellor would contact your listed emergency contact. This person does not always have to be a parent, but they do need to be a trusted and responsible adult. The only other time a counsellor would talk to your parents is if you asked them to.

If you are under the age of 16, parental/carer consent is required to access the counselling service. If you are concerned about discussing this process with your parent/carer, please contact us to discuss it further. If you are considered a mature minor*, you may have the option to receive support without their knowledge, see below. 

If you are over 16, your parents do not need to know you're receiving counselling.

*Mature minors are young people under the age of 16 who are deemed to be capable by a GP, psychologist or school principal of seeking and obtaining health care for their issue. To give informed consent, a young person must be able to understand what treatment involves, what it is for, why it is needed, and why it applies to them as an individual. The young person must also appreciate the risks associated with the treatment and be aware of other options available, as well as the consequences of not pursuing treatment.