According to the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), counselling is a safe and confidential collaboration between counsellors and clients to promote mental health and wellbeing, enhance self-understanding, and resolve identified concerns.
Counsellors work to establish positive working relationships with their clients, helping them to feel safe, understood, respected, and accepted without judgement.

Counsellors can also offer capacity-building and capacity-enhancing therapeutic services and help clients to strengthen their mental health and achieve individualised goals.
Counselling is a profession with a strong evidence base and Counsellors use empirically supported interventions and specialised interpersonal skills to facilitate change and empower clients.

Clients are encouraged to be active participants in the counselling process at every stage and may explore issues or themes relating to aspects of identity, spirituality, relationships, past experiences, parenting, grief and loss, trauma, domestic violence, child abuse, use of alcohol and other substances, depression, anxiety, and other experiences.

The changes a person may experience through the counselling process include: changes in perspective, new insights, enhanced awareness and understanding of feelings, greater capacity to tolerate and regulate feelings, changed actions or behaviours more suited to the person’s current circumstances, and new decisions about life.

PACFA counsellors must complete an undergraduate or postgraduate counselling qualification. They are required to participate in ongoing professional development and supervision to stay current with developments in their profession and to ensure safe, ethical practice.