A case of being up on the latest skills

POSTGRADUATE students interested in taking a master's degree in counselling are not limited to courses offered in Hong Kong. They can also consider the long-distance learning course provided by Monash University in Australia.

The Monash distance-learning programme, which was made available in 2002, is designed for those already involved in counselling or who are interested in working in a professional capacity in the field.

The course also provides theoretical and practical knowledge that could be useful in jobs in nursing, public health, non-profit organisations, and education and community service.

Nicky Jacobs is the course co-ordinator and unit lecturer at the faculty of education. She said there was a growing demand for qualified counsellors in Asia and Australia, and that the course incorporated the latest theories and also real-life case studies to provide a broad-based understanding of the subject.

The one-year, part-time course comprises four 13-week units, including 60 hours of seminars and workshops. Each unit involves 20 hours of classroom teaching. The subjects are counselling for the professions, ethics, cognitive-behavioural approaches and field placement in counselling.

Visiting lecturers from Australia conduct the seminars, which generally take place during evenings and at weekends, and extensive supplementary material is available through Monash University Studies Online.