Counselling for Children and Teens

Improving mental health, social wellbeing and development

Counselling for children and teens provides one-on-one support to help deal with mental health issues, problems at home or school, and any other personal challenges or problems.

We provide affordable and confidential counselling for children aged four years and up, and who are from all cultural and religious backgrounds.

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Half of all the mental health conditions we experience at some point in our lives will have started by age 14¹

It can be difficult to pinpoint whether a child or teenager needs professional help, particularly as they are growing, learning and constantly changing.

While it’s natural for children and teenagers to display some challenging or moody behaviours, if you feel like something just isn’t right or if you notice your child has been behaving out of character, seeking support early can prevent issues from becoming overwhelming.

Talking to a counsellor can help your child to modify negative or unwanted behaviours, ease stress and anxiety, and to improve their relationships and social skills.

Counselling for children and teens can help with a wide range of issues including and relating to:

Our qualified counsellors can work with children aged four years and up. Different types of counselling are available depending on age, such as play therapy which is available for young children.

Counselling can also help with aspects of home and school life, identifying issues, and helping to increase overall wellbeing for children and teenagers.

No referrals are required to access our counselling service

Children and teenagers do not need a referral from a GP to access our counselling service, and we can cater the number of counselling sessions to their individual needs.

Our counsellors can collaborate directly with schools and counsellors at your child/teenager’s school, establishing wrap-around support.

Counselling can improve both the current and future wellbeing of your child or teenager. Establishing healthy mindsets and attitudes from an early age increases their resilience and enables them to adapt and respond effectively to life’s challenges.

Counselling sessions are confidential

For children under the age of 16, parents/guardians are invited to attend the first counselling session with or without the child to discuss concerns².

Personal information discussed during counselling sessions may be disclosed with parents/guardians of children and teenagers under the age of 18. Our counsellors will always ask the child or young person for their consent to share information with parents, except in situations where the child/teenager or someone they know is at risk of harm, or if the information disclosed is of an extreme nature.

Parents may be asked to join counselling sessions in the last 10 minutes with the child’s consent, to discuss issues, support and progress.

How do I access this service?

Parents can refer their kids to Counselling by calling one of our offices below.

Community service organisations and health professionals can make referrals into our Counselling service by contacting us.

Fees

Our counselling sessions are charged on a sliding scale – this means that the fee for each counselling session is dependent on your income. 

If you have a Concession Card or a Health Care Card, or you are a student, counselling is $20 per session.

At CatholicCare Victoria we believe everyone should be able to access support for a better life. If you are experiencing financial hardship, we can discuss payment options for you.

More information

Our counselling services are subsidised by the Commonwealth Government Department of Social Services.

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¹Beyond Blue statistics

²This does not apply to our School Counselling program – parents/guardians are not invited to attend the first counselling session if the child/teenager is accessing our School Counselling service.