Find a therapist
You can search PACFA’s ‘Find a therapist’ directory to find a therapist by proximity to you, languages spoken, whether they offer telehealth, private health rebates, or are an NDIS provider; type of therapy and the issues in which they specialise.
Use ‘Advanced search’ for a full list of PACFA-member therapists who provide telehealth; to search for a therapist by name or membership association; or to find a mental health practitioner or accredited supervisor.
PACFA’s clinical members are highly experienced counsellors and psychotherapists with a Bachelor degree level or above plus at least 750 client contact hours. Provisional members are early career counsellors and psychotherapists with a Bachelor degree level education or above, and at least 40 client contact hours.
The Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) is a leading national peak body for the for counselling and psychotherapy profession.
Our members work with a broad range of modalities, and with individuals and groups reflecting the diversity of Australian society. PACFA’s valued members also include counselling and psychotherapy academics and students. Our mission is to represent the counselling and psychotherapy profession to communities and government, and to develop the evidence base for counselling, psychotherapy and Indigenous Healing Practices for the benefit of Australians’ mental health.
PACFA promotes the development and practice of counselling, psychotherapy and Indigenous Healing Practices, and respects and supports the diversity of approaches within the ‘talk therapies’ field. We provide a united forum for practitioners, foster professional identities, support training and research, and ensure public accountability. PACFA provides support to members through their branches, colleges and interest groups.
PACFA’s colleges are groups for members with particular practice specialties or frameworks, in which members can network, share information, and learn. They are:
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College of Counselling
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College of Psychotherapy
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Australian College of
Relationship Counsellors
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College of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Practice
s
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Colle
ge of
Counselling and Psychotherapy Educators
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College of Creative and Experiential Therapies
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PACFA provides self-regulation functions for the counselling and psychotherapy profession, ensuring that our members have met PACFA’s Training Standards, which are the highest for our profession in Australia.
Practising members of PACFA and PACFA Member Associations are listed on PACFA’s National Register. PACFA registrants have demonstrated an approved level of training, experience and competence via meeting our Training Standards and comply with PACFA’s ethical standards.
The register is available on our website as the ‘Find a therapist directory’. The directory can be used by members of the public looking for a counsellor, psychotherapist or Indigenous Healing Practitioner, and by other professionals wanting to make referrals.
For further details see PACFA Mission and Values. Read our 2021-22 Annual Report.
PACFA has established a course accreditation program to support high standards in counselling and psychotherapy education, and to help students choose quality training courses for their counselling or psychotherapy studies.
Training providers and educational institutions can apply to have counselling and psychotherapy education programs assessed and accredited by PACFA. The accreditation process involves rigorous, independent assessment of counselling and psychotherapy training programs and leads to the designation of ‘PACFA Accredited Course’.
Each training provider accredited with PACFA has the opportunity to nominate one outstanding graduating student per year.
If you are a Training Provider or external stakeholder seeking further information on how to gain PACFA Accredited status, see the Apply for Course Accreditation page, or email [email protected]
The Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) is the leading peak body for the counselling and psychotherapy profession in Australia. PACFA’s members are counsellors, psychotherapists, Indigenous Healing Practitioners, academics in the field of counselling and psychotherapy, counselling and psychotherapy students and members of Member Associations.
PACFA’s mission is to represent the counselling and psychotherapy profession to communities and government, and to develop the evidence-base for counselling and psychotherapy.
PACFA promotes the development and practice of counselling and psychotherapy and respects and supports the diversity of approaches within the field. The organisation provides a united forum for practitioners and for counselling and psychotherapy associations, to foster professional identity, support training and research, and ensure public accountability. PACFA provides support to members through their branches, colleges and interest groups.
PACFA provides self-regulation functions for the counselling and psychotherapy profession. Practising members of PACFA and PACFA Member Associations are listed on PACFA’s National Register. PACFA Registrants have met the highest training standards for the counselling and psychotherapy profession in Australia and comply with PACFA’s ethical standards. The Register is accessible via the ‘Find a Therapist’ directory on the PACFA website to members of the public looking for a counsellor or psychotherapist and to other professionals wishing to make referrals.
Within PACFA there are five organisations or Colleges, which provide a focus for PACFA member counsellors, psychotherapists or Indigenous Healing Practitioners to collaborate and advance the College members’ interests. The five Colleges are: the College of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Practices (CATSIHP), the College of Counselling, the College of Psychotherapy, the College of Relationship Counsellors and the College of Counselling and Psychotherapy Educators.
As part of its research dissemination role, PACFA produces an international, peer-reviewed journal, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia.
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What is the difference between a counsellor and a psychotherapist? Today we’re speaking with Dr. Di Stow, the President of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) who will explain this in detail. PACFA is a leading national peak body and professional association for counsellors and psychotherapists in Australia with over 4500 members nationwide and as one of the leaders of this organisation, Dr. Stow is well placed to explore the similarities and differences between these two mental health professionals.
Dr. Di runs her own private counselling practice in Hobart, Tasmania, working a lot with grief and loss, anxiety and depression, and many other issues.
Links:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/suicide-self-harm-monitoring/data/suspected-deaths-by-suicide/data-from-suicide-registers
The Australian Counselling Association (ACA) is a non-profit, professional organisation that is dedicated to the counselling profession. ACA represents over 11,000 Registered Counsellors and Psychotherapists in Australia. ACA is the largest peak body for counselling and psychotherapy in Australia.[1]
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The mission of the Australian Counselling Association is to enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counsellors, advancing the counselling and psychotherapy profession, and using the profession and practice of counselling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity.
Government accreditation
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The counselling profession in Australia is currently not government regulated. Therefore, clients are faced with the task of evaluating qualifications of various counsellors and psychotherapists. ACA is one of two industry associations (with PACFA) that is campaigning for government accreditation of counselling in Australia. As of 2010, none of the federal or state jurisdictions are actively considering regulation of the counselling profession. The Council of Australian Governments(COAG) have agreed that regulation of the counselling profession would only be considered if the public were at serious risk and that those risks could only be ameliorated through a regulatory framework.[2]
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Counsellors in Australia: Profiling the Membership of the Australian Counselling Association
- ^International Journal of Psychology, 41.3, pp.194-203 10.1080/00207590544000194
Pelling, N. Sullivan, B. (2006) “The credentialing of counselling in Australia”,, 41.3, pp.194-203 doi
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Counsellors in Australia: Profiling the Membership of the Australian Counselling Association – Counselling, Psychotherapy, and Health, 1(1), 1-18, July 2005. http://www.cphjournal.com/archive_journals/V1_I1_Pelling_1-18_7_05.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
