Unit of competency Outline
Date retreived
22/07/2026 6:58 AM AWST
22/07/2026 6:58 AM AWST
Whilst all efforts are made to provide accurate and timely information from the relevant source/documentation, please be aware that the information supplied may not be the most current version. The accuracy of the detail has not been confirmed by the Department and therefore should not be relied upon without first confirming the contents.
Facilitate the counselling relationship
Facilitate the counselling relationship
Unit of competency
National Code
CHCCSL503B
CHCCSL503B
State Code
WC871
WC871
TGA Status
Replaced
Replaced
DTWD Status
Replaced
Replaced
State Implementation and Classification
Approved Date
12/08/2014
Field of Education
090513 - Counselling
Original Release Date
12/08/2014
Nominal Hours
80
Description
DescriptorThis unit describes the knowledge and skills required to enable clients to identify and work through concerns
Notes
Elements and Performance Criteria
1. Enable clients to identify concerns
- 1.1 Enable clients to express their concerns freely
- 1.2 Explore presenting issues of clients in order to establish their nature and depth, and give attention to the possibility of underlying issues
- 1.3 Identify situations requiring immediate action and deal with promptly
- 1.4 Enable clients to identify their primary concerns in relation to the presenting issues
- 1.5 Enable clients to prioritise concerns to work on
- 1.6 Assist clients to become aware of underlying issues where appropriate
- 1.7 Identify and respond appropriately to strong emotional reactions
- 1.8 Identify indicators of client issues requiring referral and report or refer appropriately, in line with organisation requirements
2. Enable clients to work through concerns
- 2.1 Identify and work with uncertainty and ambivalence of clients
- 2.2 Support clients to experience and process difficulties
- 2.3 Draw attention to and discuss parallels and links in clients' experience as appropriate
- 2.4 Ensure that interventions have meaning for the immediate situation of the client
- 2.5 Reflect on and consider interventions that are most likely to facilitate client understanding and actions
- 2.6 Enable clients to identify and use known and previously unknown strengths
- 2.7 Explore perceptions of clients' feelings by reflecting back, clarification and review with clients
- 2.8 Assist clients to become aware of underlying issues where appropriate and begin to identify ways of dealing with them
- 2.9 Acknowledge and work with changes in client's life as appropriate
3. Monitor the counselling process
- 3.1 Monitor and review the counselling process with clients to ensure it remains of value
- 3.2 Work on threats and disruptions to the counselling process with clients
- 3.3 Review and compare individual perceptions and client's perceptions of the process
- 3.4 Work on any tension between clients' hopes and expectations and the reality of resource limitations
- 3.5 Facilitate change at a pace the client can tolerate and assimilate
- 3.6 Assess the appropriateness of ending the current counselling
- 3.7 Acknowledge, value and work with individual uncertainty in the counselling relationship
- 3.8 Apply ethical codes of conduct as required in addressing counselling dilemmas
4. Bring the counselling process to an end
- 4.1 Enable clients to identify when the process is approaching its conclusion
- 4.2 Enable clients to identify, acknowledge and evaluate what is and is not changing, both in the counselling process and in their situation and understanding
- 4.3 Utilise the ending process to enable clients to understand the nature and impact of earlier issues
- 4.4 Utilise boundaries of the counselling relationship to assist the ending process
- 4.5 Plan, structure and contract endings appropriately with clients
- 4.6 Support clients' sense of autonomy during the ending process
- 4.7 Inform clients about any opportunities for further support
- 4.8 Identify unresolved issues and discuss further work if appropriate
- 4.9 Complete appropriate documentation in line with organisation requirements
RANGE STATEMENT
The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.
Emotional reactions may be indicated by:
Extreme withdrawal
Labile emotion expression (rapid changes in emotion unrelated to external events or stimuli)
Excessively talkative
Aggressive behaviour and reaction
Interventions may include:
Responding accurately to client situation
Planning and collaborating with client alternative behaviours
Reviewing with client current life stage
Client issues requiring referral may include, but are not limited to:
Indicators relating to potential:
Child protection issues
Suicide prevention/intervention
Domestic and family violence
Mental health issues
Alcohol and other drugs issues
The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.
Emotional reactions may be indicated by:
Extreme withdrawal
Labile emotion expression (rapid changes in emotion unrelated to external events or stimuli)
Excessively talkative
Aggressive behaviour and reaction
Interventions may include:
Responding accurately to client situation
Planning and collaborating with client alternative behaviours
Reviewing with client current life stage
Client issues requiring referral may include, but are not limited to:
Indicators relating to potential:
Child protection issues
Suicide prevention/intervention
Domestic and family violence
Mental health issues
Alcohol and other drugs issues
EVIDENCE GUIDE
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency:
The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
This unit of competency will be assessed in the workplace or in a simulated workplace and under the normal range of workplace conditions
Evidence of competency in this unit will need to be assessed over a period of time in order to gather evidence of performance
This will include contexts applicable to the work environment, such as actual or simulated workplace situations involving a combination of direct, indirect and supplementary forms of evidence
Access and equity considerations:
All workers in community services should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in relation to their own area of work
All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
In recognition of particular issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities
Context of and specific resources for assessment:
This unit can be delivered and assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other community services units of competency is encouraged
Resource requirements for assessment include access to an appropriate workplace or an environment capable of accurately simulating the workplace for assessment purposes
Method of assessment:
For valid and reliable assessment of this unit, competency should be demonstrated in a range of situations which must include observation of performance in an actual workplace or in a setting that realistically simulates work conditions:
observation should include key aspects described in elements, performance criteria and relevant aspects of the Range Statement of the unit
where face-to-face observation is not possible, video recordings may be provided
In addition assessment methods may include
written questioning
role play
supervised/guided discussion
candidate's critique of their 'performance' to demonstrate cognitive understanding of theory
Related units:
This unit is recommended to be assessed in conjunction with related units:
CHCCSL501A Work within a structured counselling process
CHCCSL502A Apply specialist interpersonal and counselling interview skills
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency:
The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
This unit of competency will be assessed in the workplace or in a simulated workplace and under the normal range of workplace conditions
Evidence of competency in this unit will need to be assessed over a period of time in order to gather evidence of performance
This will include contexts applicable to the work environment, such as actual or simulated workplace situations involving a combination of direct, indirect and supplementary forms of evidence
Access and equity considerations:
All workers in community services should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in relation to their own area of work
All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
In recognition of particular issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities
Context of and specific resources for assessment:
This unit can be delivered and assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other community services units of competency is encouraged
Resource requirements for assessment include access to an appropriate workplace or an environment capable of accurately simulating the workplace for assessment purposes
Method of assessment:
For valid and reliable assessment of this unit, competency should be demonstrated in a range of situations which must include observation of performance in an actual workplace or in a setting that realistically simulates work conditions:
observation should include key aspects described in elements, performance criteria and relevant aspects of the Range Statement of the unit
where face-to-face observation is not possible, video recordings may be provided
In addition assessment methods may include
written questioning
role play
supervised/guided discussion
candidate's critique of their 'performance' to demonstrate cognitive understanding of theory
Related units:
This unit is recommended to be assessed in conjunction with related units:
CHCCSL501A Work within a structured counselling process
CHCCSL502A Apply specialist interpersonal and counselling interview skills
Replaces
| State Code | National Code | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| D2364 | CHCCSL503A | Facilitate the counselling relationship | Unit of competency |
Replaced By
| State Code | National Code | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWB40 | CHCCSL003 | Facilitate the counselling relationship and process | Unit of competency |