COURSE OVERVIEW:
Welcome to the Child & Adolescent Counselling Techniques course. This program will equip you with the skills and knowledge to understand the unique needs of children and young people, choose appropriate counselling approaches, and work safely and ethically within their developmental, family, school, and cultural contexts. Throughout this course, you will deepen your understanding of how childhood and adolescence shape emotional and behavioural presentation, and how counsellors can respond in ways that are supportive, evidence-based, and attuned to the rights and vulnerabilities of minors.
This course begins by defining child and adolescent counselling, clarifying its scope, and examining why specialised counselling support is so important and beneficial for children and young people. You will explore the ethical considerations involved in working with minors, including power dynamics, consent, confidentiality, and the duty of care that shapes every aspect of practice. This foundational focus ensures that technical skills are always grounded in clear purpose, professional responsibility, and a developmentally sensitive understanding of what counselling can and cannot do at different ages.
Building on this foundation, you will examine key developmental stages and milestones and their implications for assessment and intervention. You will explore child development from 0–12 years and adolescent development from 12–18 years, considering cognitive, emotional, social, and neurological changes that influence how young people think, feel, communicate, and relate. You will then analyse how these developmental stages affect counselling approaches, including how goals are framed, how techniques are adapted, and how expectations are shaped around engagement, insight, and behaviour change.
The course then introduces the main theoretical frameworks that guide child and adolescent counselling, and the mental health presentations most commonly encountered in practice. You will explore psychodynamic approaches that focus on unconscious processes and early relationships, cognitive-behavioural approaches (CBT) that emphasise thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and humanistic and person-centred approaches that prioritise empathy, unconditional positive regard, and the young person’s lived experience. You will also review common mental health issues in children and adolescents, including anxiety disorders, depression and mood disorders, and behavioural and conduct problems, and consider how each framework can inform formulation and intervention.
Assessment and case understanding are then explored in detail so that you can gather and interpret information in a structured, child-appropriate way. You will learn about assessment tools and techniques used with children and adolescents, and how differential diagnosis is approached in counselling contexts while recognising the limits of your role. You will consider the particular needs of culturally diverse clients and how culture, migration experience, and family background shape help-seeking, symptom expression, and engagement. This focus supports thoughtful, culturally responsive assessment rather than relying on adult-focused or monocultural assumptions.
Attention then turns to practical counselling techniques and modalities that are especially effective with younger clients. You will explore play therapy techniques, art therapy and expressive arts, and sandplay and symbolic play as ways to help children communicate experiences that may be difficult to express verbally. You will examine how CBT can be adapted for teens, and how narrative therapy, storytelling, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques can be used to build coping skills, externalise problems, and support emotional regulation. This emphasis on concrete, developmentally appropriate tools will help you translate theory into practice with real children and adolescents.
The course then situates individual work within the broader systems that shape young people’s lives. You will explore family dynamics in child and adolescent counselling, including parent–child relationship enhancement techniques and family-based interventions that promote collaboration and consistency across home and therapy. You will also examine school-based counselling, including the role of school counsellors in supporting mental health, specific counselling techniques suited to educational settings, and practical strategies for collaborating with teachers and school administrators so that support is coordinated rather than fragmented.
A further focus is placed on working with trauma, groups, and acute risk so that you are better prepared for higher-risk presentations. You will explore trauma-informed counselling principles, the impact of trauma on children and adolescents, and approaches such as trauma-focused CBT and EMDR for trauma resolution in youth within appropriate scopes of practice. You will learn group counselling techniques, including group therapy for children and adolescents, psychoeducational and skill-building groups, and peer support and social skills groups. You will also examine crisis intervention and suicide prevention, including recognising signs of crisis, conducting suicide risk assessment and intervention, and applying postvention strategies to support peers and families after a suicide loss.
Finally, the course brings together cultural competence and legal-ethical frameworks that underpin safe, accountable practice with minors. You will explore diversity and cultural sensitivity in counselling, multicultural competence and anti-bias approaches, and specific considerations when working with immigrant and refugee youth. You will then examine ethical and legal issues in child and adolescent counselling, including confidentiality and privacy with minors, informed consent and parental involvement, and mandatory reporting and child protection laws that govern practice and decision making in this field.
By the end of this course, you will be able to define the scope and value of child and adolescent counselling, explain how development shapes presentation and intervention, and apply a range of theoretical frameworks and practical techniques suited to younger clients. You will know how to assess and formulate common mental health issues, adapt interventions across individual, family, school, and group contexts, and respond to trauma and crisis within clear ethical and legal boundaries. Most importantly, you will be equipped to provide child- and youth-focused counselling that is developmentally informed, culturally sensitive, collaborative with families and schools, and firmly grounded in the safeguarding of children and adolescents.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, you will be able to understand the following topics:
- Definition and Scope of Child and Adolescent Counselling
- Importance and Benefits of Counselling for Children and Adolescents
- Ethical Considerations in Counselling Minors
- Developmental Stages and Milestones
- Understanding Child Development (0-12 years)
- Understanding Adolescent Development (12-18 years)
- Impact of Developmental Stages on Counselling Approaches
- Theoretical Frameworks in Child and Adolescent Counselling
- Psychodynamic Approaches
- Cognitive-Behavioural Approaches (CBT)
- Humanistic and Person-Centred Approaches
- Common Mental Health Issues in Children and Adolescents
- Anxiety Disorders
- Depression and Mood Disorders
- Behavioural Disorders and Conduct Issues
- Assessment Tools and Techniques for Children and Adolescents
- Differential Diagnosis in Child and Adolescent Counselling
- Considerations for Culturally Diverse Clients
- Play Therapy Techniques
- Art Therapy and Expressive Arts Techniques
- Sandplay Therapy and Symbolic Play
- Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Teens
- Narrative Therapy and Storytelling Approaches
- Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
- Family Dynamics in Child & Adolescent Counselling
- Parent-Child Relationship Enhancement Techniques
- Family-Based Interventions and Collaborative Approaches
- School-Based Counselling
- Role of School Counsellors in Child & Adolescent Mental Health
- Counselling Techniques in Educational Settings
- Collaboration with Teachers and School Administrators
- Trauma-Informed Counselling
- Understanding Trauma and its Impact on Children and Adolescents
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT)
- EMDR Therapy for Trauma Resolution in Youth
- Group Counselling Techniques
- Group Therapy for Children and Adolescents
- Psychoeducational Groups and Skill-Building Workshops
- Peer Support and Social Skills Groups
- Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention
- Recognising Signs of Crisis in Children and Teens
- Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention
- Postvention Strategies for Supporting Survivors of Suicide Loss
- Cultural Competence in Child and Adolescent Counselling
- Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity in Counselling Practices
- Multicultural Competence and Anti-Bias Approaches
- Working with Immigrant and Refugee Youth
- Ethical and Legal Issues in Child and Adolescent Counselling
- Confidentiality and Privacy Concerns with Minors
- Informed Consent and Parental Involvement
- Mandatory Reporting and Child Protection Laws
COURSE DURATION:
The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.
ASSESSMENT:
A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.
CERTIFICATION:
Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.