Nested Sequence
The Counselling and Psychotherapy program at Cairnmillar is a ‘nested sequence’.
This means that the units required to complete the Graduate Certificate of Counselling and Psychotherapy are the first half of the units required for the Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy, and the Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy is in turn the first half of the Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
There are 4 units required to complete the Grad Cert, 8 units for the Grad Dip, and 16 units required to complete the Masters. You cannot skip the first 8 units even if you are admitted directly to the Masters stream.
NOTE: Students must maintain a 70% or higher average mark across the first year units to progress to Master level study in the second year. Students who do not maintain such an average will be able to exit with the Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy instead.
For more information about your units and course structure, see the current Course Handbook for Counselling and Psychotherapy or contact your Course Coordinators.
Transfer Options within Counselling and Psychotherapy
Current C&P students may be eligible to apply for the Graduate Diploma or Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy upon completion or during their current studies, and may be eligible to apply for further study within the same sequence with recognition of prior learning for any existing completed units.
Students who complete the Graduate Certificate can apply for the Graduate Diploma, and may be eligible for an entry pathway conditional upon a minimum WAM of 60 or higher in their GCert studies and evaluation of each student’s readiness through an internal panel review and other academic feedback.
Students who complete the Graduate Certificate or the Graduate Diploma can apply for the Masters, and may be eligible for an entry pathway conditional upon a minimum WAM of 70 in their current studies and evaluation of each student’s readiness through an internal panel review and other academic feedback.
For more information about these pathways, view the Counselling and Psychotherapy Course Transfers FAQ
Graduation Options within Counselling and Psychotherapy
If you are enrolled under the Graduate Certificate of Counselling and Psychotherapy or the Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy, you are able to graduate from your current degree upon completion before applying to transfer up to the next level course, whether that is the Graduate Diploma (for Graduate Certificate students) or the Masters (for Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma students). Because these are part of the nested sequence, graduating from an existing qualification does not impact your credit transfer options at a later stage, so long as your completed units remain part of the future course.
If you are enrolled under the Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy but have completed the requirements of the Graduate Certificate of Counselling and Psychotherapy or the Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy, then you can choose to graduate early with the lower level award and withdraw from your original Masters course. Similarly, if you are enrolled in the Graduate Diploma program, you can choose to graduate early with a Graduate Certificate and withdraw from your original Graduate Diploma course. If you later return to complete studies, any units you previously undertook under the graduated qualification can be transferred to the returned course enrolment, so long as these remain a part of the course structure at the time you choose to return.
Once students exit and graduate with a conferred degree, future applications to return to study will be submitted and reviewed as part of standard Cairnmillar admissions processes, and these students will no longer be eligible for an internal transfer as described in the above section.
Students interested in exiting early from their current course with a lower-level qualification can make these requests as part of their course withdrawal application, and are encouraged to speak with their Course Coordinators or Student Services in advance for further advice and information: Course Withdrawal Form
Checking your Course Enrolment and Course Codes
You can check what course of study (e.g. program or qualification) you are enrolled under in Paradigm. See Checking your course enrolment for detailed instructions.
- CP081 – Graduate Certificate of Counselling and Psychotherapy
- CP082 – Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy
- CP091 – Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Counselling and Psychotherapy Program Sequence
| Unit Code | Unit of Study | Credit Points | Required for Grad Cert | Required for Grad Dip | Required for Masters |
| CAP401 (CPc1) |
Psychotherapeutic Theories and Models | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CAP402 (CPc2) |
Person-Centred Counselling | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CAP404 (CPc4) |
Facilitating Therapeutic Change | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CAP405 (CPc5) |
Cognitive Behavioural Therapies | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Graduate Certificate of Counselling and Psychotherapy | Total Credit Points: 50 | 4 units | |||
| CAP417 (DPc7) |
Assessment Process in Counselling and Psychotherapy | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | |
| CAP412 (DPc2) |
Ethics and Professional Development | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | |
| CAP461 (DPc3) |
Counselling Placement 1 | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | |
| CAP414 (DPc4) |
Treatment Planning | 12.5 | Yes | Yes | |
| Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Psychotherapy | Total Credit Points: 100 | 8 units | |||
| CAP561 (MPc4) |
Counselling Placement 2 | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| CAP507 (MPc7) |
Key Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| CAP509 (MPc9) |
Child and Family Therapy | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| CAP511 (MPc11) |
Interpersonal Processes in Psychotherapy | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| CAP551 (MPc1) |
Research Methods and Project | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| CAP505 (MPc5) |
Exploring Process Experiential Emotion Focused Therapy | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| CAP506 (MPc6) |
Existential Psychotherapy and the Group Process | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| CAP510 (MPc10) |
Trauma, Loss and Grief Therapy | 12.5 | Yes | ||
| Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy | Total Credit Points: 200 | 16 units | |||