Online Workshop: The Casual Counsellor - 29/09/2025

Date: 29/09/2025

Time: 9.30am - 12.30pm AEST

Learn fundamental counselling skills to support others around you. 

Taking on the role of ‘casual counsellor’ with colleagues, employees or friends can be challenging, but having some basic counselling skills can help you and them to manage these tough conversations and times.  

At some stage during their careers, most people will find themselves needing to support a colleague, friend or employee who is experiencing a difficult situation or issue. It can be hard to know what to say and how to respond if you’re not in a clinical role. 

However, having the skills to confidently provide support and identify when further external support is needed can make a significant difference. These skills can be helpful to supporting staff members, employees, colleagues, friends, students or parents in education settings or clients in non-clinical situations. 

Learning Outcomes 

At the end of this workshop, you'll be able to: 

• Differentiate between counselling and providing emotional support. 

• Identify when someone is not coping emotionally and determine when to intervene. 

• Demonstrate basic counselling skills, including attending, listening, using empathy, questioning, and reframing. 

• Understand personal and professional boundaries in supportive roles. 

• Refer individuals to specialist agencies when necessary. 

• Apply self-care strategies to manage their own emotions and recognize when self-care is needed. 

Ideal for 

Staff in a range of workplaces including the community, education, health and business sectors who may need to support colleagues or clients. 

About the presenter  

Victoria Strong is a clinical counsellor and experienced trainer with Relationships Australia. She has a diverse background working in various settings, including education, where she has served as a Disability and Wellbeing Coordinator. Victoria has extensive experience in direct client work with young people and their families, addressing both simple and complex mental health issues, including gender diversity, sexual trauma, family violence, and suicidality. 

Victoria’s expertise extends to working with neurodiverse youth and their families, supported by a deep understanding of the disability sector from lived experience. She holds clinical accreditation with PACFA (Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia). Her career spans the government, corporate, and not-for-profit sectors, where she has provided coaching, training, and support. Victoria is dedicated to enhancing community support systems and empowering others to provide effective sustainable care. 

Registration information 

• When you register, you'll be taken to our payment gateway to complete your registration. A new account will be automatically created for you in our Learning Management System (Moodle). 

• Registrations for scheduled workshops close 48 hours before the event. 

• Workshops must be paid for at least 2 business days before the training date, or your registration will be cancelled.  

• If paying by invoice, proof of payment needs to be provided at least 24 hours ahead of the event. 

Training Workshops Cancellation Statement [PDF, 1MB]  

Other information 

Please note that you'll need access to the following to participate in this workshop: 

• Desktop or laptop computer 

• Reliable internet connection 

• Headphones recommended 

• Microphone/speakers 

• Webcam (built in or external to your computer) 

Contact us 

Training and Development Team 
Phone: (03) 8573 2222 
Email: ravtraining@rav.org.au