Course details

Join us in Semester 1, 2025, for a transformative 12-day intensive counselling program that offers you the chance to apply your counselling knowledge in a unique cross-cultural setting. This internship will allow you to:

• Gain valuable insights into cross-cultural counselling practice and cultural sensitivity.
• Take part in a two-day mandatory pre-departure training designed to build your skills and knowledge in Narrative Therapy, constructionist principles, and cultural humility.
• Complete 10 direct counselling hours alongside 50 agency-based hours.
• Engage in regular self-reflection to develop cultural humility.
• Participate in daily debrief sessions facilitated by two UniSC Counselling staff members.
• Apply strength-based and collaborative counselling approaches in an international environment.
• Deepen your practice through experiential learning, preparing you for placements back in Australia.
• Take part in a one-day reflective workshop in the heart of Varanasi’s Old City where you will be invited to use creativity and art as a reflective tool.

As part of the program, you will partner with Kutumb Family, an organisation dedicated to community development and the wellbeing of children and families in Varanasi. You’ll collaborate with Kutumb Family staff and children, facilitating therapeutic conversations that support in building connection and resilience within the local community.

You will also spend three days in Old Varanasi City, an ancient spiritual hub that includes the iconic burning Ghats— sacred sites deeply rooted in spiritual and cultural traditions such as open-aired cremations. The time spent in the heart of Varanasi will offer you opportunities to observe, reflect, and immerse yourself in the city's rich cultural and religious traditions. Navigating the city’s winding streets and witnessing traditional rituals will deepen your understanding of cultural humility. These experiences are designed to challenge preconceptions and enhance cultural competency within your counselling practice.

This program offers an unparalleled opportunity to broaden your counselling skills and worldview, setting the stage for an immersive start to your placement journey.

Program leaders

Associate Clinical Educator Ms Zoe White is an experienced clinical educator supervising and teaching at a tertiary level. Zoe has supervised numerous programs to Varanasi in recent years, and is excited to lead an inaugural UniSC counselling cohort in 2025.

Dr Trudi Flynn is a teaching and research academic within the Discipline of Counselling. Trudi has worked therapeutically in the fields of adolescent and adult substance dependence, eating disorders, palliative care and with groups and individuals within the broader community setting.