Bachelor of Counselling
Ready to build on your counselling foundation?
For students who have completed the Tov Diploma of Counselling or Advanced Diploma of Integrative Practice, the Bachelor of Counselling offers a clear next step into higher education, broader theoretical grounding, and ongoing professional development.
Duration: Full-time and part-time options
Delivery mode: Live online study
Funding options available for eligible students
Credit: Gain credit for the courses you have done through Tov Academy
A clear pathway into higher education
This pathway has been intentionally built to bring together the strengths of vocational education and higher education. Through Tov, students develop practical counselling skills, professional habits, and a strong applied foundation. Through the Bachelor, that foundation is extended through higher-level study in theory, critical thinking, and broader professional formation.
Students who have completed the Tov Diploma of Counselling are eligible for 8 units of credit towards the Bachelor of Counselling, leaving 16 units remaining. Students who have completed the Advanced Diploma of Integrative Practice can also enter the Bachelor pathway, with additional credit considered.
At Tov, this pathway is shaped by a vision of biblical human flourishing. We are forming counsellors who can respond to suffering with professionalism, compassion, and sound counselling practice, while also supporting movement toward greater wholeness, stability, and hope. This is part of our commitment to helping transform lives to flourish.
The Bachelor of Counselling is offered through the Australian College of Ministries. ACOM describes the degree as an accredited pathway towards a career as a professional counsellor, taking a comprehensive and balanced approach that incorporates theology, psychology, and spirituality while developing ethics, professionalism, and accountability.
ACOM delivers higher education awards as a Member Institution of the Australian University College of Divinity. The Bachelor of Counselling is an AQF Level 7 qualification, studied online, with a standard duration of 3 years full-time or 9 years part-time across 24 units.
Higher education with a clear foundation
Tov is a vocational education provider, while ACOM is a higher education provider. That is one of the strengths of this pathway. Through Tov, students build a practical, work-oriented foundation in counselling. Through the Bachelor, that foundation is extended through higher education study in theory, critical thinking, ethics, and broader professional formation.
This gives students a more strategic pathway into the profession. By starting with Tov, students can develop practical readiness earlier, then continue building their qualifications through the Bachelor. Students who complete ACA-accredited counselling qualifications can apply for ACA registration, and ACA’s registration categories show that Diploma, Advanced Diploma, and Graduate Diploma counselling qualifications can support entry at Level 1, while Bachelor and Master qualifications support progression to higher levels with the required post-qualification experience, supervision, and client hours.
For many students, this makes the Bachelor a natural next step after the Diploma or Advanced Diploma. It allows them to build professional experience and industry standing while continuing towards higher professional stages through further study.
Bachelor of Counselling
1. Start with the Diploma of Counselling
Your journey begins with the Tov Diploma of Counselling, where you build foundational counselling skills, professional readiness, and spiritual formation for practice. This gives you a strong vocational base in client work, communication, ethics, and applied counselling before moving into higher-level study. Students who complete the Diploma of Counselling receive 8 units of credit towards the Bachelor of Counselling.
2. Build on your practice through the Advanced Diploma
From there, the Advanced Diploma of Integrative Practice helps you deepen your professional practice and identity. In the counselling stream, counselling remains at the centre, with coaching skills integrated to broaden the way you support clients, strengthen your client offering, and grow in the direction God is calling you. Students who complete the Advanced Diploma of Integrative Practice receive 12 units of credit towards the Bachelor of Counselling.
3. Continue into the Bachelor of Counselling
The Bachelor of Counselling with ACOM builds on the practical foundation developed through Tov and extends it through higher education study in theory, critical thinking, ethics, and broader professional formation. This pathway has been intentionally designed to bring together the strengths of vocational education and higher education, giving students a clear road from applied training into a higher qualification.
We provide the practice.
You provide the heart.
Step from classroom to vocation through the tov | Centre for Human Flourishing, our community-based professional practice hub.
- 100 Total Hours: Professional supervised experience integrated into your study.
- 40 Direct Hours: Real-world counselling providing care to the community.
- Fully Managed: tov Academy coordinates your entire placement. No external sourcing is required.
Real-world ready
Ready to Begin?
Book an advisory session to explore whether tov Academy is the right formation pathway for where you are—and where you’re becoming.
Counselling for Biblical Human Flourishing
Many counselling courses look similar on the surface. They often centre on a person’s presenting issues, past experiences, and the immediate symptoms or pressures that have brought them to counselling. These areas are important, and any credible counselling course needs to equip students to work with them well.
Tov counselling courses are shaped by a broader and more integrated vision. Our approach is grounded in a holistic, biblical understanding of human flourishing. Students are taught to see people as whole persons, where emotional wellbeing, relationships, identity, purpose, faith, and everyday life all matter in the counselling process.
This shapes the kind of counsellors we are seeking to form. Students develop counselling skills, professional capabilities, and practical readiness for real-world practice while engaging a richer vision of healing, growth, and restoration. The result is a counselling education that prepares students to work with competence and compassion, and to support change that reaches beyond symptom management alone.
That is part of what makes Tov distinctive. We are preparing counsellors to serve in ways that help transform lives to flouris
Waiting is costing you
Sometimes the cost of waiting is broader than it first appears. It is not only about staying in a job that no longer feels aligned. It is also about the lives that may never be supported, strengthened, or changed through the counselling work you could be equipped to do — including your own life, your family, and the wider community around you.
Delaying a step into counselling can mean more than just postponing a career decision. It can mean postponing growth, contribution, and the opportunity to bring wise and practical support to others. At tov, we speak about being formed to flourish. In this context, flourishing is not private. It shapes how you live, how you serve, and the good you are able to carry into others’ lives.
The Invitation
When you are ready to take the next step, this pathway offers more than a qualification. It is a structured opportunity to grow in spiritual formation, develop core counselling skills, and build practical confidence through professional placement and practice. For those considering a future in counselling or Christian counselling, it is a way to move forward with greater clarity, stronger preparation, and a clearer sense of where this work may lead.
At tov, we believe people are formed to flourish, and that flourishing is never limited to the individual. As you grow in wisdom, skill, and readiness for practice, that growth has the potential to shape your own life, strengthen your family, and bring support and hope to the people and communities you serve. This is part of what it means to prepare for work that helps transform lives to flourish.
Book a Course Advisory Session with our team to talk through your options, ask your questions, and explore whether this counselling pathway fits the season you are in.
Ancient Wisdom,
New Way to Learn
At tov academy, learning looks different. You donʼt just earn credentials—you grow through reflective practice, applied projects, and real-world experience.
AI-simulated learning provides safe, realistic scenarios to practice decision-making, problem-solving, and counselling before stepping into the real world.
Hybrid study and in-person seminars, and fully supported by the training team throughout your time at tov.
"In my role at the school, I noticed many parents in need of support, and many youth feeling lost and anxious. I was concerned that I wasn’t equipped to help. Finding Tov (formally aifc), with its biblically integrated courses, was reassuring. I wanted a Christian course that would allow me to guide others with the wisdom of Scripture as I listen to them."
‘God opened my eyes to see how much people are suffering in secret out there and I see that they don’t know how to seek help, who to go to or where to go to. And I listened to God’s calling for my life and after doing research, I was drawn to study at Tov (formally aifc), and since that day, I have never looked back. I know God has transformed me through my time at tov, I am more self aware. God has taught me to rely on him. Every counselling outcome is in His hands. It is really quite humbling and liberating.”
Ready to Begin?
You’ve been considering this for a while. Perhaps sensing a call to helping work, wondering if formal training is right for you, asking whether it’s too late or too soon. The next step is simple: a conversation. Book an advisory session to explore whether tov Academy is the right formation pathway for where you are—and where you’re becoming.
8,000+ practitioners formed through real-world practice
Formation that stays with you.
Across decades, roles, and places — people return to what they learned here.
- 16K+formed through AIFC and tov Academy programmes
- 49countries represented in our learning community
- 1M+counsellings sessions held by our alumni
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