Home counselling providers in Australia

Get the Mental Health Support You Need, Without Leaving Home in Australia

There are moments in life where the weight of grief, anxiety, trauma, or a major life change becomes too much to carry alone. Reaching out for professional support is often the right step, but the practical barriers to getting it can feel insurmountable. Travelling to a clinic, sitting in a waiting room, and then trying to open up in a strange environment is not the right fit for everyone.

Carevo connects you with registered counsellors and psychotherapists in Australia who come to you. Sessions take place in the comfort and privacy of your own home, in a space where you feel safe enough to do the real work of healing. 257 counsellors are listed on Carevo across Australia.

The Right Support is About More Than Just Talking

Are you worried about:

• Being judged or misunderstood? The concern that a counsellor will not truly understand your circumstances, your disability, your grief, or your cultural background.
• Leaving the house when you are struggling? The very real difficulty of managing anxiety, grief, or depression while also having to travel and sit in public waiting rooms.
• Whether therapy actually works? Uncertainty about whether talking to someone will make a practical difference to how you feel and function day to day.
• Finding the right person? The anxiety of connecting with a counsellor who is genuinely experienced with your specific situation, whether that is disability adjustment, aged care, or trauma.

Counsellors and psychotherapists through Carevo solve these worries by providing consistent, one-on-one therapeutic support in the environment where you are most comfortable.

How In-Home Counselling Helps You Through Difficult Times

Australia counsellors and psychotherapists through Carevo offer a range of evidence-based therapeutic approaches suited to your needs and goals.

Areas of Support

• Grief and Loss: Compassionate support following bereavement, the loss of health or independence, or the end of significant relationships.
• Anxiety and Depression: Evidence-based counselling for worry, low mood, panic, and the withdrawal from daily life that can accompany these conditions.
• Trauma and PTSD: Trauma-informed therapy that works at your pace, helping you process difficult experiences without becoming overwhelmed.
• Disability and Adjustment: Support for people coming to terms with a new diagnosis, acquired disability, or significant change in functional capacity.
• Relationship and Family Difficulties: Individual sessions exploring communication patterns, conflict, and relationship challenges at home and in the community.

The Advantage of In-Home Care

Counselling in your home removes every logistical barrier between you and support. Your therapist meets you where you are, literally. For people with physical disabilities, anxiety disorders, agoraphobia, or limited transport access, this is not a luxury but a genuine necessity.

Conditions Counselling and Psychotherapy Treats at Home in Australia

Counsellors and psychotherapists through Carevo provide talk-based therapeutic support for a wide range of life difficulties and mental health concerns:

• Anxiety and worry: Persistent anxiety, generalised worry, social anxiety, and anxiety related to health, relationships, or life circumstances.
• Depression and low mood: Persistent low mood, loss of motivation, and feelings of hopelessness. Counsellors often work alongside GPs and psychiatrists in managing depression.
• Grief and bereavement: Loss of a loved one, anticipatory grief related to a terminal diagnosis, or grief linked to significant life change.
• Relationship difficulties: Communication problems, conflict, separation, and adjusting to relationship change. Some counsellors provide couples or family sessions at home.
• Trauma and PTSD: Support for people who have experienced traumatic events, including domestic violence, childhood abuse, accidents, and medical trauma.
• Adjustment to illness or disability: Psychological support for people coming to terms with a new diagnosis, acquiring a disability, or managing a chronic condition.
• Life transitions: Career change, retirement, empty nest, relocation, and other significant transitions that bring uncertainty or loss of identity.
• Self-esteem and identity: Long-term patterns of negative self-perception, people-pleasing, and difficulty maintaining healthy boundaries.
• Substance use concerns: Motivational support and relapse prevention for people reducing or stopping alcohol or drug use.
• Caregiver burnout: Support for family members and informal carers who are experiencing exhaustion, resentment, or emotional depletion from caring roles.
• Chronic pain and illness adjustment: Emotional support for people managing the psychological weight of long-term physical health conditions.

Contact a provider through Carevo if your situation is not listed.

NDIS Support Items for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Counselling is funded under the Therapeutic Supports registration group (0128) when it is delivered by a qualified NDIS-recognised counsellor and is directly related to the participant’s disability.

NDIS Code	Description	Unit	Max Rate (national)
15_043_0128_1_3	Assessment, recommendation, therapy or training - Counsellor	Hour	$156.16
01_799_0128_1_1	Provider travel - non-labour costs	Each	Quote

For 2026-27 the counsellor rate is held at $156.16 per hour. From 2026-27, provider travel, non-face-to-face work such as report writing, and NDIA-requested reports are claimed as separate line items rather than being built into the hourly rate. Provider travel labour is charged at 50 percent of the service rate, which is $78.08 per hour for a counsellor.

The counsellor rate sits below the psychologist rate. For presentations requiring formal diagnosis or structured evidence-based therapy protocols, a psychologist may be more appropriate. Your support coordinator can advise on which is right for your plan and goals.

Why Australia Residents Trust Counselling Providers Through Carevo

Registered and Accredited Practitioners

Counselling is not a protected title in Australia, so reputable counsellors and psychotherapists hold professional membership with recognised bodies including the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) or the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). These bodies set ethical standards, require ongoing professional development, and have complaints processes for clients. Ask each provider about their qualifications, professional membership, and insurance.

Therapeutic Approach Matched to You

Different situations call for different approaches. Counsellors in the network have training across a range of modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, trauma-informed practice, and narrative therapy. The right match between therapist style and client need matters, and Carevo can help identify that fit.

Confidential and Safe Practice

All sessions are conducted under professional ethical obligations of confidentiality. Exceptions apply only where there is a risk of harm to yourself or others, which your counsellor will explain clearly at the outset.

How to Access Counselling and Psychotherapy at Home in Australia

NDIS Pathway

1. Check your plan: Counselling is funded under Capacity Building - Improved Daily Living when it is reasonably and necessarily related to your disability. Emotional support, adjustment therapy, and coping skills development are common funded goals.
2. Self-managed and plan-managed participants: Contact any qualified counsellor or psychotherapist through Carevo directly.
3. Agency-managed participants: You need an NDIS-registered provider. Confirm registration status with the provider before proceeding.
4. Initial session: The first session involves exploring your background, current concerns, and goals. Your counsellor will explain their approach and the structure of sessions going forward.
5. Ongoing work: Counselling sessions typically run 50 to 60 minutes. Some people benefit from short-term focused work (six to twelve sessions). Others engage in longer-term support.

Medicare Better Access Pathway (Registered Psychologists only)

Note: Medicare Better Access rebates apply to registered psychologists, not counsellors. If you want to access Medicare funding, see psychology through Carevo.

Support at Home Pathway

Speak with your package coordinator. Counselling is eligible under Support at Home (the program that replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025) for older Australians where it addresses grief, adjustment to health changes, or carer relationship dynamics.

Private Payment

All providers accept private payment. Private clients have full flexibility in choosing their counsellor and scheduling sessions without a referral or funding approval.

Making Funding Simple

Providers through Carevo are experienced in navigating the funding for in-home counselling and psychotherapy.

• Support at Home (formerly Home Care Packages): Counselling supports emotional wellbeing and is an eligible service under Support at Home. It is particularly relevant for older Australians managing grief, loneliness, carer stress, or adjustment to aged care transitions.
• NDIS Plans: Counselling and psychotherapy may be funded under Capacity Building - Improved Daily Living or Improved Relationships, depending on your specific goals. The counsellor can support your NDIS goal of building emotional regulation, social participation, or daily living capacity.
• Private Funding & Other Sources: A Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP provides access to Medicare rebates for up to ten individual sessions per calendar year with an eligible mental health professional. Private health insurance may also provide rebates for counselling. DVA-funded clients may access mental health services through DVA arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens during the first home counselling session? Your first session is an opportunity to get to know each other. Your counsellor will ask about what has brought you to seek support, your background, and what you hope to achieve. There is no pressure to share more than you are comfortable with. The first session is also a chance for you to assess whether the therapist feels like the right fit.

Is home-based counselling as effective as clinic-based therapy? Research consistently shows that therapeutic outcomes are most affected by the quality of the therapeutic relationship, not the setting. For many people, being in their own home increases comfort and openness, which can actually improve engagement and outcomes.

How often will sessions take place? Most people start with weekly sessions, particularly in an acute period. As you progress, sessions may move to fortnightly. Your counsellor will discuss the appropriate frequency with you and adjust over time based on your needs and goals.

What is the difference between counselling and psychology? Counsellors typically hold a diploma or bachelor’s degree in counselling or social work and are skilled in supportive, talk-based work. Psychologists hold a minimum five-year postgraduate qualification, are registered with AHPRA, and are trained in formal clinical assessment and structured evidence-based therapies such as CBT. For NDIS plans that require diagnostic assessments, formal reports, or structured psychological treatment, a psychologist is needed. For emotional support, grief, life transitions, and general mental health concerns, a qualified counsellor is often well-suited.

Does a counsellor need to be registered or accredited? Counselling is not a protected title in Australia, which means there is no single mandatory registration body. However, reputable counsellors hold membership with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) or the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). NDIS-funded counselling requires the practitioner to meet NDIS quality and safeguarding requirements. Ask your provider about their qualifications and professional membership before starting.

Can a counsellor help with relationship and family issues as part of NDIS? Yes, in some circumstances. If your disability affects your relationships or family functioning in ways that are directly linked to your disability-related needs, counselling for relationship or family concerns may be fundable under NDIS. Discuss this with your support coordinator and provide clinical context at your plan review.

Take the First Step Towards Feeling Better at Home

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