Counselling Service

The Gender Centre Counselling Service provides:

• Counselling to all clients of the Gender Centre;;
• Counselling to partners and families of clients of the Gender Centre;
• Confidentiality contract (see below);
• M.T.F. and F.T.M. Group support;
• Referrals to psychiatrists, endocrinologists and other specialists;
• Supervision to counsellors who have a transgender client; and
• Placement opportunities to student counsellors.

The issues covered in counselling may include (but not limited to):

• Cross-dressing;
• Self-harm;
• Suicide;
• Alcohol & other drugs;
• Depression;
• Harassment;
• Hormones;
• Relationships;
• Family;
• Employment;
• Discrimination;
• Anxiety;
• Sexual health;
• Accommodation; and
• Surgery options.

The counsellor has qualifications in counselling, education, workplace training and assessing and is a member of CAPA. The counselling supervisor is a member of the following professional associations:

• Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (H.B.I.G.D.A.);
• Clinical Member of the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Association of NSW (CAPA);
• Registered member of the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Federation of Australia (P.A.C.F.A.); and
• Australian Society of Sexuality Educators, Researchers and Therapists (ASSERT)

Please contact the counsellor at Email: counsellor@gendercentre.org.au

The Gender Centre Inc. Counselling Contract

Terms and Conditions

Confidentiality: The counsellor keeps all notes under lock and key in the filing cabinet in the counselling room.

The counsellor may seek supervision on your situation in keeping with the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Federation of Australia (P.A.C.F.A.) Ethical Guidelines, thus:

"Counsellors and Supervisors are responsible for protecting the client's rights of confidentiality in the supervisory context by ensuring that shared information is disguised appropriately."

Supervision is a professional requirement for a counsellor to be registered in N.S.W.

The counsellor will ensure that details of your case are kept strictly confidential except for situations where there is impending risk of harm to self or others and where mandatory reporting conditions (outlined below) apply.

Counsellors and Psychotherapists Association of N.S.W. Inc. "Code of Ethics and Good Practice" states:

"Circumstances may arise where a counsellor believes that a client is at risk of imminent self-harm or imminent harm to others. Such situations may give rise to exceptions to confidentiality."

Mandatory Reporting Requirements: Counsellors and Psychotherapists Association of N.S.W. Inc. "Code of Ethics and Good Practice" states:

"Legislation now in force within the state of New South Wales makes it mandatory for all counsellors to report to the relevant authority, any concerns they have where a child is at risk of harm. The relevant authority is the N.S.W. Department of Community Services."

Residents of The Gender Centre Confidentiality as above holds except where information relevant to housing is deemed necessary for Residential and Case Management.