RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services

Service overview

What can a counsellor help with?

RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services provide free, confidential, short-term professional counselling to currently enrolled students. In-person and video consultations up to 50 minutes in length are available at all Melbourne campuses. We also have a range of personal development, mental health and wellbeing workshops, as well as helpful online resources.

If you need longer-term counselling, our counsellors can refer you to an appropriate external counselling provider.

Our counsellors are available to talk about any issues you may have – whether they are personal issues, mental health and wellbeing issues or study-related issues.

You don’t need to be in crisis or dealing with a serious problem to go to counselling.

A counsellor can help you by:

Providing a safe place for you to share your thoughts and feelings with someone not personally involved in your life
Helping you understand your concerns
Offering you a different perspective, which can help you think of solutions
Teaching you adaptive skills to manage your issues
Information about and referrals to other RMIT services and supports and external services.

We can also help you with mental health issues relating to:

Questioning your gender identity or sexual orientation, coming out or transitioning
Navigating relationships, sex and sexual health
Coping with rejection, harassment and discrimination
Living with a disability.

Who can use the service?

RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services is free for all currently enrolled RMIT students located in Australia.

If you are an RMIT student outside Australia, please contact the appropriate contact for free, mental health support:

Students on exchange, please call 24/7 RMIT International SOS on +61 2 9372 2468 for a phone consultation as well as advice on options for in-country mental health support.

International students located offshore, please call Medibank on +61 2 8905 0307.

Under Australian health regulatory law, our psychologists are unable to provide psychological interventions to students located outside Australia.

We’re committed to inclusivity

RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services are inclusive. We’re committed to providing excellent short-term counselling. Our counsellors have completed Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training and are part of the RMIT Ally Network supporting gender, sex and sexuality diverse students.

What is a counselling session like?

Counselling sessions generally go for 50 minutes. Together, you and your counsellor will set goals to address your concerns and every few sessions we’ll review your progress towards these goals.

Many issues that students bring to a counsellor can be satisfactorily resolved in one to three sessions. Some issues may require further sessions. Others may require referral to other RMIT and external services (see below for more information).

Your first session

When you attend your first session, you’ll be asked to complete some forms which include:

Your contact details
Your enrolment information
Questions about the issues you wish to discuss with the counsellor.

It’s also a good idea to ask yourself some questions to help you prepare for your first session:

What is the problem – how would I describe the issues or symptoms?
How long has it been a problem?
What have I done to help solve the problem?
What has worked? What hasn’t worked and why?
Who else knows? What would they notice about me?
What do I want to get out of seeing a counsellor?
How will I know things are getting better?

Appointments are currently conducted via phone or video call. To prepare for your appointment, please:

Try to ensure you’re in a safe and private environment
Reduce background noise and limit distractions
Treat the appointment in the same way as if you were meeting face-to-face.

Contact and book

Contact the team

If you would like to chat with someone about what is happening for you at the moment, complete the online enquiry form and an intake counsellor will call you within two business days for a brief and friendly discussion about your situation and available supports.

Please provide a short outline of the support you are seeking when you request your call.

Please note, you’ll need to log in with your RMIT ID number and password.

Book a counselling appointment

Book an appointment

Click the button above, fill in the form and select "Counselling" as the service, then view available appointment times and book. Please note, you’ll need to log in with your RMIT ID number and password.

You can also book an appointment by calling Student Connect on +61 3 9925 5000 and selecting the option for "Counselling" (Student Connect phoneline operating hours: 9am-5pm Mon-Thu, 10am-5pm Fri, excluding public holidays).

Appointments are available 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, excluding public holidays. Appointments are available at City, Brunswick and Bundoora campuses – location details will be provided upon booking.

Want to know more about our counsellors or find out what languages they speak? Meet the team.

Wait times

Demand for counselling appointments is high and, at certain times of the year, you may experience a delay in getting an appointment.

If you can't get an appointment at a convenient time, you may wish to request a call from an RMIT intake counsellor (you will receive a call within two business days), or book an appointment with your local doctor, the Medical Hub @ RMIT or RMIT Bundoora Health Clinic. RUSU Compass is also available if you need support, advice or referrals for a wide range of psychosocial issues.

Need to cancel your appointment?

If you can’t attend your appointment, please cancel at least 24 hours prior.

To cancel your appointment, log in to the Student Connect Portal then, under "My Requests" select your appointment, and click "Cancel appointment".

Need urgent mental health support?

RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services is not intended for urgent or crisis support. If you need urgent mental health support, call 1300 305 737, text 0488 884 162 (both available 24/7) or go to Emergency and crisis support for more options.

Privacy & referrals

Privacy and confidentiality

All our counsellors are registered psychologists, provisional psychologists, or social workers and are subject to either the Psychology Board of Australia's Code of Ethics and the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Victoria) Act 2009, or the Australian Association of Social Workers' Code of Ethics. Your information can only be released to a third party if:

It is to be used to protect you or others from harm, or
A court order is produced, or
You have provided written permission to do so.

You have the right to request access any personal information concerning you that is held by RMIT. Complex access requests may require a formal application under the Freedom of Information Act 1982.

To find out more, you can speak to your counsellor or read about our Freedom of Information Policy.

Referrals

Counsellors can refer you to other specialist RMIT and external services if:

You request help with finding a specialist
After discussion and assessment, RMIT counselling is not the most suitable service for you
There are other forms of professional support that better meet your needs.

We will always discuss the referral with you, and if appropriate, continue to meet with you until the referral is organised.

Mental health resources

The following information and resources are available for students.