Welcome back to a new edition of Counselling Australia.

We all begin our lives as children, with the teenage years being some of our most formative. For some of us, we go on to have our own children, and learn and grow from their own teenagerdom. This edition focuses on working with children and teens as a therapist, as well as perspectives from parents and practitioners on neurodiversity, anxiety and burnout.

To open this edition, counsellor Sarah Davidson has written a first-person piece on the difficulties and achievements of working with clients (both parents and children) experiencing school refusal. Her work outlines how school avoidance often masks deeper issues that bring the nervous system into play, and urges therapists to listen to and involve the young person in the process. Sarah’s work is complemented by a piece on sensory-friendly therapy spaces by Dr Jillian Stansfield, which encourages small but meaningful changes to the therapy room. Minor adjustments such as dimming lights and offering sensory tools can make a huge difference for an adolescent entering a safe and inclusive counselling space.

Neurodiverse families – especially those with both ND parents and children – make up a key aspect of our communities, but they are often undersupported and misunderstood. Freya Corboy, a neurodiverse parent and counsellor, has contributed an outstanding piece for this edition on the drivers of neurodivergent burnout. As Freya urges lifting our awareness for ND clients, she writes, “The goal of burnout recovery is not to return to where the client was, but to craft a more sustainable and supportive life moving forward” – particularly relevant for any therapists working with clients struggling with these issues.

Researcher, writer and disability advocate Emna Malas has contributed an Islamic perspective on Autistic life for this edition, contextualising social acceptance of neurodiversity, particularly for Muslim women. Emna delves into some of the key tenets of Islam and how they can be applied to understanding and support of neurodiverse individuals as different but not less than. Her writing can be best read and understood by therapists wanting to better support neurodiverse clients from the Muslim community, and those pushing for a baseline of fundamental dignity for persons of all backgrounds and kin.

Peer support workers form a crucial but often underappreciated backbone of therapeutic work. Nihal Job, a mental health counsellor from Griffith in regional NSW, has written an excellent piece that delves into how peer support can make a fundamental difference for clients – from reducing stress and stigma about attending formal therapy sessions, to fostering active engagement in therapeutic interventions that can be far more effective than talk therapy alone. Nihal sketches a thoughtful and empathetic approach to incorporating the value of peer work into counselling clients, particularly those in regional or rural areas, and how it can make the most difference before, after and between sessions.

We’re also pleased to publish an introduction to equine assisted therapy (EAT) from the sector’s peak body EATA, which offers context and history to the use of horses in treating a variety of mental health concerns including PTSD. This edition also features several pieces focusing on loneliness, anxiety, attachment and burnout – all common issues presented to therapists in session, and our contributors offer a range of qualified perspectives, research and exercises that will be useful reading for therapists of all stripes.

Mark your calendars for ACA’s next research symposium, which will be held in Sydney on Thursday, October 22 – keep your ears and eyes peeled for the topic! ACA will also be present at the Perth Careers and Employment Expo (23–25 July) and the Sydney West Careers and Employment Expo (28–29 August).

Finally, as we move into 2026, ACA will soon say farewell to our hardworking CEO Jodie McKenzie in July. Jodie’s impact across the organisation since taking on the chief executive role in 2023 – and before that as deputy chief executive – cannot be understated. From doubling membership across Australia, to advocating for the counselling profession with the federal government, including the introduction of National Standards, she has always led with a sense of integrity, inclusivity and respect.

We wish her the very best as she focuses on her work in educational tech start-up Pracability. A new CEO will be announced in due course.

The ACA Team