This month our featured service is Counselling Online, a free and confidential service providing 24/7 support for Australians affected by alcohol or drug use, their friends and family. They provide online, email and telephone counselling, online self-help modules, moderated peer-support forums and information on drug and alcohol use.

What is Counselling Online?

Counselling Online is an online and telephone support service operated by Turning Point and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health, for Australians concerned about alcohol and other drugs. Their aim is to improve community access to alcohol and drug treatment and referral services, particularly in rural and regional areas.

Counselling Online offers a range of tools and support options for people affected by alcohol and drug use, including self-assessments, online peer-support communities, information, online text-based counselling, and telephone support. Their counselling services are provided by counselling staff with professional qualifications and experience in alcohol and drug counselling and treatment. The site also includes a self-help program, which aims to help individuals identify how motivated they feel, help set goals, identify what’s important, and help develop a plan to address aspects to their life that have been affected by their drinking or drug use.

Who is Counselling Online for?

Counselling Online was developed to support people using alcohol and other drugs, their family members, and friends. They provide support for people at all stages of help-seeking, whether seeking help for the first time, waiting to access treatment, requiring additional support, in recovery, managing lapse, and relapse, or wanting to support others.

Is there a cost to use Counselling Online?

There is no cost to access any of Counselling Online’s support services.

How to access Counselling Online

Counselling Online’s online services can be accessed at https://www.counsellingonline.org.au/.

Their text-based counselling service is available at https://www.counsellingonline.org.au/find-support/chat-to-a-counsellor, where users can choose to be anonymous or register in order to allow counsellors to access information from previous sessions and offer continuity in counselling.

For 24/7 telephone support call Counselling Online at:

ACT: 02 6207 9977

NSW: 1800 422 499 (regional) or 02 9361 8000 (metropolitan)

NT: 1800 131 350

QLD: 1800 177 833 (regional) or 07 3837 5989 (metropolitan)

SA: 1300 131 340

TAS: 1800 811 994

VIC: 1800 888 236

WA: 1800 198 024 (regional) or 08 9442 5000 (metropolitan)