Having a positive influence on the mental and physical wellbeing of young people, and to help them grow, is the ambition of Sarah in her career as a youth counsellor at YouthFocus.

An international student from the USA, Sarah elected to study her Master of Counselling degree at The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus due to its Catholic ethos and emphasis on practicum as part of the learning experience.

“I’ve grown and matured. Counselling can be a challenging degree and asks difficult questions. From being at Notre Dame, I was able to look into these issues and grow as an adult and as a practitioner,”says Notre Dame Counselling graduate, Sarah.

Because of the uniqueness of Notre Dame and how staff care for the individual, it gave me a good model for how to care for the people with whom I work.

“The highlight was the practicum experience with the skills I acquired.  I have been able to grow as an adult and as a practitioner. I have since found that I’m more confident in working with young people and more confident in my ability to resolve any challenges that may present.”

“Working with young people is what I love to do the most. There is a lot of pressure on young people today and they don’t have the support they really need.”