Children’s Counselling and the NDIS: What Parents Need to Know

Meta Title: Children’s Counselling and the NDIS | How Counselling Can Support Your Child Meta Description: Learn how children’s counselling fits within the NDIS. Discover how it can support your child’s emotional wellbeing, behaviour, and social skills through therapy tailored to their needs.

At Grow Allied Health, we offer children’s counselling that’s creative, practical, and NDIS-friendly.

If your child is navigating big feelings, changes at home, or challenges with social or emotional regulation, counselling can be a gentle but powerful way to help them thrive.

In this post, we’ll explain what children’s counselling involves, how it works under the NDIS, and how to know if it might be right for your family.

What Is Children’s Counselling?

Children’s counselling is a type of therapy that helps kids make sense of their emotions, develop coping strategies, and build stronger relationships. At Grow, our counselling sessions are play-based, relationship-focused, and tailored to your child’s developmental stage.

Children might:

• Use drawing, toys or games to express themselves

• Build a “feelings toolkit” to help name and regulate emotions

• Practice calming techniques like breathwork or sensory play

• Roleplay tricky social scenarios to build confidence

We meet children where they’re at, whether they’re shy, chatty, or somewhere in between.

Is Counselling Funded by the NDIS?

Yes. Children’s counselling can be funded under the NDIS through the Capacity Building – Improved Daily Living category.

This category covers supports that help your child:

• Improve emotional regulation

• Develop social skills

• Increase confidence and independence

• Build positive behaviour strategies

Counselling helps children work toward goals in their NDIS plan that relate to mental health, communication, emotional wellbeing, or social participation.

Tip: If your child’s plan includes goals like “managing emotions,” “making friends,” or “participating more in everyday life,” counselling could to be a great fit.

NDIS Counselling vs Psychology – What’s the Difference?

Families often ask whether they need a psychologist or if a counsellor can provide support. Both are valuable, but they play different roles.

Counselling	Psychology
Focuses on emotional wellbeing and everyday challenges	Can provide mental health diagnoses and specialised assessments
Uses creative, play-based, or talk-based approaches	Often more clinical or assessment-focused
Supports emotional regulation, social skills, confidence, and behaviour	Supports mental health disorders, trauma, or complex needs

Our children’s counsellors work collaboratively with occupational therapists and speech pathologists for holistic support.

What Happens in a Children’s Counselling Session?

Every counselling session looks a little different—because every child is different.

A typical session may include:

• Building rapport through sensory play or art

• Identifying feelings with visuals or social stories

• Practicing strategies like mindfulness, grounding or self-talk

• Working on confidence and communication through storytelling or role play

We also support parents by sharing simple, practical strategies to try at home.

Why Choose Grow for Children’s Counselling?

• Our team specialises in working with neurodivergent children

• We use gentle, creative approaches backed by evidence

• We support the whole family, not just the child

• We work as part of a multidisciplinary team including Speech and OT

• We offer mobile, school-based and in-clinic options across Brisbane

Ready to Get Started With NDIS Children’s Counselling?

If you’re wondering whether counselling could help your child feel more settled, confident or connected, we’d love to chat. You can get in touch here.

We visit Acacia Ridge, Inala, Rocklea, Greenslopes, Tarragindi, Moorooka, Fairfield, Graceville