About me
12+
Years Experience
Mr. Paul Black (BSocWk, MSocWk)
AASW Member 439563
I am an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and have been working with youth, adolescents, and families since 2003.
Over the past 15 years, I have provided:
Individual counselling
Group therapy and facilitation
Family counselling and mediation
Workshops, lectures, and training in schools and community agencies
I have supported clients across New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, including major cities as well as regional, rural, and remote areas.
Membership & Professional Ethics
I have been a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) for over 12 years.
“This ensures my clients can trust that I”
Uphold professional boundaries
Practice with respect, integrity, and ethics
Make thoughtful, evidence-based decisions in every session
Counselling Approach & Style
My approach is creative, flexible, and strengths-based, tailored to each client’s needs.
I use a variety of methods including:
Visual Media
Using tech-based tools like YouTube, social media, arts, and creative activities to make counselling engaging and relatable.
Storytelling & Metaphors
Sharing real-life stories, morals, and practical exercises to help young people understand values and lessons in a meaningful way.
Humour & Humility
Building trust through a genuine, down-to-earth approach that makes clients feel understood and connected.
Collaborative Goal-Setting
Working alongside clients to set goals, share power, and empower them to identify strengths and create solutions together.
Professional ethics
The cornerstone of effective counselling starts with connecting, relating, understanding of their world view, what is important to them and youth culture. I achieve this by listening and responding with care through an empathic, compassionate and engaging nature.
I also bring the ethic of being nonjudgmental. As egocentric adolescence can be, I feel it is especially important for the student to know that I will not think less of them for their limited knowledge, mistakes or actions. We work through the issues collaboratively, and frame them as learnings, then continue to work positively on their goals.
I also value commitment to my practice, because without commitment of a counsellor, the professional relationship and process of change will not be able to effective. Alongside commitment comes Professional integrity. I feel this is an important value to my professional practice, as to symbolize my commitment to delivering what I say and to following through with action.
Counselling Goals / Aims
As a counsellor/wellbeing practitioner, Paul aims to
Promote the personal/social development of teen/adolescents in a safe, inclusive learning environment.
Provide a foundation for Young People to understand their interests, abilities and challenges.
Build personal strengths, empowerment and advocate on behalf of the students so that they can teach others to advocate for themselves.
Help Young People gain a sense of control/empowerment through building social skills/tools and strategies that build resilience, confidence.
"Youth don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care." — John C. Maxwell
Group work
One of my greatest passions within my role is conducting group work. I have delivered many different types of groups such as;
Psychoeducational groups
Where a clinician teaches members specific skills, such as behavioural focused groups for anger management, anxiety/social anxiety
Therapeutic support groups,
Members focus more on what is happening in their lives outside the group.
Drug and Alcohol
Educational workshops at various high schools within the Northern Rivers region.
Social skills
Groups for primary, secondary schools in regional and remote areas.
Cultural Competency Groups
I have also delivered social/life and behavioural skill programs to Aboriginal males (average age, 12-15 years old) at “Tirkandi Inaburra” (NSW) which included a 6-8 weekly program targeting socio-disadvantaged, disengaged at school with multi complex trauma background histories.
Qualified Cultural Competency and Aboriginal case management/therapy and social/ life skills training.