Tuvalu

There is very limited information on the background of the counselling profession in Tuvalu. Currently, the counselling services in Tuvalu are mainly supported by the Australian Government through Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women, 2018). There are two main documents supported by Pacific Women which are improving community awareness and outreach and improving counselling and other support services in Tuvalu. Per the Pacific Women (2018), the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) delivered a two-week counselling training program to women that covered the violence and inequalities they face in Tuvalu.

Although “the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Act includes a provision for certified counsellors to provide counselling services for victims” in Tuvalu, there still is not any actively practicing counsellors (Pacific Women, 2018, para 7). Since Tuvalu does not have any certified or trained counsellors on the island, the Pacific Women and the World Bank are co-funding training to establish a pool of counsellors in Tuvalu who are equipped to provide counselling services to victims of violence (Pacific Women, 2018).

Pacific Women also funded a local Counselling Coordinator position and Psychosocial Counsellor Adviser in the Community Affairs Department for 18 months to further improve counselling services in Tuvalu (Pacific Women, n.d.). These two new positions will be responsible to improve services by supporting a new group of local counsellors and creating policies, guidelines, and an overall framework in which counsellors can operate (Pacific Women, n.d.). Also, diploma-level training in counselling through the Australia Pacific Technical College and short courses in counselling will be provided to increase the pool of skilled counsellors, as well.