This unit engages a broad area of counselling for mental health and wellness. Traditional theories and practices tend toward a problem orientation that includes a systematic assessment or diagnosis of poor mental health conditions. In such cases the therapeutic modality provides a means for returning individuals to mental health and wellness based on an interpretation of what went wrong. On the other hand, more recent developments influenced by Positive Psychology and Socio-constructivist therapies look to the powerful influences that people’s strengths bring to addressing their problems. The focus of this unit is the health and wellness orientation implied by the subject area, rather than concentrating on psychopathology. This unit views mental health through a contextual lens, examining how mental health concerns emerge, are understood, and are addressed within a range of real-world environments. While not excluding references to specific counselling modalities or client populations, these are not the primary focus. Instead, this unit centres different settings in which counselling takes place—such as schools, workplaces, private practice, faith communities, and multicultural contexts—and how these settings exert some influence on concepts of wellness and approaches to counselling practice.