The professional category of Bachelor of Psychology (B.Psych.) Registered Counsellor was created in order to deliver psychological services at a primary health care level to previously disadvantaged communities. Between 2002 and 2004 the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, in the Eastern Cape, produced 84 graduates in this category. In an attempt to follow the career paths of these graduates, a survey was undertaken to determine how many graduates had progressed to the stage of professional registration and were working as Registered Counsellors, and to explore their present status and employment experiences. It was found that very few had registered with the Professional Board for Psychology and that most were continuing postgraduate studies or had moved into alternate career fields. Themes that emerged from the survey concern difficulty with registration, difficulty with employment, and lack of public and professional knowledge of the scope of practice of the Registered Counsellor. There were also some positive perceptions regarding the value of the Registered Counsellor category and the quality of training.
The registration category of the Registered Counsellor has resulted in on ongoing debate regarding the training and efficacy of these practitioners in the delivery of psychological services. Although the category has been in existence for some years there is little evidence that the category is fulfilling the purpose forwhich it was developed, namely, to supply psychological services at a primary health-care level. Our aim in this article is to explore the roles that registered counsellors play in their practicum placements, in order to better understand and to provide evidence of the practical value of the skills and expertise that they can offer in a variety of settings. Through the use of semi-structured questionnaires, in face to face and telephone surveys, 15 supervisors were interviewed to obtain their perceptions and experiences of the efficacy of the registered counsellors and the role that registered counsellor trainees play in their different placement settings. Findings were extremely positive in terms of the perceived value of the registered counsellor across a variety of settings.
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