Registered Counsellors and Professional Work in South African Psychology

Abstract

All registered counsellors on the database of the Professional Board for Psychology of the Health Professions Council of South Africa were surveyed to establish their demographic characteristics and the nature of their employment. A relatively low number of counsellors (N = 256) have registered since the creation of the category "registered counsellor", and not many register each year. Responses were received from 82 counsellors (response rate 32.8%). Of the sample, only 46% are actually working as registered counsellors. The majority are white women who work in urban areas.Results also indicate that only 12 of them are working as full-time registered counsellors, while the rest work in some part-time capacity. The majority are quite negative about their chosen profession and about the role of the Professional Board. These results cast serious doubt on the likelihood that the category will live up to initial expectations.

Perceptions of Registered Counsellor Efficacy

“…Of these 53 were black and 105 white (Elkonin & Sandison, 2006). These figures reflect similar statistics regarding the familiar demographic pattern of registered psychologists in the country (Abel & Louw, 2009;Du Preez & Roos, 2008). The NMMU remains committed to this registration category in spite of the disappointing numbers of graduates who progress into registration and occupation as registered counsellors.…”

“…The ongoing communications from the Professional Board for Psychology regarding scope of practice proposals, task groups debating competency definitions and the proposed introduction of new registration categories, such as the presently debated specialist categories of Neuropsychologist and Forensic Psychologist, (HPCSA, 2007) and the decision to place on hold the proposed Mental Health Assistant (HPCSA, 2009), are indicative of a profession in the midst of change and struggle. Highlighting this struggle is the ongoing debate regarding the place, role, function and future of the registration category of the registered counselor (Abel & Louw, 2009;Du Preez & Roos, 2008;Elkonin & Sandison, 2006;Kotze & Carolissen, 2005).…”

“…Reasons offered by graduates are many and varied and include difficulty in finding work and difficulties in interacting with the Professional Board, (Elkonin & Sandison, 2006) but the hard reality is that after four years of intensive tertiary level training and money being invested in this professional registration group by universities, students and government, psychological services are still not being delivered to the populations which need them. In fact many universities have discontinued the training of registered counselors completely, and Abel and Louw (2009) indicate that an informal survey of 12 departments of psychology revealed that only four were admitting students for the B.Psych degree in 2008. This raises the question whether this was a misguided initiative, a waste of time, money, energy and ex-pertise.…”

International Perspectives on Psychotherapy

“…In response to the growing treatment gap and the GMH movement's endorsement of equitable mental health services, several Southern African countries, including Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, introduced a mid-level category of mental health professional in the form of the 'registered' or 'psychological counsellor'. This qualification includes a 4-year Honours-equivalent degree with a curriculum that is psychology-focused and includes a 6 month practicum (Abel & Louw, 2009;University of Botswana, 2015;University of Namibia, 2015). This is an added tier Africa of mental health expertise that might prevent specialists from becoming encumbered by administrative and human resource management work.…”

The relevance of the psychometrist category as a professional resource: Training-related issues

“…Psychology was first recognised as a profession in South Africa in 1974. Since then, there have been various changes in the levels of professional registration and the categories defined in each level (Abel & Louw, 2009;Pretorius, 2012). The skills area of psychometrist, however, has been consistently defined as a specialist registration category.…”