According to the Health Professions Council of South Africa, The role of the Registered Counsellor is to make psychological services accessible to the diverse South African population and to provide psychological and preventative interventions that focus on support and promote the enhancement of wellbeing in community contexts.
Registered Counsellors are psychological practitioners who perform psychological screening, basic assessment and technically limited psychological interventions with individuals and groups, aiming at enhancing personal functioning in a variety of contexts including education, work, sport, non-governmental organizations, Non Profit Organisations and community.
A registered counsellor provides short-term, supportive counselling, psycho-education and psychological assessments, e.g. intellectual or scholastic abilities, aptitude, interests, career placement, personality profiling.
The scope of practice for a registered counsellor, a separate category to psychologists, as set out by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is as follows:
1. Psychological Intervention
Registered counsellors enhance personal functioning of children, adults, families and communities. They perform a range of supportive and compensatory psychological interventions with children, adults, families and communities.
They do this through:
Individual or Group counselling
Psycho-education and training workshops
2. Psychological Assessment
Registered counsellors may practice general screening assessments requiring the interpretation of psychological functions (e.g. intellectual, scholastic abilities, aptitude and interests).
3. Project Implementation and Management
Registered counsellors can implement and manage formalized, structured short-term intervention at the primary curative/preventative level across the full scope of psychology. This intervention requires the application of concrete and predetermined decision-making rules.
4. Policy & Standards Implementation
Registered counsellors are able to assist with policy formulation based on various aspects of psychological theory and research. They can also participate in the designing, management and evaluation of psychologically based programmes in diverse settings and organizations such as health, education, labour and correctional services.
5. Professional Practice & Referral
Registered counsellors can identify symptoms or reasons for referrals to professionals within the health care system.
6. Research
Registered counsellors can conduct and report on research projects and implement findings in policy and practice.
7. Consulting
Registered counsellors can act as a consultant at the primary curative/preventative level across the full scope of psychology.
Registered counsellors do not diagnose or treat pathology but in such a case will refer a client to the appropriate registered health care professional.
Registered counsellors in private practice, registered with the BHF (Board of Healthcare funders: www.bhfglobal.com), are issued with a practice number and their fees are guided by suggested medical aid tariffs enabling clients to then claim through their medical aids.
For more information on institutions that offer B Psych Equivalence programs that will allow you to become a Registered Counsellor, click here.
This information was written and provided by Registered Counsellor – Caitlyn Jones.
