The Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is a council that guides and regulates health professions in South Africa. Their role is to standardize aspects pertaining to registration, education, training, professional conduct, ethical behaviour, professional development, and compliance with healthcare standards.
In order to practice as a Psychologist in South Africa, individuals require a professional registration with the HPCSA to see clients and generate an income from doing so. This registration governs the psychologist’s scope of practice; these are basically the rules and regulations that protect both the client and psychologist in any counselling environment. Follow this link to view the scope of practice as described by the Board of Psychology.
The HPCSA are also responsible for monitoring the different universities around South Africa in order to determine if their courses in psychology meet the appropriate standards in terms of training and development. The university must be accredited by the HPCSA in order to educate future generations of psychologists. Use the following links to search the accredited institutions for the different branches of psychology.
In conjunction to completing a Masters degree in one of the different branches of psychology, students need to complete an internship at an accredited institution in order to register professionally with the HPCSA. Click here for more information on accredited institutions.