What is a registered counsellor?
The role of a Registered Counsellor is to make psychological services more accessible to the people of South Africa. This registration category was created as a form of ‘first line’ psychological support since the availability of psychological professionals such as psychologists is scarce and often considered expensive.
The main aim of a Registered Counsellors scope is to provide short term, primary, psychological and preventative interventions that focuses on supporting and promoting the enhancement of an individual’s wellbeing in various community contexts.
Target populations:
Individuals of all ages
Families
Groups
Communities
Scope of a Registered Counsellor:
Registered Counsellor’s focus on immediate, short-term intervention and support to anyone who may need it. They provide preventative and developmental counselling services and interventions on all systems levels in order to enhance emotional functioning and mental well-being.
Primary aims: prevention and mental health promotion
Core competencies:
- Screening and identification of mental health challenges
- Containment of presenting difficulties
- Provision of preventative, supportive and developmental counselling services and interventions
- Psycho-education and training (managing, creating and implementing intervention programmes, presentations and workshops)
- Promotion of primary psychosocial wellbeing
- Referral to appropriate professionals and resources
- Working in a context appropriate, multi-professional team
- Certain psychological assessments are offered
- Report writing and feedback