How to Become a Counsellor in South Africa

How to Become a Counsellor in South Africa

Are you passionate about helping others and considering a career in counselling? Becoming a counsellor in South Africa is a rewarding journey that involves several essential steps, from formal education to professional registration or accreditation. Here’s a detailed guide to help you understand the process of becoming a competent and qualified counsellor.

1. Education

The first step towards a career in counselling is to obtain the necessary formal qualifications.

Undergraduate Degree

Start with a relevant undergraduate degree in fields such as psychology, social work, or counselling. Ensure that your program is accredited by SAQA (the South African Qualifications Authority).

Postgraduate Qualification

Although there are professional bodies that will register you with just an undergraduate degree and a certain number of required practical hours under your belt, we definitely recommend that you pursue further education by obtaining an honours degree. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained during an honours degree really set a solid foundation for your career path. Note that the academic bar differs from body to body and is published by each. HICS, for example, sets a qualification at NQF level 7 or above in psychology, social work or a counselling-related field as its minimum. If you would like to apply for a Master’s degree, go for it, although getting selected for a psychology Master’s program is no easy feat, as many aspiring psychologists will tell you.

It is important to note that you cannot practice as a psychologist in South Africa without a South-African-recognized Master’s degree. Many honours graduates, after being excluded from Master’s programs, opt to go the international route, completing a Master’s degree abroad. Be very careful, as you may still not be able to use the title “psychologist” or to register and practice as a psychologist, unless this degree is officially recognized by SAQA.

2. Practical Training

We cannot stress this enough: hands-on, practical experience is a vital component of your journey to becoming a competent and confident counsellor.

Supervised Internship/Practicum

As part of your postgraduate studies, complete a supervised internship or practicum. This involves working under the guidance of a registered and experienced professional in the field of counselling, allowing you to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world settings. When selecting a supervisor, ensure that the person is available to see you regularly, either in a group setting or individually, to guide you through your caseload.

A great supervisor is someone who provides personal and professional growth. Supervision challenges your perception of human interaction and exposes you to different approaches in assisting people who request help in dealing with a variety of life situations. Supervision is both educative and supportive and ensures that you work in an ethical way. Supervisors also carry a great deal of responsibility: they stand between an inexperienced counsellor and a client who may be in real distress. Choose yours carefully, and make sure they have at least five years of experience in the field.

Although training programs aimed at prospective counsellors claim to assist their attendees in gaining the required number of practical hours to register with a professional body, it is advised that you do your homework properly. Is the institution recognizing theoretical training as “practical experience,” or are the hours they are allocating actual practical learning and experience-based opportunities? Although it’s very tempting to take the shortcut and just get the certificate with the required number of hours, don’t con yourself out of this crucial, experiential learning aspect of your journey! This is also the thinking behind the written board examination that HICS requires before it awards a designation: a certificate of hours shows that you attended, and the examination tests, independently of whoever trained you, whether you can apply what you were taught.

3. Professional Registration or Accreditation

Counselling is not a statutorily regulated profession in South Africa. The law does not require you to belong to any body in order to counsel, provided you do not use a title reserved under the Health Professions Act, such as Psychologist or Registered Counsellor, and do not claim a registration you do not hold. Humanitas Training’s position is nonetheless settled: we believe that belonging to a professional body is a professional and ethical responsibility for anyone who counsels other people. Membership places you under a published code, keeps your supervision and continuing development accountable to someone other than yourself, and gives your clients somewhere to turn if something goes wrong. The bodies below are the main options. Two of them, the HPCSA and the SACSSP, are statutory councils established by law. The other two, the ASCHP and HICS, are voluntary professional bodies: membership of either is not a legal requirement to practise, confers no statutory authority, is not equivalent to HPCSA registration, and does not permit the use of any title the Health Professions Act reserves. Each body publishes its own requirements, and those requirements take precedence over anything summarised here. Two questions are worth asking of any body you consider: how it decides who is admitted, and whether its full standard is published for anyone to read.

HPCSA Registration

Register with the HPCSA (Health Professions Council of South Africa) in the category of “Registered Counsellor.” This process includes completing a Bpsych or Bpsych-equivalent program, requiring you to obtain 720 practical hours and passing a board exam. Registered Counsellors may work in private practice settings as their HPCSA registration allows for independent practice. While working in private practice, the Registered Counsellor must have an additional practice registration with the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF). The BHF issues a practice number and guides the fee structures that may be implemented. Additionally, as Registered Counsellors have professional and practice registrations, they can claim from medical aids or assist their clients in claiming from medical aids.

HICS Accreditation

The Humanitas Independent Counselling Society (HICS) is a registered non-profit company established in 2026 as a professional-standards body for counsellors. In its own words, it is:

A voluntary, non-statutory, membership-based quality-assurance body for counselling practitioners in South Africa. Practice standards, supervision, CPD and an enforceable Code.

HICS offers three membership designations: Accredited Counsellor, Accredited Senior Counsellor and Accredited Supervisor. Its qualifying criteria are strict and published in full. The minimum academic requirement is a qualification at NQF level 7 or above in psychology, social work or a counselling-related field. Beyond that, an applicant must have completed counselling training that HICS has recognised against its published outcomes standard, must have logged supervised practice hours signed off by an approved supervisor, and must pass a written board examination that HICS sets and marks itself. Nobody is accredited without passing that examination, whichever provider they trained with.

Read the standards, the scope of practice and the entry criteria at hics.co.za.

ASCHP Registration

Consider registering with the Association for Supportive Counsellors and Holistic Practitioners (ASCHP). The ASCHP is a SAQA-recognised professional body (ID 984) with four designations listed on the National Qualifications Framework: Supportive Counsellor (NQF level 4), Holistic Counsellor (level 5), Wellness Counsellor (level 7) and Specialist Wellness Counsellor (level 8). In its own words, it “provides membership to counsellors who work in the non-statutory domain, i.e. who are not psychologists.” The ASCHP provides a platform for counsellors who focus on supportive and holistic practices and offers different levels of membership based on qualifications and experience. With an undergraduate degree and relevant practical experience, you can apply to register as a Wellness Counsellor. With a postgraduate degree and relevant practical experience, you can apply to register as a Specialist Wellness Counsellor. Please note that as ASCHP-registered wellness counsellors, your sessions will not be covered by medical aid. The ASCHP’s rules, designations and CPD requirements are published at aschp.org.za.

SACSSP Registration

The South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) allows social workers to register with them after obtaining a BA degree in Social Work or as a Social Auxiliary Worker after completing a certificate qualification as a social auxiliary worker. Social Workers may apply for registration with the Board of Health Care Funders (BHF) to claim from medical aids.

4. Continued Professional Development

Staying up to date on relevant information in your chosen field and enhancing your skills on a regular and continuous basis is essential for a successful counselling career. Engage in continuous professional development by attending workshops, seminars, and training courses. This ensures you remain informed about the latest developments in the field and maintain your competency.

Each of the professional bodies mentioned in this article requires their members to complete annual CPD courses (continuous professional development courses) to maintain their registration or accreditation with said professional bodies. Each CPD course will be recognized for a certain number of CPD points, and each specific registration designation has a required number of CPD points that they need to complete.

5. Ethical Practice

Maintaining high standards of professional and ethical conduct is crucial.

Ethical Guidelines

Adhere to the ethical guidelines and standards set out by the relevant professional bodies. This includes, but is not limited to, respecting client confidentiality, maintaining professional boundaries, and providing competent services.

Keeping Your Professional Standing Current

Keep your registration or accreditation and professional standing current by participating in regular renewal processes and fulfilling continuing education requirements.

Ethical Marketing and Scope of Practice

Ensure that you do not mislead the public through the language you use when marketing yourself or your services. Make sure that you know exactly what your scope of practice is, as set out by your professional body, and that you keep your language and your services within those parameters.

6. Continued Supervision

Attending regular supervision under the guidance of a capable and experienced supervisor, especially in a group setting with other registered and experienced counsellors, is an invaluable aspect of being a competent and confident counsellor. This applies even after you’ve successfully registered or been accredited as a counsellor or a wellness counsellor and is of great value to confidentially and professionally talk through difficult cases with like-minded colleagues.

How Can Humanitas Training Assist?

If you have obtained an undergraduate degree or a postgraduate degree in social work, psychology, or counselling, and you wish to obtain the necessary training and practical hours to start your career in counselling, consider enrolling in Humanitas’ Counselling Course. Humanitas offers comprehensive training that combines theoretical knowledge with practical experience, bridging the enormous gap between theory and practice.

At Humanitas, we pride ourselves on the fact that each of our lecturers is also in private practice. In other words, they are teaching from actual practical experience and not just from theoretical knowledge. Humanitas courses are designed to prepare university graduates for real-world counselling scenarios within the South African context, under the mentorship and guidance of our experienced supervisory team. Humanitas also aims to provide continuous opportunities for our graduates for professional and personal growth through our various Graduate Initiatives.

Humanitas Training is a recognised training provider of HICS. That means HICS has assessed our programmes against its published outcomes standard and found that they meet it. It does not make the two organisations one and the same: HICS and Humanitas Training are distinct bodies, training is recognised by standard rather than by provider, and completing a Humanitas programme does not by itself make anyone a HICS member. Every applicant, Humanitas graduates included, sits the same board examination.

By enrolling with Humanitas, you will:

Gain Practical Experience as a Counsellor.

Apply theoretical concepts in real-world settings under the supervision of experienced practitioners.

Learn from Practicing Professionals.

Benefit from the practical insights and real-world experience of lecturers who are active in private practice.

Develop Essential Skills.

Enhance your counselling skills through hands-on training and mentorship.

Bridge the Gap Between Theory and Practice.

Prepare for the challenges of a counselling career with comprehensive, practice-oriented training.

Experience the Opportunity for Tremendous Personal Growth.

Engage in a journey that not only prepares you professionally but also fosters significant personal development.

Be Eligible to Apply for HICS Accreditation.

Completing the Humanitas Counselling Course satisfies HICS’s recognised-training criterion. The remaining criteria, including the written board examination, are the same for every applicant.

Be Able to Register with the ASCHP.

The practical nature of the Humanitas Counselling Course enables graduates to apply for registration with the ASCHP.

Conclusion

Embarking on a career as a counsellor in South Africa involves a combination of rigorous education, hands-on training, and adherence to professional standards. By following these steps, you can achieve your goal of becoming a qualified, competent, and confident counsellor, ready to make a positive impact on the lives of those you serve. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to advance your career, the journey to becoming a counsellor is both challenging and deeply fulfilling.

For more information and resources on counselling, feel free to explore our website or contact us directly. We’re here to support you every step of the way.

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Can I Legally Counsel Clients in South Africa Without HPCSA Registration?

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