Concerned about the rising and enduring mental health problems across all sectors of South African society, SACAP believes that this expansion of its educational offering is essential to provide different options and opportunities to those interested in careers in counselling and psychology.
Laura Fisher, SACAP’s director of academic affairs says: “The new BPsych Equivalent programme will stand alongside our existing BPsych degree and enable those who already have a three-year Psychology degree to gain an Honours qualification which also includes the intensive academic elements, professional training, supervised research and integrated practicum required to become a Registered Counsellor.”
Registered Counsellors provide psychological services focused on prevention and primary intervention for people with psychological difficulties in diverse community contexts, and also contribute to the promotion of mental health. They are qualified to perform psychological screening, basic assessment and psychological interventions with individuals and groups; provide preventative and developmental counselling services for individuals and groups; and deliver psycho-education on a range of topics.
An important additional aspect of SACAP’s BPsych Equivalent programme is that it also provides multiple further academic pathways for both national and international Master’s degree studies in psychology, possibly with a view to becoming a psychologist.
The BPsych Equivalent programme is offered at both SACAP’S Johannesburg and Cape Town campuses. In line with SACAP’s unique educational philosophy and facilitated learning style where classrooms are intimate and students work in close contact with expert educators in Applied Psychology, only 20 students will be accommodated on each campus. Registrations for the BPsych Equivalent programme closes on 31 October 2017.
