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hi there
I'm brand spanking new on this forum and was just wondering if there are any other South African students around here who are busy studying Counselling / Clinical Psychology as a major?
My course focuses deeply on psychology within a multi-ethnic and a multi-cultural context and also considering that in South Africa, we have 11 official languages, I am wondering how my course content compares to the content that is prescribed in the USA?
I'm guessing our degrees & procedures here are a little different to those in the USA, especially, because I'm seeing a lot of abbreviated programs & qualifications (LMHC, LPC, etc ) that are completely foreign to me
. I see from various threads on here, that it seems it can be quite tricky to actually get registered witht he various state authorities and that different states have different policies & requirements for registration & practice.
Our high school matriculation qualification also permits us, depending on the mark we achieve on the different subject levels we take (higher grade, standard grade, etc), to enter directly into university after leaving school. I guess it's similar or equivalent to the UK A levels, and they can be completed by the age of 17 or 18 while still at high school.
I'm still in early days, in my second year of my undergrad degree, but have the intention of enrolling in the 4th year Honours program and then hopefully will be accepted into the Masters program. I am also doing a second major in Criminology / Forensics. I had a big gap between completing school and going back into studies, for various reasons.
My B degree covers 16 psychology modules from basic introductory psychology through personality theories, community psychology, intervention strategies, childhood & adolescent development, psychological research, measurement & questionnaire design, transformative counselling, marriage guidance & counselling, trauma counselling, etc.
The honours program comprises research methodology, community and health psychology, personology, ecosystemic psychology, psychology of work, sport psychology, psychopathology, social psychology, developmental psychology, physiological psychology, cognitive psychology, psychological assessment & therapeutic psychology. It also includes a supervised internship that may be completed at the same time as the honours program, or afterwards. This honours program theory may be completed in one year, but most students do it over two years due to the massive work load.
With a honours qualification, a person may register with our health professions council as a marriage counsellor, trauma counsellor or as an HIV counsellor. There are a few other options in the health profession that are also available. You may not practice as a psychologist, though.
The Masters program is completed over another 2 year period, but I am not yet entirely certain what theoretical content it includes. A research thesis must be written under the direction and supervision of a registered psychologist or panel of psychologists. Another internship must also be completed in order to finally qualify and register as a clinical psychologist. Additional training and registration is required in order to perform psychometric testing independently.
Most people do not pursue a PhD or PsyD, considering that this is not a requirement to register as a clinical psychologist. Those that do, usually do so to pursue educational and supervisory positions.
Sorry, I know I've written quite a lot of information here, but I am really interested to find out more about how my own course compares to those that are offered overseas. I am considering moving overseas sometime int he next couple of years and I am trying to find out how my degree will compare with overseas standards and requirements in order to be able to register overseas when that time comes.
Any comments / feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
I'm brand spanking new on this forum and was just wondering if there are any other South African students around here who are busy studying Counselling / Clinical Psychology as a major?
My course focuses deeply on psychology within a multi-ethnic and a multi-cultural context and also considering that in South Africa, we have 11 official languages, I am wondering how my course content compares to the content that is prescribed in the USA?
I'm guessing our degrees & procedures here are a little different to those in the USA, especially, because I'm seeing a lot of abbreviated programs & qualifications (LMHC, LPC, etc ) that are completely foreign to me
. I see from various threads on here, that it seems it can be quite tricky to actually get registered witht he various state authorities and that different states have different policies & requirements for registration & practice.Our high school matriculation qualification also permits us, depending on the mark we achieve on the different subject levels we take (higher grade, standard grade, etc), to enter directly into university after leaving school. I guess it's similar or equivalent to the UK A levels, and they can be completed by the age of 17 or 18 while still at high school.
I'm still in early days, in my second year of my undergrad degree, but have the intention of enrolling in the 4th year Honours program and then hopefully will be accepted into the Masters program. I am also doing a second major in Criminology / Forensics. I had a big gap between completing school and going back into studies, for various reasons.
My B degree covers 16 psychology modules from basic introductory psychology through personality theories, community psychology, intervention strategies, childhood & adolescent development, psychological research, measurement & questionnaire design, transformative counselling, marriage guidance & counselling, trauma counselling, etc.
The honours program comprises research methodology, community and health psychology, personology, ecosystemic psychology, psychology of work, sport psychology, psychopathology, social psychology, developmental psychology, physiological psychology, cognitive psychology, psychological assessment & therapeutic psychology. It also includes a supervised internship that may be completed at the same time as the honours program, or afterwards. This honours program theory may be completed in one year, but most students do it over two years due to the massive work load.
With a honours qualification, a person may register with our health professions council as a marriage counsellor, trauma counsellor or as an HIV counsellor. There are a few other options in the health profession that are also available. You may not practice as a psychologist, though.
The Masters program is completed over another 2 year period, but I am not yet entirely certain what theoretical content it includes. A research thesis must be written under the direction and supervision of a registered psychologist or panel of psychologists. Another internship must also be completed in order to finally qualify and register as a clinical psychologist. Additional training and registration is required in order to perform psychometric testing independently.
Most people do not pursue a PhD or PsyD, considering that this is not a requirement to register as a clinical psychologist. Those that do, usually do so to pursue educational and supervisory positions.
Sorry, I know I've written quite a lot of information here, but I am really interested to find out more about how my own course compares to those that are offered overseas. I am considering moving overseas sometime int he next couple of years and I am trying to find out how my degree will compare with overseas standards and requirements in order to be able to register overseas when that time comes.
Any comments / feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
