Academic Credentials for Mental Health Professionals in South Africa

Every mental health title that South African law protects sits behind a specific qualification. This guide covers the professions South Africa's three statutory councils register: psychology, psychiatry, occupational therapy and the arts therapies under the HPCSA, social work under the SACSSP, and psychiatric and mental health nursing under the SANC. For each it sets out the qualification, what that qualification requires, and where the requirement is written down.

Quick answer: which qualification leads to which registration

South Africa gates its mental health professions at the qualification, not at the job title. The table pairs each registrable title with the qualification that opens it and the council that holds the register. Each route is set out in full further down.

How South African qualifications are described: the NQF and SAQA

Two things describe a South African qualification: its NQF level and its credit value. University qualifications sit on the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework, the policy that sets the type, level and credit minimum for every degree.³⁰ The South African Qualifications Authority then registers each individual qualification against it.²¹

Three types matter for the professions on this page.³⁰

• Bachelor's degree: NQF exit level 7 with a minimum of 360 credits, or NQF exit level 8 with a minimum of 480 credits
• Bachelor honours degree: NQF level 8, minimum 120 credits
• Master's degree, general or professional: NQF exit level 9, minimum 180 credits

That explains something that catches people out. Two qualifications can both sit at level 8 and be very different things. A one-year honours degree and a four-year professional first degree such as the BPsych or the Bachelor of Social Work are both level 8; the honours carries 120 credits and the professional degree 480.³⁰⁸²¹ The level tells you the standard of the work. The credits tell you how much of it there is.

The framework also fixes what credits mean in time. It sets a minimum credit load of 120 credits per academic year for bachelor's degrees and 180 credits per academic year for master's degrees.³⁰ So a 360-credit bachelor's degree is three academic years, a 480-credit professional bachelor's degree is four, and a 120-credit honours degree is one.

Psychology: the registration categories and what each requires

The Health Professions Act 56 of 1974 makes registration the precondition for practising a health profession.¹ For psychology, the 2008 regulations define the profession as that of a person registered as a psychologist, psychometrist, registered counsellor or psycho technician, or in any other category of registration the Board establishes.² A 2011 amendment then added an annexure setting a separate scope of practice for each category.³ The academic route differs by category, and so does what a practitioner may lawfully do afterwards.

Psycho technician is a legacy entry in that definition. The 2011 annexure sets no scope of practice for it, and neither the Board's registration requirements nor its examination policy sets out a training route or an examination paper for it, so nothing below covers it.³⁴³³

Registered counsellor

The registered counsellor is the statutory counselling category. Registration follows one of two qualifications.

• A professional Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a 480-credit qualification exiting at NQF level 8, incorporating an approved full-time six-month practicum⁸
• A BPsych Equivalent programme incorporating an approved full-time 720-hour face-to-face practicum⁸

Students on these programmes must register with the HPCSA as student registered counsellors from the first year of study.⁸ The accredited curriculum covers psychopathology, developmental psychology, counselling interventions, research psychology, psychometric and psychological assessment, personality psychology, community psychology and career psychology.⁸

The practicum

The practicum is built into the degree rather than served afterwards. It runs six months full-time in the professional BPsych, or 720 hours face-to-face in the BPsych Equivalent programme.⁹ It must be undertaken in a community context and may not be undertaken in a psychiatric setting.⁹

Supervision during it is the training institution's responsibility. The Board requires 20 hours of structured supervision, a supervisor with at least three years of post-registration experience, and a maximum ratio of one supervisor to five students.¹¹

Registration and the assessment scope

To register, a candidate submits Form 24 RC, a letter confirming a pass in the Board Examination, and a notarised copy of the four-year degree.⁷

Registration is time-limited from the end of training. Graduates must register within three years of completing their academic and practical training.¹²

The consequences of missing that deadline are graded, and they are counted as time beyond the deadline rather than time since training. Up to three years beyond it, the framework sets no additional practicum. From three years beyond it, the applicant must submit an assessment report from their university or training institute stating whether it is satisfied with their theoretical knowledge. Exceeding it by more than three to five years requires an additional three-month practicum on top of that report. Exceeding it by more than five to seven years and eleven months requires a six-month practicum. Exceeding it by eight years or more, roughly eleven years after training, means a person is no longer eligible to register in the category.¹² Permission to complete an additional practicum must be requested from the Board's Education, Training and Registration Committee first.¹² Anyone who has exceeded the timeframe must also write the National Board Examination.³³

On assessment, the framework is specific rather than prohibitive. Registered counsellors may select, administer, score, interpret and report on psychological tests, and bill for that service, where appropriate training and competencies have been obtained.¹⁰

Named exclusions apply. They may not use certain personality measures such as the TAT, CAT and Rorschach, or measures used for diagnosing psychopathology such as the MMPI-2, and may not undertake forensic or neuropsychological assessment.¹⁰ The regulated scope reads the same way: screening, primary mental status screening, basic assessment and interventions, and assessment excluding projective, neuropsychological and diagnostic tests.³

One point worth stating plainly. Neither the Act, nor the scope regulations, nor the Board's own framework sets a fixed post-registration supervision period for registered counsellors, and there is no HPCSA application for independent practice status.¹³¹¹ The 20-hour supervision requirement in the framework applies to student registered counsellors during training.¹¹ A registered counsellor is a registered practitioner in their own right.

Psychometrist

Psychometrists enter through the same undergraduate route. The requirement is an accredited four-year BPsych or BPsych Equivalent in Psychology accredited by the Board, incorporating an approved six-month or 720-hour face-to-face practicum.⁶

Practical hours in psychometry must be recorded in a logbook countersigned by the supervisor.⁶ Candidates then pass the National Board Examination at 70% and register within two years of completing the qualification.⁶ The examination is written on the first Wednesday of February, June and October, and late entries are not accepted.⁶

The regulated scope covers performing assessments, measuring cognitive, interest, aptitude and personality functions, compiling test batteries, and referring clients who need more advanced assessment.³

Psychologist

Registration as a psychologist can be obtained in one or more categories: clinical, counselling, educational, industrial or research psychologist.⁴ The 2011 scope annexure also sets out scopes for neuropsychology and forensic psychology.³

The academic route runs through three stages.

• An undergraduate degree with Psychology carried to final-year level
• An honours degree in Psychology: 120 credits at NQF level 8, one academic year full-time³⁰
• A professional master's degree in the chosen category, at NQF level 9

The HPCSA registers candidates at each stage. A student psychologist must register within four months of starting the first year of the master's programme, and the application requires proof of the honours degree.⁴

Registration as an intern psychologist then requires the honours degree certificate and an official letter from the university confirming a pass at the end of the first year of master's study, stating the category enrolled for.⁴

The intern application also carries the supervision paperwork: letters from the supervising senior psychologist registered in the same category, the training institution, and the university department. A senior psychologist here means someone registered in that category for at least three years.⁴

What the categories cover

The category chosen at master's level fixes the scope for the rest of a career, and all of the scopes below come from the same 2011 annexure.³

• Clinical psychologists assess, diagnose and intervene with psychological distress and psychopathology, identify and diagnose psychiatric disorders, and apply evidence-based interventions
• Counselling psychologists assess, diagnose and intervene with life challenges and developmental problems, diagnose disorders of adjustment, and perform therapeutic counselling interventions
• Educational psychologists work with learning and development, including barriers to learning and therapeutic interventions in relation to them
• Industrial psychologists apply psychology in the workplace, including psychometric assessment for training, development and employment
• Research psychologists plan, develop and apply psychological research methods, including the development of psychological measures
• Neuropsychologists assess, diagnose and treat psychological disorders in people with neuropathology or compromised central nervous system functioning
• Forensic psychology carries its own paragraph in the annexure: assessment, diagnosis and intervention, advising on policy based on forensic psychological theory and research, designing and evaluating forensic psychology programmes, supervising practitioners in forensic psychology, and providing expert evidence and opinions. The paragraph opens by naming clinical psychologists rather than forensic psychologists, an apparent drafting slip in the gazette, and closes by requiring adherence to the scope of practice of forensic psychologists

Internship, the board examination and community service

This is where most published accounts of the South African pathway go wrong, so it is worth separating the three stages.

Internship

The internship follows the master's degree. The Board's handbook for intern psychologists, which applies across the registration categories, sets the standard: training is recognised only where it takes place at an approved institution, on a full-time basis of 40 hours per week, over a minimum period of 12 months, with no more than four weeks of that taken as leave or sick leave.³⁴ The Board's intern site requirements for counselling psychology carry the same wording.¹³ The internship must be in the category the candidate prepared for in the first year of the master's.³⁴ Sites not accredited by the Professional Board must submit a detailed internship programme showing weekly time allocation, client spectrum and the tests to be used.⁴

The National Board Examination

Every category writes it. The Board's examination policy sets separate three-hour papers for clinical, counselling, educational, industrial and research psychology, neuropsychology, registered counsellors, and psychometrists in independent and in supervised practice, and requires all newly qualified psychologists, registered counsellors and psychometrists to pass it before applying for registration.³³ The pass mark is 70% and the papers are written in English only.³³

The examination is written on the first Wednesday of February, June and October, with closing dates of 15 December, 30 April and 31 August respectively, and no late entries.³³

What is specific to clinical psychology is where the examination sits in the sequence. From 1 January 2019, intern clinical psychologists write it before commencing community service.⁵

Community service

Community service has its own regulations, made under section 24A of the Health Professions Act. They list the professions in which a person registering for the first time must perform it: medical practitioner, dentist, radiography, physiotherapy, speech, language and hearing therapy, occupational therapy, environmental health, dietetics, and clinical psychology.¹⁴

Clinical psychology is the only psychology category on that list. The HPCSA states the same thing directly: clinical psychologists are the only category registered under the Board's ambit required to perform 12 months of compulsory community service.⁵ Counselling, educational, industrial and research psychologists complete the internship and register, with no community service year.

Those regulations are made under the Health Professions Act and reach only the professions it registers. Nursing has its own community service obligation, under section 40 of the Nursing Act, and it is dealt with in the nursing section below.³⁵

Where service is interrupted, the periods added together must total not less than one calendar year, and the whole must be completed within a maximum of two years, failing which service already performed lapses.¹⁴

The registered counsellor figure is fixed: a 480-credit professional degree is four academic years under the framework.³⁰ The psychologist figures are a range, and the reason is worth knowing before you plan around them.

Three academic years for a 360-credit bachelor's degree and one for a 120-credit honours degree are framework minima.³⁰ What varies is where the 12-month internship sits. At Wits the MA in Clinical Psychology runs two years, and the internship is the second of them.³² Where a programme is built that way the internship is inside the degree; elsewhere it follows the degree and adds a year.

So clinical psychology runs seven years where the internship falls inside the master's and eight where it follows, and the other categories run a year less because they carry no community service year. Programme length is set by each faculty, so check the yearbook for the programme you are applying to before budgeting.

Psychiatry

Psychiatrists qualify as doctors first. At Wits, the MBBCh is a six-year full-time degree entered from Grade 12, and there is a second entry point: the Graduate Entry Medical Programme admits applicants who already hold a relevant degree straight into third year, so those four years follow a first degree rather than replacing it.¹⁷ Other faculties structure the degree differently, so check the one you are applying to.

Two supervised stages follow, and both must be complete before specialist training can begin: registrar training may only commence after an internship of two years and community service of one year.¹⁵ Specialist training then runs 48 months in an approved department of psychiatry, supervised throughout,¹⁵ and universities run these four-year programmes for registrars in Department of Health clinical posts.¹⁶

The fellowship examination

The examination for specialist registration is the Fellowship of the College of Psychiatrists of South Africa, FC Psych(SA), and it has two parts.¹⁵

Admission to Part I requires a post-internship qualification to practise medicine and full HPCSA registration, meaning the community service year is already complete.¹⁵ Admission to Part II requires a pass in Part I, at least 33 of the 48 months of training, and a portfolio of learning accepted by the head of department.¹⁵

Part II must be passed within 36 months of completing registrar training.¹⁵ A research output is separate and compulsory: a completed MMed research output is both a university requirement and an HPCSA requirement for specialist registration.¹⁵

The training content is specified too. It includes at least three months in a community psychiatric service, three months in a recognised child psychiatric or child guidance unit, a year on the staff of an approved psychiatric hospital, and supervised psychotherapy training recorded in the portfolio of learning.¹⁵

Social work

Social work is regulated separately, by the South African Council for Social Service Professions under the Social Service Professions Act 110 of 1978.

Registration is a precondition of practice. Every social worker, social auxiliary worker and child and youth care worker must register with the SACSSP before practising, and students in these fields must register too.¹⁹

The registrable qualification is the Bachelor of Social Work, which the council's application requirements name directly.¹⁹ On SAQA's national register it is a National First Degree with a minimum of 480 credits at NQF level 8, described in its own purpose statement as a professional four-year qualification.²¹

One thing to know before you check that record yourself. The SAQA registration for the Bachelor of Social Work, qualification ID 23994, passed its registration end date on 30 June 2023. Its last date for enrolment was 30 June 2024 and its last date for achievement is 30 June 2030, and SAQA records no replacement qualification against it.²¹ Students already on the qualification have until 2030 to complete. Anyone applying now should ask the university which registered qualification the intake is enrolled on, and confirm with the SACSSP that it is a qualification the council accepts for registration.

Programme standards are set by the council's Professional Board for Social Work, which has published the Norms and Standards for the Bachelor of Social Work and a quality assurance assessment tool for BSW programmes.²⁰

The council's published registration requirements do not include a post-qualification supervised practice year for social workers.¹⁹ Applicants who want certainty on their own file should confirm the current document list with the SACSSP directly.

Two further SACSSP categories fall outside this guide: the social auxiliary worker and the child and youth care worker are both registrable and both protected, and their qualification routes are set by the council rather than described here.¹⁹

Psychiatric and mental health nursing

Nurses are registered by neither of the councils above. The South African Nursing Council holds their register under the Nursing Act 33 of 2005.

Registration is a precondition of practice. No person may practise as a practitioner unless registered in at least one of the categories the Act sets: professional nurse, midwife, staff nurse, auxiliary nurse or auxiliary midwife.³⁵ The titles are protected in the same section: no person may use professional nurse, midwife, staff nurse, auxiliary nurse or auxiliary midwife as a title unless registered as such (s31(4)). A separate section, s43(1), gives a registered person the fuller forms Registered Professional Nurse, Registered Midwife, Registered Staff Nurse, Registered Auxiliary Nurse and Registered Auxiliary Midwife.³⁵ An employer may not employ anyone to do nursing work who is not qualified and registered.³⁵

The first qualification

Two four-year programmes matter here, and they are not versions of each other.

• R.425 of 22 February 1985 is the legacy four-year degree or diploma. It registers the holder as a Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife, so psychiatric nursing sits inside the first qualification. The council has confirmed it is a legacy qualification being phased out under the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework, that the last intake was 2019, and that the programme continues only for its pipeline students through a teach-out period³⁶
• R.174 of 8 March 2013 is the new four-year programme, leading to registration in the categories professional nurse and midwife. Accredited institutions began offering it in 2021, and the council describes the two qualifications as mutually exclusive rather than one replacing the other³⁶³⁷

Shorter routes lead to the other categories: R.171 of 8 March 2013 to staff nurse, and R.169 of 8 March 2013 to auxiliary nurse.³⁷

The practical difference for a reader planning a mental health career is this. Under R.425 the psychiatric component was part of the first qualification. Under R.174 the first qualification is a general professional nurse and midwife qualification, and mental health nursing is taken afterwards as a specialisation.

Community service

A South African citizen registering for the first time to practise in a prescribed category must perform one year of remunerated community service at a public health facility, and is registered in the community service category while doing it.³⁵

The mental health specialisation

There are two routes on the books, reflecting the same old-framework and new-framework split.

• Post-basic, under R.212 of 19 February 1993. Psychiatric Nursing Science is one of the seven clinical nursing qualifications this regulation instituted. Admission requires current registration as a general nurse, maintained for the whole course; the course runs at least one academic year of 44 weeks; and the qualification is registered with the council as an additional qualification³⁸³⁵
• Postgraduate diploma, under the new framework. The regulations for education and training leading to registration as a nurse specialist or midwife specialist were gazetted as GN R.635 of 5 June 2020.³⁹ The council's list of universities accredited to offer the new nursing programmes carries a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing at several institutions, alongside the Bachelor of Nursing³⁷

Older legacy instruments remain on the council's list of regulations, including R.880 of 2 May 1975 for the diploma in psychiatric nursing leading to registration as a psychiatric nurse.³⁷

Which route is open to a given applicant depends on the year and the institution. Ask the nursing education institution which regulation its programme is accredited under, and confirm with the SANC that the qualification will register.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapists register with the HPCSA and work extensively in mental health settings, including psychiatric clinics and forensic services.¹⁸

The undergraduate degree runs four years at the programmes checked here. The University of Pretoria's Bachelor of Occupational Therapy carries 506 credits at NQF level 8, has a minimum duration of study of four years, and requires at least 1 000 hours of clinical practical work over the four years in order to register with the HPCSA.³¹ The Wits curriculum is likewise structured across first year to fourth year, combining medical sciences, psychology and occupational therapy modules from first year onwards.¹⁸

Occupational therapy is one of the professions named in the community service regulations.¹⁴ A graduate registering for the first time performs community service of not less than one calendar year before independent registration.¹⁴

Arts therapies

Arts therapists register with the HPCSA, under the Professional Board for Occupational Therapy, Medical Orthotics and Prosthetics and Arts Therapy. That Board's minimum standards of training, approved on 22 May 2020, state that the discipline of arts therapy in South Africa consists of four professions: art, dance movement, drama and music therapy.⁴⁰

The standards set the shape of the qualification for all four. Entry requires a fourth-year or honours degree in the art medium, in arts therapy or in a related field, third-year Psychology, and demonstrated ability to use the medium therapeutically. Course content must be aligned to NQF level 9. Every student must complete 1 000 hours of supervised practice over the master's and any internship, documented and verified by the institution, and all practice must be supervised by a registered arts therapist.⁴⁰ Completing the degree programme is what allows the graduate to register.⁴⁰

SANATA, the South African National Arts Therapies Association, is a voluntary professional association covering the same four disciplines. It is not a statutory register, and its directory is used below only for what it is: an observation of who is currently listed.²⁷

Where the four disciplines differ is whether a South African training programme currently exists.

Art therapy

Art therapy training in South Africa is recent. The honours course launched in 2020 and the first master's cohort started in 2022; before that the only training available was overseas.²⁴ The route runs through the University of Johannesburg in two stages.

• BA Honours in Art Therapy: NQF level 8, 120 credits, one year full-time or two years part-time (SAQA 111248)²²
• MA in Art Therapy (Coursework): NQF level 9, 180 credits, two years full-time or three years part-time (SAQA 118673)²³

The honours is preparation for the master's, which is the qualification that leads to practice as an art therapist. The master's facilitates clinical placement and supervision aligned to the registration required with the HPCSA and SANATA.²⁴

Music therapy

Music therapy training is at the University of Pretoria. The qualification is the MMus in Music Therapy, 180 credits at NQF level 9, with a minimum duration of study of one year, comprising a taught theoretical section, a practical clinical internship assessed through on-site and group supervision, and a dissertation.²⁵

The internship is substantial and the regulator sets its standard. Students complete a supervised clinical internship of 1 000 hours, assessed in accordance with the Minimum Standards of Training set out by the HPCSA, and become eligible for registration only on passing both the coursework module and the internship.²⁵

Entry requires a relevant honours degree or four-year bachelor's degree at NQF level 8, a weighted average of at least 65%, Psychology passed at final-year level, a practical audition or portfolio, and an interview.²⁶

Drama therapy

Drama therapy is trained at the University of the Witwatersrand, through the Drama for Life programme. The MA in Drama Therapy carries 180 credits, split between a 90-credit research component and 90 credits of theory and practice, with modules including theories of personality, abnormal psychology and arts therapies approaches, critical reflexive praxis, clinical placement and ethics. Wits also offers a BA Honours in Drama Therapy as an introduction to it, and entry to the master's requires an honours degree with a 65% aggregate.²⁸

The Wits MA is the qualification named most often on SANATA's directory of drama therapists: 12 of the 25 listings name it, as at September 2026. The rest name master's degrees from elsewhere in South Africa and from the United Kingdom and the United States, or give no institution.²⁷

Dance movement therapy

Dance movement therapy is one of the four professions the Board's minimum standards name,⁴⁰ but we found no South African training programme in it. Every dance movement therapist on SANATA's directory as at September 2026 qualified abroad, at Naropa University in the United States and the University of Roehampton in the United Kingdom among others, and each carries an HPCSA arts therapist registration number.²⁷ Anyone intending to practise it here should plan on training abroad and a separate HPCSA assessment on return.

Counselling outside the statutory system

Not everyone who offers counselling in South Africa holds one of the qualifications above. Titles such as counsellor, wellness counsellor and life coach carry no statutory protection, and no academic requirement attaches to them by law.

That does not make the work worthless, and many practitioners in this space are well trained and work ethically within their competence. It does mean the qualification tells you less, because no council has set a minimum for it. Only the routes above lead to a register the public can search, and only registered practitioners may perform the acts reserved to a regulated profession.

Our companion guide sets out which titles are protected, which bodies are statutory and which are voluntary, and how to check any practitioner's standing. See mental health licensing and regulation in South Africa.

Qualifications earned outside South Africa

A foreign qualification does not convert automatically. Applications for registration in psychology from candidates with a non-South African qualification are considered on an ad hoc basis.⁴

The evidence required is extensive: notarised copies of all degree certificates and transcripts with sworn English translations where applicable, the institution's calendar for the year studies commenced showing the syllabus, evidence of experience, and an original letter of good standing from the registering authority abroad no older than six months.⁴

Two further requirements catch applicants out. Where the qualification was obtained in another language, an IELTS letter with a band score of 6 is required. A SAQA evaluation is also required, and the HPCSA is explicit that its own requirements and verification are not replaced by the SAQA certificate.⁴

Movement in the other direction is not automatic either. HPCSA registration confers no standing abroad, and each destination regulator assesses South African qualifications independently.

One clarification on recognition instruments, because it is often stated wrongly. UNESCO maintains five regional conventions. The instrument for the Africa region is the Addis Convention; the Lisbon Recognition Convention covers Europe and North America.²⁹

Recognition of an academic qualification is in any case a separate question from a licence to practise. Neither convention obliges a health regulator to register anyone.

Regulation, protected titles and verification

Three statutory councils hold the registers behind every qualification on this page. Each is created by its own Act, and registration with the right one is what makes the title lawful.

Which titles the law protects, the offences for practising unregistered, and how to check a named practitioner on a public register are answered in our companion guide, mental health licensing and regulation in South Africa.

Choosing a route, and finding a therapist

If you are choosing a training route, three questions narrow it faster than any prospectus.

• What do you want to be able to do? The scope regulations, not the degree name, set the boundary.³
• How long can you fund? A registered counsellor qualifies through a single four-year degree. Clinical psychology adds an honours year, a professional master's, a 12-month internship and a 12-month community service year on top of the first degree. That gap is the biggest practical difference between the routes.
• Is the programme accredited for the register you want? Ask the department which register its graduates enter. A degree in a related subject does not become a professional qualification because the content overlaps.

If you are looking for a therapist rather than a training route, the qualifications above are the ones to ask about. TherapyRoute is a clinician-run directory, founded by an HPCSA-registered clinical psychologist. Start with our guide on how to find the right therapist.

Last reviewed: September 2026. Jurisdiction: South Africa. Programme details are set by individual faculties and change between intakes; confirm with the university and the relevant council before applying.

Team TherapyRoute

References

1. [1] Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974), s17: registration a prerequisite for practising. gov.za.
2. [2] Regulations Defining the Scope of the Profession of Psychology, GN R.993, Government Gazette 31433 (16 September 2008), regs 1-2: "psychology" means the profession of a person registered under the Act as a psychologist, psychometrist, registered counsellor, psycho technician or in any other category of registration as may be established by the board; reg 2 lists the acts specially pertaining to the profession. gov.za.
3. [3] Scope of the Profession of Psychology (Amendment), GN R.704, Government Gazette 34581 (2 September 2011), Annexure paras 1-9: separate scopes of practice for registered counsellors, psychometrists, clinical, counselling, educational, research and industrial psychologists, neuro-psychologists and forensic psychology. Registered counsellors: screening, primary mental status screening, basic assessment and interventions; assessment excluding projective, neuropsychological and diagnostic tests; referral. gov.za.
4. [4] HPCSA Professional Board for Psychology, Registration Requirements, ss1-3, 10: student psychologist registers within four months of starting M1; intern registration requires the university letter confirming a pass at the end of the first master’s year, plus supervisor letters; registration categories are clinical, counselling, educational, industrial and research; foreign qualifications are considered ad hoc, with an IELTS band 6 letter and a SAQA evaluation that does not replace HPCSA verification. hpcsa.co.za.
5. [5] HPCSA Registration Requirements, s4: "Clinical Psychologists are the only category of practitioners registered under the ambit of the Board that are required to perform 12 months compulsory Community Service"; from 1 January 2019 intern clinical psychologists write the National Board Examination before commencing community service. hpcsa.co.za.
6. [6] HPCSA Registration Requirements, ss6-7 (psychometrists): accredited 4-year B Psych or equivalent with an approved 6-month or 720-hour face-to-face practicum; logbook countersigned by the supervisor; National Board Examination at 70%; register within 2 years. hpcsa.co.za.
7. [7] HPCSA Registration Requirements, ss8-9 (registered counsellors): Form 24 RC, a letter confirming a pass in the Board Examination, and a notarised copy of the 4-year bachelor’s degree in Psychology or B Psych Equivalent. hpcsa.co.za.
8. [8] HPCSA Form 258 (Nov 2024), Framework for Education, Training, Registration and Scope of Registered Counsellors, ss3-4, 6-7: a professional Bachelor’s degree in Psychology (480 credits, exit at NQF level 8) with an approved full-time 6-month practicum, or a BPsych Equivalent with an approved full-time 720-hour face-to-face practicum; students register from first year under GN 287 of 9 October 2012; the accredited curriculum is listed at s6. hpcsa.co.za.
9. [9] HPCSA Form 258 (Nov 2024), s9: practicum of six months full-time in the professional BPsych, or 720 hours face-to-face in the BPsych Equivalent; undertaken in the community context and not in a psychiatric setting; extension limited to three months. hpcsa.co.za.
10. [10] HPCSA Form 258 (Nov 2024), s11: Registered Counsellors may select, administer, score, interpret and report on certain tests and bill for the service where trained; they may not use TAT, CAT, Rorschach or measures for diagnosing psychopathology such as the MMPI-2, nor undertake forensic or neuropsychological assessment. hpcsa.co.za.
11. [11] HPCSA Form 258 (Nov 2024), s12: the accredited institution supervises Student Registered Counsellors; 20 hours of structured supervision; supervisor with 3 years post-registration experience; maximum ratio 1:5. No post-registration supervision period is set anywhere in the framework. hpcsa.co.za.
12. [12] HPCSA Form 258 (Nov 2024), s13: "Graduates have to register as Registered Counsellors within three (3) years of completion of their academic and practical training"; thereafter the bands are measured as exceedances OF that deadline, not as time since training. Persons who "exceed the timeframe ... by more than 3 to 5 years" complete a further 3-month practicum; "by more than 5 to 7 years and 11 months", a 6-month practicum; "by 8 years or more", they are not eligible for registration in the category. hpcsa.co.za.
13. [13] HPCSA Form 105-COUNS, internship training site requirements (Counselling Psychology): "Training can only be recognised if it takes place in an approved institution on a full-time basis (40 hours per week) over a minimum period of 12 months." PsySSA-hosted copy of the HPCSA form. psyssa.com.
14. [14] Regulations Relating to the Performance of Community Service by Persons Registering in terms of the Health Professions Act, 1974, GN R688, Government Gazette 18890 (15 May 1998), as amended by GN R498 (GG 21178), GN R69 (GG 23047, 22 January 2002) and GN R620 (GG 34494), regs 2.1, 5-6: the listed professions include occupational therapy and clinical psychology; service is performed at a gazetted facility; where interrupted the periods must total not less than one calendar year and be completed within a maximum of two years, failing which service already performed lapses. nicd.ac.za.
15. [15] Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, Regulations for Admission to the Fellowship of the College of Psychiatrists of South Africa, FC Psych(SA), masthead dated August 2023, ss1, 3: Part I and Part II, with Part II passed within 36 months of completing registrar training time (defined as 48 months); Part I requires full HPCSA registration post-internship, that is with the community service year complete; registrar training may commence only after internship (2 years) and community service (1 year); Part II requires 33 of the 48 months, an accepted portfolio of learning, and the placements listed at s3.2; a completed MMed research output is a university and an HPCSA requirement for specialist registration. cmsa.co.za.
16. [16] University of Cape Town, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Registrars: "A four-year specialist training programme is offered for registrars appointed to clinical posts with the Department of Health. From 2018, candidates are required to write the FCPsych(SA) Part I examination... all candidates must pass the FCPsych(SA) Part II examination and complete an MMed research dissertation." health.uct.ac.za.
17. [17] University of the Witwatersrand course finder, Medicine and Surgery (MBBCh): the published curriculum runs first-year to sixth-year, ending with Integrated Clinical Medicine B; Psychiatry is listed among the areas of specialisation. wits.ac.za.
18. [18] University of the Witwatersrand course finder, Occupational Therapy: the published curriculum runs first-year to fourth-year, combining medical sciences, psychology and occupational therapy modules; listed practice settings include psychiatric clinics and forensic services. wits.ac.za.
19. [19] SACSSP Registration: social workers, social auxiliary workers and child and youth care workers must register with the SACSSP under the Social Service Professions Act 110 of 1978 and its Regulations before practising, and students must register too; the documents for social worker registration include a certified copy of the qualification on the basis of which application is made (BSW). No post-qualification supervised practice year appears among the requirements. sacssp.co.za.
20. [20] SACSSP Education, Training and Development: the Professional Board for Social Work determines prescribed qualifications and minimum standards, and has published the Norms and Standards for the Bachelor of Social Work (2020) and an Assessment Tool for Quality Assurance of the BSW programme (2020). sacssp.co.za.
21. [21] SAQA registered qualification, Bachelor of Social Work (Qual ID 23994): sub-framework HEQSF, type National First Degree (Min 480), minimum credits 480, NQF Level 08; the purpose statement describes "this professional four-year qualification". Status: passed the end date, last date for achievement 2030-06-30. allqs.saqa.org.za.
22. [22] University of Johannesburg, BA Honours in Art Therapy (H8TH1Q, SAQA 111248): NQF Level 8, 120 credits, 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time; preparation for practice as an Art Therapist on completion of a Masters in Art Therapy. Archived UJ course page. web.archive.org.
23. [23] University of Johannesburg, MA in Art Therapy (Coursework) (M8TH1Q, SAQA 118673): NQF Level 9, 180 credits, 2 years full-time or 3 years part-time, Department of Visual Art. Archived UJ course page. web.archive.org.
24. [24] UJ Art Therapy programme site: the honours course launched in 2020 and the first masters cohort started in 2022, until when the only training available was overseas; the Masters "facilitates clinical placement and supervision aligned to ethical and professional standards that leads to required registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and South African National Art Therapy Association (SANATA)". ujarttherapy.co.za.
25. [25] University of Pretoria Yearbook, MMus in Music Therapy (01250220), School of the Arts: 180 credits, NQF level 09, minimum duration of study 1 year; theoretical section, practical clinical internship and dissertation; "the student is required to complete a supervised clinical internship of 1 000 hours, assessed in accordance with the Minimum Standards of Training as set out by the Health Professions Council of South Africa. The student will only be eligible for registration with the HPCSA upon passing both MUZ 886 and the clinical internship." Archived UP yearbook entry. web.archive.org.
26. [26] University of Pretoria, MMus in Music Therapy programme page: admission requires a relevant honours degree or relevant four-year bachelor’s degree (NQF level 8), a weighted average of at least 65%, Psychology passed at final-year level, a practical audition or portfolio, and an interview. up.ac.za.
27. [27] South African National Arts Therapies Association (SANATA), Find an Arts Therapist directory and discipline pages: SANATA covers art therapy, music therapy, drama therapy and dance movement therapy; listed drama therapists predominantly hold the MA Drama Therapy from the University of the Witwatersrand; the three listed dance movement therapists hold overseas qualifications (Naropa University, USA; University of Roehampton, UK; MSc Dance Movement Psychotherapy) and carry HPCSA arts therapist registration numbers. SANATA is a voluntary professional association, not a statutory council; its listings are used here only as observations of the directory, read September 2026. sanata.org.
28. [28] University of the Witwatersrand course finder, MA Drama Therapy (ACA00, Drama for Life) and BAHons Drama Therapy: the MA carries 180 credits, 90 for the research component and 90 for Drama Therapy Theory and Practice, with modules including Theories of Personality, Abnormal Psychology and Arts Therapies Approaches, Critical Reflexive Praxis, Clinical Placement and Ethics; the honours is "an introduction to the MA (Drama Therapy)" and the master’s requires an honours degree with a 65% aggregate. wits.ac.za.
29. [29] UNESCO, Higher education regional conventions: for Africa the instrument is the Revised Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Certificates, Diplomas, Degrees and Other Academic Qualifications in Higher Education in African States (Addis Convention); for Europe and North America it is the Lisbon Recognition Convention, 1997, in force 1999. unesco.org.
30. [30] Council on Higher Education, The Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (as revised January 2013), qualification type specifications and paragraph 29. Bachelor’s Degree: "NQF Exit Level: 7, Minimum total credits: 360" or "NQF Exit Level: 8, Minimum total credits: 480". Bachelor Honours Degree: "NQF Level: 8, Minimum total credits: 120". Master’s Degree and Master’s Degree (Professional): "NQF Exit Level 9, Minimum total credits: 180". Para 29 sets the credit-to-time relationship: "a minimum credit-load of 120 credits per academic year for Certificates, Diplomas and Bachelor’s Degrees and 180 credits per academic year for Master’s Degrees and Doctorates", on a 30-week full-time academic year for undergraduate types and 45 weeks for master’s. che.ac.za.
31. [31] University of Pretoria Yearbook 2024, Bachelor of Occupational Therapy [BOT] (10138003), Department of Occupational Therapy: "Minimum duration of study 4 years, Total credits 506, NQF level 08"; "The programme extends over four academic years, during which period a student receives clinical training as a student occupational therapist at an institution approved by the University. Students must complete at least 1 000 hours’ clinical practical work over the four years of study in order to register as an occupational therapist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa." Confirmed unchanged in the 2026 yearbook. up.ac.za.
32. [32] University of the Witwatersrand course finder, MA Clinical Psychology (programme code ACA02, School of Human and Community Development): "Duration 2 years", full-time; the programme "comprises three main elements: a year of theoretical coursework and applied training offered full-time at the university; the completion of a clinically orientated research study and report; and a full-time internship of 12 months", with the internship set out under the heading "SECOND YEAR: CLINICAL INTERNSHIP". Entry requires a Psychology major and Honours in psychology with a minimum 65% average. The page independently corroborates the clinical-category sequence: the Professional Board "requires that Clinical Psychologists complete a year of paid community service in order to register as an independent practitioners", and "Upon completion of the internship, prospective psychologists also have to complete the Board Exam". wits.ac.za.
33. [33] HPCSA Professional Board for Psychology, National Board Examinations Policy (Form 255), updated September 2023, ss3(b), 3(d), 5.2, 5.4: separate papers for clinical, counselling, educational, industrial and research psychology, neuropsychology, registered counsellors and psychometrists in independent and in supervised practice; "All newly qualified practitioners i.e. Psychologists (including clinical psychologists), Registered Counsellors and Psychometrists are required to write the National Board Examinations before applying for registration", as are all persons who have exceeded the timeframes for registration; examinations on the first Wednesday of February, June and October with closing dates 15 December, 30 April and 31 August; pass mark 70%; English only. Archived copy of the HPCSA-hosted policy. web.archive.org.
34. [34] HPCSA Professional Board for Psychology, Handbook for Intern Psychologists and Accredited Institutions, ss2.1, 3.3.1-3.3.2: the minimum academic requirement is five years of full-time formal education in psychology; "Training can only be recognised if it takes place in an approved institution on a full-time basis (40 hours per week) over a minimum period of 12 months", within which no more than four weeks may be taken as leave or sick leave; the internship must be within the registration category prepared for in the first year of the directed master’s. Category-general Board document, hosted by the University of the Free State. ufs.ac.za.
35. [35] Nursing Act, 2005 (Act No. 33 of 2005), ss31, 34, 40, 43: no person may practise as a practitioner unless registered in at least one of the categories professional nurse, midwife, staff nurse, auxiliary nurse or auxiliary midwife (s31(1)); an employer may not employ an unregistered person to perform nursing functions (s31(3)); the council registers prescribed additional qualifications (s34); a citizen registering for the first time in a prescribed category must perform one year of remunerated community service at a public health facility and is registered in the community service category while doing so (s40); no person may use as a title any of the registrable categories unless registered as such (s31(4)), and a person registered in one of those categories may use the corresponding titles Registered Professional Nurse, Registered Midwife, Registered Staff Nurse, Registered Auxiliary Midwife or Registered Auxiliary Nurse (s43(1)). gov.za.
36. [36] South African Nursing Council, "Factual information on R425 Registered Nurse, R174 Professional Nurse and Midwife, and R171 General Nurse", 25 May 2020: R.425 of 22 February 1985 is the four-year degree or diploma leading to registration as a Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife; it is "a legacy nursing qualification that is being phased out like all other legacy qualifications in the country, in line with the requirements of the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework"; "The last intake for this programme was 2019" and it continues for pipeline students including a two-year teach-out; R.174 of 8 March 2013 is the new four-year programme for the categories Professional Nurse and Midwife, which accredited institutions opted to begin offering in 2021; the two are "mutually exclusive qualifications and none is a replacement of the other". sanc.co.za.
37. [37] South African Nursing Council, Regulations by Type and Name (R.169 of 8 March 2013, Auxiliary Nurse; R.171 of 8 March 2013, Staff Nurse; R.174 of 8 March 2013, Professional Nurse and Midwife; R.212 of 19 February 1993, clinical nursing science additional qualification; R.425 of 22 February 1985; R.880 of 2 May 1975, diploma in Psychiatric Nursing for registration as a Psychiatric Nurse), and SANC, "Universities accredited to offer the new nursing programmes", 8 March 2024, which lists the Bachelor of Nursing and a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing among the accredited programmes. sanc.co.za.
38. [38] Regulations Relating to the Course in Clinical Nursing Science Leading to Registration of an Additional Qualification, GN R.212 of 19 February 1993 as amended by R.74 of 17 January 1997, regs 1, 2, 4 and 5: the clinical nursing qualifications are Child, Community, Gerontological, Medical and Surgical, Midwifery and Neonatal, Occupational Health and Psychiatric Nursing Science; application must be accompanied by proof of current registration as a general nurse, maintained for the full duration of the course; "The duration of the course shall be at least one academic year of 44 weeks." SANC-hosted text. sanc.co.za.
39. [39] Nursing Act (33/2005): Regulations relating to the approval of and the minimum requirements for the education and training of a student leading to registration as a Nurse Specialist or Midwife Specialist, GN R.635, Government Gazette 43398 (5 June 2020). sanc.co.za.
40. [40] HPCSA Professional Board for Occupational Therapy, Medical Orthotics/Prosthetics and Arts Therapy, Minimum Standards of Training for Arts Therapy Students, approved by the Board 22 May 2020: "In South Africa the discipline of arts therapy consists of four professions: art, dance movement, drama and music therapy"; entry requires a fourth-year or honours degree in the modality, arts therapy or a related field, plus third-year Psychology; course content must be aligned to NQF 9 level descriptors; "All students must complete 1000 hours of practice, under supervision over the course of the Master’s training and internship (if required)", documented and verified by the institution; all practice must be under the direct supervision of a registered arts therapist; completion of the degree programme allows the graduate to register with the HPCSA. Archived copy of the HPCSA-hosted document. web.archive.org.