Grief Psychologists in Cape Town

Grief is a normal response to a death rather than an illness. Counselling helps some people carry it.

The work covers the person who died, the circumstances, and what has changed since. For a smaller number, grief stays intense and daily life does not resume. Clinicians call that prolonged grief disorder, and they treat it differently ¹. If that sounds like you, ask a practitioner whether they treat prolonged grief disorder.

Grief does not run to a timetable. Ask a practitioner whether they work with bereavement. Say what kind of loss it was.

Everyone on this page is listed under the professional title psychologist. Psychologists apply the study of the mind and behaviour to assist people through difficulty. Clinical psychologists work with people of all ages, with families, carers, teams and communities.

Assessment belongs to a psychologist's training, and sits alongside therapy. Clinical, counselling and educational psychology are different training routes. Each route emphasises different work.

Which titles are registered varies by country. Where the title is registered, the register says what it covers. Ask a psychologist which route they trained through, and what they work with most.

Our Cape Town fee guide puts a session with a clinical psychologist at R1,100 to R1,900. Those are the published fees of the few practices that publish them, not a survey.

Groote Schuur Hospital - Psychiatry Outpatient Services. Phone +27 21 404 9111. Western Cape public hospitals charge on a means-tested scale. Patients in the lowest band pay nothing for specialist outpatient visits. Public patients are accepted by referral from a district or secondary service. Each specialty has its own eligibility criteria.

Titles you will see include Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist and Educational Psychologist. Search the register by name at Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Check that the name and title match and that the entry is current. If they do not, ask the practitioner why.

In South Africa psychologists and social workers must be registered to practise. No statute protects the plain title counsellor.

See the South Africa page.