If you are in immediate danger or thinking about harming yourself, get help now. Visit a nearby emergency service, hospital, or mental health clinic. If you are in crisis, these helplines answer now:
Crisis numbers in South Africa
- SADAG Suicide Crisis Helpline: Tel: 0800 567 567
- Gender-Based Violence Command Centre: Tel: 0800 428 428 | SMS: send the word help to 31531, published for people with disabilities
- Substance Abuse Helpline: Tel: 0800 12 13 14 | SMS: 32312
- Higher Health, for students and staff: Tel: 0800 36 36 36
- LifeLine Gender Violence Helpline: Tel: 0800 150 150 | WhatsApp: 0800 150 150
- All crisis lines in South Africa
This page lists Social Workers in Pretoria. 17 in all.
What social work covers, from counselling to housing and income
Everyone on this page is listed under the professional title social worker. Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline 1. It promotes social change, cohesion and the empowerment of people.
The training emphasises the systems around a person. Housing, income, schooling, child protection and family conflict are part of it.
In mental health that often means talking work alongside practical support. Ask a practitioner what parts of your situation they would work on.
What this page filters on
These are the only filters: the professional title social worker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a social worker provide therapy?
Yes. Social workers are among the professionals who practise psychotherapy2. Titles and scope vary: clinical social worker, registered social worker, and others. Ask a practitioner what therapy training they hold beyond their social work qualification.
What is the difference between a social worker and a counsellor?
The training differs more than the session does. Social work promotes social change, social cohesion and the empowerment of people1. That training takes in the systems around a person: housing, income, schooling, child protection.
A counsellor's training centres on the conversation. Ask which parts of your situation a practitioner would work on.
Can a social worker prescribe medication?
No. Where medication is part of the question, a social worker refers to a doctor. Ask a practitioner who they would refer you to.
What should I ask before booking?
Ask about credentials and experience, whether the practitioner has a specialty, and what approach they use. Ask whether they have experience with your age group and your difficulty. In private practice, also ask what part of the work is therapy and what part is practical support.
The Pretoria page answers more questions about therapy there.
What these practitioners record
15 of the 17 have included their registration on their profile.
The areas of focus listed most often here are Stress / Burnout (8), Personal Development (7) and Relationship Issues (7).
Sessions here are offered in English, Afrikaans, seTswana and isiZulu.
Who registers therapists in South Africa?
Titles you will see include Social Worker and Student Social Worker. Search the register by name at South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP). A current entry is that body's own published record of the person.
In South Africa psychologists and social workers must be registered to practise. No statute protects the plain title counsellor. See the South Africa page.
Nearby places and related listings
- Black Female Psychologists in Pretoria, two filters on the full Pretoria psychologists list
- Female Psychologists in Pretoria, one filter on the full Pretoria psychologists list
- Male Psychologists in Pretoria, one filter on the full Pretoria psychologists list
- Female Social Workers in Pretoria, one filter on the full Pretoria social workers list
- Counsellors in Pretoria
- Psychologists in Pretoria
- Pretoria: all therapists listed (148)
- Marriage counselling, Pretoria
References
Real choice. Authentic, independent, clinician-led care.
TherapyRoute is a clinician-led directory that champions independent practitioners who answer to you and their professional ethics. We don't take commissions, sell your data, or assign therapists by algorithm. You browse, compare, and choose.
Vincenzo (Enzo) Sinisi, Clinical Psychologist (HPCSA), Psychoanalyst (IPA/SAPA), Group Analyst (IGA)


