The Specialist Wellness Counsellor
The Specialist Wellness Counsellor designation is the highest registration the Association for Supportive Counsellors and Holistic Practitioners (ASCHP) offers within the Wellness Counsellor category. The term “Wellness Counsellor” is an umbrella term for all counsellors in the informal sector of counselling, for example:
- Marriage counsellors
- Counselling of the elderly
- Temperament, stress, and anxiety counsellors
- Substance abuse counsellors
- Problem solving
- Bereavement counsellors
- Lifestyle and life skills counsellors
- Folk medicine and herbal support counsellors
- Youth counsellors
- Relationship counsellors
- Any other type of counselling according to people’s needs
The ASCHP evolved out of two other associations that have existed for the past two decades, i.e. the Council for Counsellors in SA (CCSA) and the Natural Healers Association (NHA). It is a relatively new professional body, only formally registering with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) in 2015. Its main purpose is to serve counsellors who primarily work in the wellness domain. Consequently, not many people know about the Specialist Wellness Counsellor profession or what it entails.
Counselling is the act whereby a trained counsellor enters into a formal helping relationship with a client in need of counselling. It enables one or more persons to move through the process of finding solutions to their concerns or difficulties, including life skills and lifestyle coaching, general health care support, relationship building, problem-solving, and the finding of renewed meaning and purpose in life. Counselling may take various forms, including with individuals, couples, families, or domestic units and groups.
Counselling is a recognised profession in South Africa, where counsellors frequently work in a variety of contexts and frequently in environments where mental health professionals (such as psychologists and social workers) are not necessarily accessible to the majority of the population. Research shows a general shortage of mental health professionals in South Africa, indicating, for example, that only 0.97 psychologists are working in the public sector for every 100 000 people (De Kock & Pillay, 2017).
Wellness Counsellors work on the level of primary health care as the first line of support. Therefore, they are required to refer clients to psychologists, social workers, and medical physicians when and where it may be needed. The scope of practice for Wellness Counsellors is based on the first line of entry and hence does not include psychotherapy – meaning that Wellness Counsellors are NOT therapists. Instead, Wellness Counsellors support clients with basic needs and day-to-day problems. Wellness Counsellors are not qualified to diagnose pathology, use psychometric tests and effect personality changes, or use medical or psychological treatment protocols, but rather screen for needs and enhance well-being.
The Specialist Wellness Counsellor serves to enhance the total wellbeing of their clients by making use of a systems approach to counselling – working towards achieving wholeness within the integrative unity of body, mind and spirit. The level of counselling is that of primary health care. The Specialist Wellness Counsellor is qualified as a counsellor on at least NQF level 8+. The Specialist Wellness Counsellor is a member of the ASCHP with an applicable postgraduate qualification and at least 100 hours of practical experience.
Specialist Wellness Counsellors specialise in one or more of the following areas of counselling/coaching:
- Individual counselling
- Drug and alcohol abuse counselling
- Counselling for addictive behaviours
- Support and assistance in human development
- Marriage counselling
- Trauma counselling
- HIV/Aids counselling
- Loss and bereavement counselling
- Lifestyle coaching
- Counselling for problems
- Research in the domain of counselling
- Hospice counselling
The Specialist Wellness Counsellor is competent in providing comprehensive and specialised counselling support to improve the client’s quality of life by helping the client to resolve conflicts, improve relationships, sort out general problems, cope with life’s challenges, and find inner peace.
The primary aim of the Specialist Wellness Counsellor is not to treat, but to improve, not to diagnose, but to screen (identify), and not to cure, but rather to care. Various techniques and tools are utilised to accomplish these goals, which require skills with certain basic outcomes.
The generic scope of a life skills practice is that of wellness rather than psychology, which includes, but is not limited to:
- Interpersonal social relationships
- Health related issues (such as stress management)
- Household planning
- Risk taking
- Management of anxiety and depression
- Improvement of employment prospects
- Any general problem that people encounter in day-to-day living
- Spiritual growth
- Lifestyle management in prevention of chronic diseases
- HIV/Aids counselling
- Workplace adaptation
- Study methods
- Meeting cultural issues and diversity in the workplace
- Mental preparation for retirement
- Marital relationships
- Parental relationships
- Victim empowerment
- Domestic violence
- Trauma debriefing
- Substance abuse
- Support of vulnerable people
- Support to people with disabilities
The counsellor’s scope of practice is comprehensive but excludes psychotherapy, social work, medical health work, and occupational therapy. The Specialist Wellness Counsellor is not allowed to diagnose or treat mental health conditions. Therefore, a Specialist Wellness Counsellor is required to refer clients to medical and psychological professionals if they identify needs that require specialised intervention, such as mood, personality and anxiety disorders, and health-related problems that require medical attention.
The ASCHP requires its counsellors to undergo Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This is the process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge, and experience gained both formally and informally as counsellors work, beyond any initial training. It’s a record of what counsellors experience, learn and then apply. The purpose of CPD training is to keep members up to date with development in terms of legislation, research, counselling tools and techniques, and ethical issues. Thus, CPD is how counsellors maintain, improve, and broaden their knowledge and skills, and develop the personal qualities and competencies required in their working lives. The ASCHP currently requires that Specialist Wellness Counsellors complete 18 CPD points every year.
Sources
De Kock, J. H., & Pillay, B. J. (2017). A situation analysis of psychiatrists in South Africa’s rural primary healthcare settings. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v9i1.1335
https://www.aschp.net/designations.html
https://www.aschp.net/faqs.html
The ASCHP Rules and Regulations
Interested in Receiving Counselling?
Send an email to thebloomingpractice@gmail.com or a WhatsApp message to +27 71 342 9810 to make an appointment with me or ask any questions.
I will respond in between seeing clients during the following South African business hours (GMT +2):
- Monday: 08h30 – 19h00 (excluding 10h30 to 13h00)
- Tuesday: 08h30 – 19h00 (excluding 10h30 to 13h00)
- Wednesday: 08h30 – 19h00 (excluding 10h30 to 13h00)
- Thursday: 08h30 – 19h00 (excluding 10h30 to 13h00)
- Friday: Closed
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: 09h00 – 13h30
In case of an emergency, go to your nearest police station or to the emergency room of your nearest hospital.
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The Blooming Practice 
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