Ethical Guidelines For Registered Counsellors Advertising Their Practice - SACAP
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Ethical Guidelines for Registered Counsellors Advertising their Practice

Nov 04, 2024 | By Dr Vikki Botes
Reading time: 6 min
Young Registered Counsellor checking that they're following the guidelines before advertising their practice
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In the early 2000s, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) recognised the need for preventative interventions in South Africa when it launched the professional category of Registered Counsellors. The purpose of Registered Counsellors is to prevent the escalation of mental health concerns to more advanced levels of mental health challenges. This is primarily done through psychoeducation and preventative interventions. Registered Counsellors can make an impact at the community level, by providing mental health care interventions for psychosocial difficulties due to factors such as high crime rates, unemployment and poverty (Joubert & Hay, 2020).

Once successfully qualified, to practice as a Registered Counsellor in Independent Practice, the student needs to register with the HPCSA. The HPCSA regulates the professional practice of practitioners by providing them with rules and regulations. These ensure that practitioners adhere to sound standards of ethical practice and behaviour.

HPCSA Guidelines on Advertising

One area the HPCSA provides guidelines on is the advertising of a practitioner’s practice. The guidelines state the following:

A practitioner may advertise their services in print, online or social media if the advertising is accurate, professional and truthful. Advertising which is inaccurate or leads to unnecessary anxiousness by individuals who suffer from a health condition is not permitted (HPCSA, 2019a).

Further, a practitioner may not tout, canvas or allow others to do touting or canvassing for clients on the practitioner’s behalf. The HPCSA (2019a, p. 11) defines touting as “drawing attention to one’s professional goods or services by offering guarantees or benefits that fall outside one’s scope of practice. An example is advertising free WiFi services to patients while waiting for their consultations.” Free WiFi is not considered to be a part of services offered by practitioners, so it should not be used as a selling point.

Canvassing

Canvassing is defined as “the promotion of one’s professional goods and services by drawing attention to one’s personal qualities, superior knowledge, quality of service, professional guarantees, or best practice. An example of canvassing is a health care practitioner declaring on social media or posting patient reviews that state he or she is ‘the best health care practitioner in the country” (HPCSA, 2019a, p. 11). A statement as such is deceptive and untruthful.

Diligence

When marketing ones practice online and on social media, the content continues to exist on the internet, even if deleted. Thus, practitioners need to be diligent in what they post, ensuring that their marketing always adheres to HPCSA guidelines. Advertising guidelines also focus on advertising professional abilities and scope of practice accurately.

Accurate information

Registered Counsellors must ensure that any information they share about their qualifications and areas of expertise is accurate. This includes details about their education, training, experience, qualifications, credentials, and the psychological services they offer. Registered Counsellors should also accurately represent their affiliations, associations, and research publications. A qualification can only be advertised as a credential if it was acquired from a nationally accredited institution or is a key component of their registration with the HPCSA board.

Registered Counsellors’ Scope of Practice

According to the HPCSA’s minimum standards for the training of Registered Counsellor (2019b), the Registered Counsellors scope of practice includes:

  1. Providing primary, community-based psychological support.
  2. Offering preventative and developmental counselling services and interventions across all system levels.
  3. Conducting supportive psychological interventions to improve emotional functioning and overall well-being.
  4. Carrying out basic psychological screenings and making appropriate referrals. 
  5. Designing developmental and preventative interventions.
  6. Delivering counselling in collaboration with interdisciplinary teams.
  7. Promoting mental health and providing psychoeducation. 
  8. Giving feedback to clients regarding interventions and writing reports.

What to avoid when advertising

Mistakes to avoid when advertising a practice are misrepresenting the registration category and advertising practices that exceed the scope of practice for Registered Counsellors. An example of the misrepresentation of the Registered Counsellor registration category is calling oneself a ‘psychological counsellor’. This is considered a misrepresentation of qualification as a registration category for ‘psychological counselling’ within the HPCSA registration categories does not exist. An example of advertising practices that exceed the scope of practice of Registered Counsellors is advertising the provision of long-term therapy. This act falls within the scope of practice of a psychologist and not a Registered Counsellor.

Registered Counsellors have expertise in providing psychoeducation and conducting psychological and preventative interventions that focus on the promotion and enhancement of psychosocial wellbeing for individuals, families, groups and communities. Registered Counsellors perform psychological screening, basic assessment and psychological interventions with individuals and groups aimed at enhancing personal functioning (HPCSA, 2019b).

Any inaccurate information provided when marketing a practice can mislead the public and undermine the public’s trust in the mental health profession. If you are unsure about the information you plan on advertising, rather consult the ethical guidelines before publishing.

Become a Registered Counsellor

Do you have a desire to provide accessible psychological services that address a range of psychosocial challenges in diverse community settings? Consider SACAP’s Bachelor of Psychology. Successful graduates will be eligible for registration with the HPCSA as a Registered Counsellor. Additionally, graduates will be positioned for admission into a cognate master’s degree in psychology, the social sciences or related fields.

Already have your undergraduate degree in psychology? Ready yourself for registration as a Registered Counsellor with the HPCSA by completing SACAP’s Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Psychology [BPsych Equivalent Programme].

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