Page 103 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Christian Psychology alive
Why professionalise?
Pastoral and Spiritual Care and Counselling
should be clearly distinguished from the other
helping disciplines through its deep understan-
ding of the spiritual needs of people. This will
enable Pastoral and Spiritual Care and Coun-
selling Practitioners to render recognised and
professional services to their communities.
Proper oversight and regulation has become
critical to align the profession with the dynamic
and ever changing landscape of South African
socio-political needs, as well as constant chan-
ges in the field of spiritual health and wellbeing.
Since 1991 the Southern African Association
for Pastoral Work (SAAP) envisaged a process
of professionalising pastoral care and counsel-
ling practices in South Africa. Applications to
register with the Health Professions Council of
South Africa (HPCSA) and the South African
Council for Social Services Professions (SACS-
SP), however, proved unsuccessful. In June 2012
an avenue opened with the South African Qua-
lifications Authority (SAQA)’s new policy for
1
the recognition of professional bodies.
After several workshops held to consult its
membership, the SAAP Executive made a prin-
ciple decision in 2013 to follow this route and
apply with SAQA for recognition as a non-sta-
tutory professional body for Pastoral and Spiri-
tual Care and Counselling.
The rationale is to advance Pastoral and Spi-
ritual Care and Counselling as a science, as a
profession and as a means of promoting spiri-
tual health, education and human wellbeing.
Through a consistent and detailed “scope of
practice” it would help ensure the competence
of practitioners and establish a pathway to lear-
ning for progress in the field of Pastoral and
Spiritual Care and Counselling in South Africa.
Objectives
The objectives of the professional body have
been stated as follows:
1 Policy & Criteria for Recognising a Professional Body
and Registering a Professional Designation for the Pur- gulate, a recognised community of expert
poses of the National Qualifications Framework Act, Act
67 of 2008
102
• To guide the profession and to protect the
client.
• To assist in the promotion of spiritual health
and wellness of the population of the Repu-
blic of South Africa.
• To control and exercise authority in respect
of matters affecting training of persons in
and the manner of the exercise of the practi-
ces pursued in connection with pastoral and
spiritual care and counselling or prevention
of spiritual health and wellness defects.
• To promote liaison for training in the field
of Pastoral and Spiritual Care and Counsel-
ling, as well as standards of this training in
the Republic of South Africa.
• To advise churches and other authorities on
any matter falling within the scope of Pasto-
ral and Spiritual Care and Counselling, in
order to support universal norms and va-
lues, with greater emphasis on professional
practice, democracy, transparency, equity,
accessibility and community involvement.
• To communicate to churches and other au-
thorities information of public importance,
acquired by the professional body in the
course of the performance of its functions.
• To maintain and enhance the dignity of Pa-
storal and Spiritual Care and Counselling
and the integrity of the practitioners practi-
cing the profession.
Criteria
• The professional body shall comply with the
following criteria:
• Protect the interest and the professional sta-
tus of its members.
• Protect the public interest in relation to ser-
vices provided by the practitioners and the
associated risks.
• Show evidence of inherent social respon-
sibility and advancing the objectives of the
National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
• Be a legally constituted entity with the ne-
cessary human and financial resources to
undertake its functions, governed by a con-
stitution and compliant with good corpora-
te governance practices.
• Represent, and where applicable, also re-
pastoral and spiritual care and counselling
practitioners.