The Humanitas Counselling Course

PLEASE NOTE: This course is currently presented in Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban!

Most psychology Honours students who would like to pursue a Masters degree, do not get accepted the first few times around. Honours students who are not accepted into a Masters programme are often told that, unfortunately, they can only “volunteer” until the following year’s Masters applications or that they would need to pursue a different route all together.

For this reason, so many people end up feeling disheartened, helpless and hopeless and many give up on their counselling dreams after not being accepted into Honours or Masters in psychology; stuck with a degree or an honours degree; not knowing where to go from there.

If you can relate to any of the scenarios mentioned, the HUMANITAS Counselling Course might be the answer for you!

Humanitas has partnered with other experts in the fields of psychology, social work and counselling to compile a highly detailed and thoroughly researched training course, aimed at bridging the enormous gap between theory learnt at university and the application thereof in practice.

Over and above a solid theoretical foundation, the Humanitas Counselling Course also provides students the opportunity to gain valuable and crucial practical experience, under supervision, in the field of counselling. Offering them the opportunity to apply the skills learnt. Throughout the practical component of the course, students receive continuous guidance, support and mentorship.

The HUMANITAS Counselling Course is especially designed for:

• Psychology students who would like to gain practical experience, under supervision, before applying or re-applying for either honours or masters.
• Social Work students with a degree or honours degree.
• Those with a theoretical counselling degree, wanting to gain practical experience
• Those with either a psychology or social work background who would like to register with a professional body and go into private practice.

Minimum requirements to enrol:

• Psychology undergraduate degree or honours degree or
• Social Work undergraduate degree or postgraduate degree or
• Counselling degree or
• Relevant NQF 7 with Psych modules for 3+ years of the degree

Please note that your most recent qualification may not be older than 10 years.

If you are unsure of whether or not you meet our basic requirements, you are welcome to send us an email at: info@humanitas.co.za with the heading “Humanitas Application Enquiry” or click on the following link.

Requirements for successful completion:

In order to successfully complete the Humanitas Counselling Course, you will need to:

• Contribute to class discussions, class assignments and presentations.
• Class attendance of at least 90% is compulsory.
• Hand in all assignments before the end of month 4.
• Attend and participate in all group supervision sessions.
• Attend and complete a personal counselling process consisting out of more or less 8 sessions, with any registered counsellor, psychologist or registered social worker. Humanitas has campus counsellors available for our interns at a lowered rate – from 2025 onwards, this will be pre-included in the total cost of the course.
• Conduct yourself professionally and ethically at any and all organisations that you will be volunteering with.
• Submit your logbook, with signatures, indicating 220 hours completed.
• Interns will have to ensure that their logged hours include at least 5 proper counselling processes with at least 5 separate clients. (A counselling process consists out of between 8 – 12 sessions.)

As an integral aspect of the Humanitas Counselling Course’s practical component, interns provide complimentary counselling services to the general public. This initiative is significantly impacting the lives of South Africans, especially those who would otherwise have limited access to such services.

The first component of the training course will consist of theoretical and practical training.
Some of the modules will be a bit of a theoretical recap, while other modules will be completely new to you. The focus during these four weeks will fall on the practical application of the theory in a counselling session.

Therefore, you will be required to practice the skills taught in class on one another. We might also require of you to divide into smaller groups to work through case studies and to do some role play exercises. This part of the training will already count towards 20 of your required total of 220 hours.

This first component of the training is 4 weeks long and presented in-person by different lecturers, each an expert in their respective fields. The in-person training is presented in Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban.

Class will be from Mondays to Fridays from 9h00 – 15h30 latest. Attendance of these 4 weeks is compulsory. Due to the practical nature of the course we can unfortunately not present the course online as it will lose a lot of its value.

You will be assessed throughout the duration of the course. Your class attendance and contributions in class discussions will count towards successful course completion. The final week of the theoretical component will consist of a group presentation, based on a case study, as well as the handing in of your assignments. Assignments are aimed at equipping you to successfully embark on your counselling career. You will for example draw up documentation such as counselling contracts, confidentiality agreements as well as information leaflets that you will be able to utilise in future. Other short assessments will guide you towards becoming a more skilled counsellor.

The second component of the training course will consist of internships (practical hours). The aim here is to give you an opportunity to not only observe and learn from different organisations but also to practice the skills that you will be acquiring throughout this training course.

You will not be placed at one specific institution, but rather, will work at different organisations, so as to give you a broader variety of counselling related experiences.
Each student intern will also be added to our Free Online Counselling webpage, on the Humanitas website, where the public can request free online counselling sessions. Clients will be able to request a session with a specific intern and these sessions will count towards your practical hours.

Please note that in order to register with the ASCHP, you will have to complete a minimum of 100 hours of practical experience. After your first 100 hours under supervision, you will receive a certificate to acknowledge the completion of these hours and we will assist you with your registration.
However, you will only receive your final Humanitas Certificate of Completion after completing an additional 120 hours of practical work under supervision (220 in total).

Your practical hours will start in week 5.
Your practical hours will be more flexible and you should be able to schedule these around your other commitments.

You have a total of three months, after your theoretical component has finished, to complete the total of 220 hours with these specific institutions (remember that 20 hours will already have been completed within the first 4 weeks).

Failure to complete your hours in the given three month period is not the end of the world! You can still work towards your 220 hours, however, you will have to arrange your own internships/practicals, as the placements that we have secured for the Humanitas training course, will then be utilized for the next group of students.

We have secured in-person placements for our students at various organisations in and around the Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban area, as well as secured and created opportunities for online counselling via platforms such as Zoom and  Microsoft Teams.

There are a variety of organisations from which students can choose; covering a wide variety of fields including trauma counselling, grief and loss counselling, teenage counselling, victims of abuse and violence, marriage and relationship counselling and much more. All fall within the ASCHP’s scope of practice.

Students are also encouraged to arrange their own placements with institutions or organisations of their choosing, especially if you reside outside of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban. There are however various online counselling opportunities you can still make use of in order to complete voluntary hours.

The third component of the training course is mandatory supervision.

Throughout your practicals you will receive regular supervision from the Humanitas supervisors. Supervision will count towards your hours and will be offered to you as a part of the course, for a three-month period, after your theoretical month has finished.

These group supervision sessions will take place on a weekly basis online via Microsoft Teams, and will consist of 4-5 students per group. During theses sessions, your supervisor is going to mentor and guide you through the cases that you are dealing with in your internships – cases will be discussed, and ideas and knowledge will be shared in order to equip you to plan your processes and conduct ethical practice.

Should you not have completed your 220 hours before the end of the three months, you will then be required to enrol for the extended supervision service, once a month, until such a time that you have completed your hours.

Supervision is compulsory in order to complete your voluntary hours and receive your certificates. Some organisations offer in-house supervision as support on relevant cases and this will be in addition to your online weekly supervision from Humanitas.

PLEASE NOTE THAT; SHOULD A MODULE FALL ON A PUBLIC HOLIDAY, CLASS WILL CONTINUE

Please note that this course is NOT a purely theoretical training course. We know that, with a degree and especially with an honours degree, you are already all theory’d-out! Our focus falls on practical skill development based on the theory you have already (hopefully) mastered.

Every module includes practical applications for use in counselling settings, various case studies and a vast amount of practical knowledge will be gained.

A very summarised outline of our Humanitas Counselling Course is listed below. Each module contains a wealth of applicable information as well as ample opportunity for discussion and group or individual participation.

Module 1 – The Basics of Counselling

Module 2 – Attachment & Childhood Development

Module 3 – Working with the Child-Client

Module 4 – Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Module 5 – Crisis Management

Module 6 – Trauma Counselling

Module 7 – Loss and Grief Counselling

Module 8 – Abnormal Psychology In The Counselling Setting

Module 9 – Addiction and Substance Abuse

Module 10 – Facilitating groups

Module 11 – Self-care

NEW : Module 12 – Working with couples – self paced module (applies from 2025 onwards)

To apply to register for the HUMANITAS Counselling Course, please click on the following link and complete the enrolment process. Once your application has been reviewed and accepted, send your proof of payment of your deposit to: accounts@humanitas.co.za.

The cost of the Humanitas Counselling Course includes:

• Theoretical and practical training
• All handouts and course material
• Placements at our various organisations (where applicable)
• Supervision, guidance and mentorship
• Student Contact Sessions
• Certificate, acknowledging 100 hours of practical experience completed
• Humanitas Course Certificate of completion (220 hours)
• Life-long access to the Humanitas community for continuous support
• NEW : Personal Counselling process consisting of 8 sessions (applies from 2025 onwards)

2025 Fee Structure:

Non-refundable deposit is required to secure your seat.

Deposit: R9 999
4 Monthly payments: R5 000
Total: R29 999

Once you enroll for the course and get accepted, an automated email will be sent with our banking detail and your unique reference number. Please ensure that you use the correct reference number and email the proof of payment to accounts@humanitas.co.za. This will enable us to allocate your payment correctly and complete your enrollment.

If you’ve completed the enrollment and cannot find the original email, please log into the booking system to retrieve your reference number and banking details.

Our team will assist those of you who qualify, to register with the ASCHP. You will then be able to counsel confidently as a wellness counsellor and/or be able to open your own practice.

To find out if you will qualify to register with the ASCHP, please visit their web site. Please note that this training course does not lead to any registration with the HPCSA.

A common question that we receive is whether or not it is legal to counsel in South Africa without being registered with the HPCSA. Please read our detailed response here.

After registration with the ASCHP, graduates can:

• Open your own practice
• Counsel legally and confidently
• Apply for the Humanitas specialization in Play Based Intervention

• Some universities require of you to have practical experience before applying for masters. Practical experience in a broad variety of different fields might also strengthen your application.
• Some universities require of you to do a ‘role play’ as part of the selection process. Many students have never had an actual client in front of them and therefore have no idea how to handle such situations. During the practical component of the Humanitas Counselling Course, you will be working with real clients and thus, gain valuable experience in how to approach various situations.

During the Humanitas Counselling Course, you will obtain 220 hours of practical experience. Not only could this strengthen your application for masters selection, the counselling skills and experience, as well as the personal growth that you will walk away with, will be an incredible asset on your journey to becoming a confident and competent counsellor.

Many who were once either actively pursuing their counselling dreams, or actively working in the field have at some point chosen a different career path, due to various reasons, and as a result they might have lost their registration with a professional body and/or feel a bit rusty.  The HUMANITAS Counselling Course can assist as a refresher and an opportunity for you to counsel confidently again!