Psychology @ Unisa part IX: Professional psychology in South Africa


Individuals can register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa in one of the following registration categories:

  • Registered counsellor
  • Psychometrist
  • Clinical psychologist
  • Counselling psychologist
  • Educational psychologist
  • Research psychologist
  • Industrial psychologist
  • Neuro-psychologist
  • Forensic psychologist

Practitioners in each of the above categories are required to practice within a specific scope of practice, that is, adhere to guidelines regarding approved activities. Detailed information about the scope of practice for each of the above categories is available in the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act no 56 of 1974). The scope of the profession of Psychology was promulgated in government gazette No. R 993 of 16 September 2008 (http://www.hpcsa.co.za/downloads/psychology/
regulations_defining_the_scope_of_profession_of_psychology.pdf) followed by an update on 2 September 2011 under government gazette No. R 704 (http://www.hpcsa.co.za/downloads/psychology/
promulgated_scope_of_practice_2_sept.pdf).

Visit the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) website at http://www.hpcsa.co.za for more information. Select “Professional Boards” and then click on “Psychology” to go to the Professional Board for Psychology website.

Other important information on the Board for Psychology website includes:

Psychology @ Unisa part VIII: Finding out more about options in psychology


Read…

On-line resources

Books available in the Unisa Library

  • Davis, S. F., Giordano, P. J., & Licht, C. A. (Eds.) (2009). Your career in psychology: Putting your graduate degree to work. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Kuther, T. L. (2006). Your career in psychology: Clinical and counseling psychology. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
  • Kuther, T. L. (2005). Your career in psychology: industrial/organizational psychology. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
  • Lane, D. A., & Corrie, S. (2006). The modern scientist-practitioner: a guide to practice in psychology. New York: Routledge.
  • Morgan, R. D., Kuther, T. L., & Habben, C. L. (Eds.). (2005). Life after graduate school in psychology: Insider’s advice from new psychologists. New York, N.Y.: Psychology Press.
  • Stead, G. B., & Watson, M. B. (Eds.). (2006). Career psychology in the South African context. (2nd ed.). Pretoria : Van Schaik.
  • Sternberg, R. J. (2003). Psychologists defying the crowd: Stories of those who battled the establishment and won. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  • Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.) (2007). Career paths in psychology: Where your degree can take you. (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Psychology journals

As a Unisa student, you have access to a vast range of academic journals available through the Unisa Library OASIS catalogue. Go to http://www.unisa.ac.za/library, click on “e-Resources”, then on “Resources by subject”. Click on “Psychology” to view the available databases. Click on a database to start searching.

Talk to…

Another important way for you to find out more about career options in psychology, is to go an talk to individuals who work in the type of jobs and/ or organisations that you are interested in knowing more about. The aim of this would be to clarify aspects that you are still curious about. For example, you read an article about a new programme for addiction treatment and you feel curious about how the researchers went about evaluating the programme. You could contact one of the authors of the article to ask if they would be willing to share how they went about gaining access to the information they needed for their evaluation.

Who do you need/ want to go and talk to? What would you ask them?

Psychology @ Unisa part VII: Networking


Networking means developing a broad list of contacts – people you’ve met – and using them to your advantage when you look for a job or information about specific aspects. People in your network may be able to give you job leads, offer you advice and information about a particular company or industry, and introduce you to others so that you can expand your network.

Where do I start?

Your family, friends, and neighbors and their family, friends, and neighbors are obvious people to start with, but don’t stop there. Talk to fellow students, co-workers, colleagues in your industry, and those you meet at gatherings, such as discussion and tutorial classes, examinations, conferences, trade shows and conferences. Talk with former co-workers, bosses, lecturers and teachers.

Some important points related to networking

  • Make sure that you constantly reflect on your skills and areas of development and think about the type of industries and employers you want to work for and the type of jobs you are interested in
  • Always have an updated CV to be ready when opportunities present
  • Any relationship (including those with contacts in your network) is based on trust. Individuals in your network will not share information with you or recommend you to others if they do not trust you. An initial meeting or contact with someone does not establish a connection unless there is follow-up of some kind.
  • Keep track of your network: how will you store information related to your network and how will you keep touch?

Psychology @ Unisa part VI: Fields in psychology and opportunities for psychology students


Psychology is a field with diverse interest and specialisation areas. This map shows an overview of the various divisions for psychological associations internationally. Have you thought about the area(s) in psychology that you are most interested in? View a map of the various fields available here.

Where do psychology graduates work?

You need to consider that training in psychology equips you with theoretical, practical and transferable skills that you could possibly apply in a variety of contexts. For example, psychology graduates could work in different capacities in the following fields:

  • For-profit organisations (HR, marketing, project management, research, consulting, coaching)
  • Research institutions (Human Science Research Council, Institute for Safety and Health Studies, Unisa Centre for Applied Psychology, to name a few)
  • Government (Departments of Labour, Social Development, SAPS and Correctional Services)
  • Nonprofit organisations (Non-governmental organisations, Non-profit organisations, Community-based organisations – think local, national and international)
  • Higher education (Universities and Universities of Technology)
  • Schools (government and private)
  • Other educational organisations (eg. FET colleges and private training organisations)

You will need to be able to identify the skills you develop as a result of your studies in psychology and think of possible areas where you would be able to apply these skills. Your studies could expose you to some ideas of where to start looking for opportunities, but an extremely effective and powerful way of doing this is to develop your networking skills.

Best ways to hunt for a job

  • Asking for job-leads from friends, relatives, and others
  • Knocking on the door of any employer that interests you
  • Using the phone book’s yellow pages
  • In a group with other job-hunters

Less effective ways to hunt for a job

  • Using the Internet
  • Random mailing of CVs to employers and agencies
  • Answering professional ads or trade journals ads in your field
  • Answering local newspaper ads

Maximise your chances of success by making use of many different types of jobb-junting methods.

Doing a Life-Changing Job-Hunt (doing extensive work on yourself first)

  • WHAT? Identify the skills you most enjoy using: Reflect on your transferable skills regardless when or where acquired.
  • WHERE? Identify the job environment you feel you could thrive in where you feel you will do the most effective work.
  • HOW? Identify the names of jobs you would be more interested in; the organisations which have such jobs to offer; those people in such organisations that have the power to help you; the approach to use in asking for a job.

Source: Bolles, R.N. (2006). What colour is your parachute? Adapted by Cazimira Popa, 2007

Psychology @ Unisa Part V: Your career development at Unisa


You might be surprised (or perhaps overwhelmed) to learn that in addition to your academic work, you need to pay attention to your career development while studying through Unisa. There are a number of activities that you could complete to ensure that you complete your qualification and be a good prospective employee. Read more about the various activities you could participate in here.

Next section: Fields in psychology

Psychology @ Unisa Part IV: Managing your career in psychology


There is a distinction between the academic and the practitioner route in Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology and Educational Psychology. The academic route allows one to pursue a professional career in research, teaching and some fields of psychological practice, excluding psychological testing, psychotherapy and counselling. The practitioner route means training as a registered counsellor, psychometrist or psychologist in order to register in one of the registration categories offered by the Professional Board for Psychology. Currently, the following categories are available: register counsellors (in various practice areas) or a registered psychologist (clinical, counselling, research, educational or industrial psychology). Provision is also made for registration as a psychometrist (independent practice).

It is important to do career research about the various options available. Poor research could lead to your having unrealistic expectations of what a career in psychology entails. Thorough research in terms of career options would enable you to broaden your knowledge about alternative careers should you not be selected for, or not wish to continue with postgraduate studies in psychology.

Many people believe that a degree will lead directly to a career specifically related to the major(s)/ specialisations for that degree. The fact is that degrees do lead to careers, but that the relationship between the major(s)/ specialisation you choose and the career you build for yourself is complex. Many graduates follow careers that are seemingly not related to their chosen major(s)/ specialisations. There are various career management techniques that will assist you with managing your career in psychology.

Start with a career management portfolio

Your career management portfolio could help you keep track of the information that you need to gather in order to manage your career. It could include information about yourself, about job opportunities, occupational information and about the different fields in psychology.

Volunteer work

As a volunteer, your studies in Psychology will come alive and you will be enriched and in a position to build up an important network of people who could comment on your professional abilities. Volunteers normally work under the supervision of psychologists and social workers. Organisations making use of volunteer counsellors include Lifeline (counselling); Nicro, Childline and Rape Crisis (abused women and children); Alcoholics Anonymous (addictions); Hospice Association of SA and St Luke’s Hospice (death and dying); FAMSA and ACVV (relationships/family counselling); ATICC and AIDS Helpline (HIV/AIDS) and Triangle Health Care Project (sexuality).

If you are interested in applying for a professional Master’s degree (or for an Honours degree at another university), you will need to provide referee reports. Unisa students who volunteer have opportunities to network with professionals in the field of psychology who would be able to comment on their suitability to be selected for training.

Choose your volunteering opportunities to suit your interests and the skills you still want to develop. Treat your volunteering as any other job experience and ensure that you act professionally all the time – you are building your professional image and how you act will influence how other people perceive you and your skills and the type of recommendations they would be willing to give you.

Note that being trained as a volunteer counsellor, without professional psychological qualifications, does not qualify you to be a professional counsellor or psychologist or to practise independently. Check which volunteer organisations are active in the area where you live. The Department of Social Development has a complete list of non-profit organisations in each province available on their website at http://www.dsd.gov.za/npo/.

Unisa’s Directorate for Counselling, Career and Academic Development runs a peer help programme that trains students to help other students think through and reflect on problems that they might be experiencing. Each regional campus of Unisa trains approximately 8-16 peer helpers annually. Once trained, peer helpers volunteer their services at the counselling office, complete a career portfolio and participate in outreach programmes to different communities.

Investigate volunteer opportunities in your area and field of interest on the GreaterGoodSA website at http://www.myggsa.co.za/.

Research opportunities in Psychology

Investigate the likely possibilities related to your chosen degree by making use of Career Resource Centres, the Internet and informational interviewing. Include your reflections on the information that you find in your career management portfolio.

Develop your transferable skills

Your degree will equip you with subject-specific knowledge and a number of work-related skills (transferable skills), for example the ability to learn fast in new situations, to work independently, and to analyse, evaluate and interpret data. You should be able to identify and articulate the skills that you feel you are gaining through your studies.

Read more about the skills developed by psychology graduates here and reflect on what you still need to pay attention to.

Develop your employability skills

Your employability refers to your ability to gain initial employment, maintain employment, and obtain new
employment if required. In simple terms, employability is about being capable of getting and keeping fulfilling work. There are many aspects with maximising your employability, including: managing your personal brand, job-searching skills, networking, writing a CV, writing a cover letter, include networking, CV-writing, cover letter writing and how to
manage job interviews.

Why is your employability important?

Today’s careers are not what they used to be:

  • Lifetime employment is a thing of the past: It is not unusual for an individual to hold about six different occupations during their careers, each with several jobs. The reasons for this are technological advances, economic shifts and changing social norms.
  • Careers are boundaryless: your career can cut across different industries and companies. Instead of seeing your career as a ladder, you can view it as a web.
  • Career success is defined in many different ways: The big house and fancy car are not the only measures of success. Some people choose to follow a more balanced lifestyle with more time to spend with their family.
  • Where, when and for whom you work are not necessarily fixed: Flexible work hours, working from home, part-time, temporary and contract work are all part of today’s world of work.

Source: Greenberg, J. & Baron, A. Behaviour in Organisations. 8th edition. Pearson Education Inc: New
Jersey.

How can you develop your employability skills?

There are a vast number of resources available for you to develop your employability skills. There are employability self-help materials available on the Unisa website to help you get started. You can also e-mail counselling@unisa.ac.za for us to send them to you.

Further on-line resources to explore include:

Do your own employability check now to see where you still need to spend some time to be more employable.

Next part: Your career development at Unisa

Psychology @ Unisa Part III: Your career choice


There are a number of aspects that you will need to explore and pay attention to so that you could make an effective career choice. Complete the activities on the next two pages and use this information to guide you when you ask questions about your career in psychology. This information will also help you to connect all the information that you will gather about a career in psychology with who you are as a person.

Making a career choice involves reflecting on your career vision and the actions you will take to realise this vision (your career goals). It also involves learning more about your values, skills and interests and how they impact on your choice, as well as what shaped your career ideas.

Next in series: Managing your career in psychology

You can access activities to help you reflect on the mentioned aspects here.

Once you have completed these activities, think about the following:

  1. How do you feel about completing the career map?
  2. Write down at least two aspects that stood out for you
  3. What are you still curious about? How will you find out about this and when?

Some further career choice resources

  • The Unisa Directorate for Counselling & Career Development offers a career counselling service. You can either contact us electronically, or if you prefer, speak to a counsellor in person.
  • Pace Careers Centre (http://www.pacecareers.com/careercentre). Complete the interest questionnaire by clicking on the “Questionnaire” button on the left side of the screen. Register to access the questionnaire. Once you have completed the questionnaire, you could read more about specific job titles on the site.
  • Windmills (http://www.windmillsonline.co.uk/interactive/). Work through all the activities in this programme to help you think about your skills, interest and motivations and to clarify your career vision and the practical steps you will take to make your vision a reality.
  • Umsobomvu Youth Fund (http://www.youthportal.org.za). Scroll over “I want to” and then click on “get information”. Click on “Read more: Career Guidance and Information” to access information about making a career choice. There is also a very comprehensive Careers and Occupations Reference Directory available for download.

Next in series: Managing your career in psychology