Qualifying criteria
Everything on this page is required of every member before they hold a HICS designation, without exception and regardless of what other qualifications they carry. It is published in full so that a client, an employer or a referring professional can see exactly what a designation was earned against.
What it takes
These are the requirements for the Accredited Counsellor designation, which every member holds first, whatever they go on to hold above it.
01
In psychology, social work or a counselling-related field, from a recognised South African higher education institution. The discipline and level are verified at admission, and shown as their own record rather than folded into the designation.
02
Recognised by HICS against its published Entry Training Outcomes Standard. HICS does not deliver training: it publishes what a programme must evidence, and assesses programmes against it.
03
Accumulated during or after the recognised programme; hours before it do not count. Signed off by an approved supervisor. Where 100 hours is a common benchmark in this field, HICS requires twice that, because the difference between someone who has read about counselling and someone who has done it under supervision is not a matter of a few dozen hours.
04
With the same counsellor or mental health professional, and separate from the 200 supervised hours. Confirmation of attendance only, never anything about their content. Being counselled is part of being competent to counsel.
05
No undisclosed finding of professional misconduct by any body, and no undisclosed criminal conviction relevant to fitness to practise. The operative word is undisclosed: a past finding does not automatically bar an applicant, but concealing one is a matter of conduct in its own right.
06
Set by HICS against its own published standards, with the safety-critical content at its centre: the limits of the role, risk, referral and ethics. Every applicant sits the same examination, including every graduate of a recognised programme. The requirements above establish eligibility; this one establishes competence, because completing a course is not the same as being able to do the work.
How it is checked
Training is confirmed by the recognised provider and supervised hours by the supervisor. The qualification is confirmed from certified documents, and HICS may check it with the institution where a document is unclear. A supervisor is approved in advance: an Accredited Supervisor, a supervisor HICS has authorised, or an external supervisor with a minimum of five years in practice who adheres to the Code. What an applicant tells us opens the enquiry. It does not close it.
How admission is decided
Eligibility can be established two ways: through a recognised programme, or through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for a practitioner whose training predates the recognised-programme framework. The examination is the same in both cases, and there is no route into membership that bypasses it.
Where this leads
Meeting these six requirements is what admits a member. It is not what keeps them one: continuing supervision, professional development every year, the Code of Professional Conduct and good standing are conditions for every year that follows.