Characterizing the nature of professional training and practice of psychologists in South Africa
Date
2022Author
Padmanabhanunni, Anita
Jackson, Kyle
Noordien, Zorina
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Psychology in South African has a contentious history owing to its alignment with apartheid era ideologies of
racial segregation. Although the profession has undergone significant transformation since democracy in
1994, almost three decades later less than a quarter of professional psychologists in the country are black
African. Structured psychology training programmes select an average of 8 candidates per year, which has
promoted criticism and scrutiny of recruitment and selection procedures that may be more oriented towards
those from privileged educational backgrounds. In this interview with Jean-Pierre Bouchard, psychology
researchers Anita Padmanabhanunni, Kyle Jackson, Zorina Noordien and Tyrone Pretorius from the
University of the Western Cape provide a critical overview of the training and practice of professional
psychology in South Africa, selection and recruitment processes, the relevance of the profession, impact of
telepsychology and the implications of COVID-19 for professional training and practice.