Acupuncturist/Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture therapy is a form of Chinese Medicine, or Oriental Medicine, thousands of years old used to promote health and alleviate pain and suffering. An Acupuncturist is a qualified health professional who views health and sickness based on concepts of vital energy, energetic balance and energetic imbalance. In comparison to a Western approach that, say, monitors the blood flowing through blood vessels and the symptoms manifest in nervous system, the Acupuncturist assesses the flow and distribution of this vital energy within its pathways, known as “meridians and channels”.

The Acupuncturist is trained to influence health and sickness by stimulating certain areas along these “meridians”. Traditionally these areas or “acupoints” were stimulated by fine, slender needles. Today, many additional forms of stimulation are incorporated, including herbs, electricity, magnets and lasers. The aim remains the same, to adjust the “vital energy” so that it may flow in the right amount to the proper place at the right time. This helps the body heal itself.

Art Therapist

An Art Therapist is a qualified, registered health professional who is able to offer art therapy (a form of psychotherapy) for adults, children or groups. Art therapy uses art media such as, clay, painting, drawing, as its primary mode of communication.

Art therapy may be useful in a wide range of difficulties, disabilities or diagnoses, for example, emotional, behavioural or mental health problems, learning or physical disabilities, life-limiting conditions, brain-injury or neurological conditions and physical illness.

Art Therapy is not a recreational activity and clients do not need to have any previous experience or expertise in art. The process of art therapy creates opportunities to increase awareness of oneself and others. It may assist individuals to manage trauma or stress and improve emotional well-being. It is based on the premise that creative processes involved in artistic self-expression assist people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, reflect on behaviour, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and achieve insight. Art Therapy integrates the fields of human development, visual art as well as the creative process with counseling and psychotherapy.

Many Art Therapists are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Find the contact details, profile information and practice location of the specific Art Therapist of your choice via our easy search. Contact them directly for session rates and details of the specific treatment offered.

Audiologist

Audiologists are registered health professionals skilled to provide the assessment and testing of hearing in children and adults. They also deal with a wide range of clients in the rehabilitation of hearing disorders as well as the prevention of hearing loss or associated disorders.
Audiology is the scientific study of hearing, balance and related disorders. Audiologists use a variety of testing strategies (e.g. hearing tests, video nystagmography and electrophysiologic tests) to assess an individual or child’s hearing range and clarifies which portions of hearing (high, middle or low frequencies) may be affected by hearing loss.
Audiologists counsel and provide recommendations to clients regarding treatment options and appropriate medical referrals such as, hearing aids, cochlear implants or surgery.
Audiologists are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Find the contact details, profile information and practice location of the specific Audiologist of your choice via our easy search. Contact them directly for session rates and details of the specific treatment offered.

Biokineticist

A Biokineticist is an exercise therapist who improves a person’s physical status and quality of life. Biokinetics is a professional therapeutic field concerned with health promotion, the maintenance of physical abilities and final phase rehabilitation, by means of scientifically-based physical activity programme prescription.

Biokineticists improve a person’s physical wellbeing and quality of life, This is done through individualised scientific assessment and the prescription of exercise in rehabilitative treatment, to prevent or intervene with certain ailments and the enhancement of performance (sport and work). They also evaluate and measure body posture, body composition, blood pressure, glucose levels, lung function, heart rate, fitness, muscle strength, endurance, power, flexibility and other health screenings. They are also trained to assist in preventing and treating individuals with orthopaedic conditions.

Chiropractor

Chiropractors, also known as doctors of chiropractic or chiropractic physicians, diagnose and treat patients with health problems of the musculoskeletal system and treat the effects of those problems on the nervous system and on general health. Many chiropractic treatments deal specifically with the spine and the manipulation of the spine. Chiropractic is based on the principle that spinal joint misalignments interfere with the nervous system and can result in lower resistance to disease and many different conditions of diminished health.

The chiropractic approach to healthcare focuses on the patient’s overall health. Chiropractors provide natural, drugless, nonsurgical health treatments, relying on the body’s inherent recuperative abilities. They also recognize that many factors affect health, including exercise, diet, rest, environment, and heredity. Chiropractors recommend changes in lifestyle that affect those factors. In some situations, chiropractors refer patients to or consult with other health practitioners.

Clinical Psychologist

Clinical Psychologists use psychological methods to make positive changes to their clients’ lives and offer various forms of treatment often referred to as psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client; family, couple or group. The problems addressed are psychological in nature. Psychotherapy aims to reduce distress and improve the psychological well-being of clients. Psychotherapy can be seen as an invitation offered by psychotherapists to assist the individual to reach their full potential and to cope better with problems of life. Clinical Psychologists work with clients of all ages on a variety of different mental, emotional or physical health problems including:

Depression

Anxiety Disorders,

Adjustment to physical illness;

Addictive behaviours;

Challenging behaviours;

Eating disorders;

Behaviour disorders;

Counselling Psychologist

Counseling Psychologists usually have had the practical aspects of their training focus on a normal client population; and is oriented toward people without serious or persistent mental illnesses. A Clinical Psychologist would have gained experience in training in a more psychiatric setting. Both often work with similar clients in private practice in South Africa.

A Counselling Psychologist usually has a Masters or PHD degree in psychology and has received practical training in counselling settings (schools/ universities). The educational requirements to work in counselling psychology are quite rigorous, and most counselling Psychologists spend between six and eight years at university, and 2 years thereafter at government and community mental health settings after earning a Master’s degree. They then are able to register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) which allows them to be contracted into Medical Aid Health Care services.

Counseling Psychologists are employed in a wide range of settings including schools, university counseling centres, private practice, health care settings, hospitals, organizational consulting groups, and many others.

Drama Therapist

A Drama Therapist is a qualified registered health professional who makes use of a variety of expressive forms such as the creation of roles, characters, performance art, the use of scripts, stories and myths, the use of the body in dramatic form and the creation of dramatic rituals.

Drama Therapy is the intentional use of the healing aspects of drama and theatre as the therapeutic process. Drama Therapy uses the potential of drama to reflect on and transform life experiences and to enable clients to express and work through problems they are experiencing.

Drama Therapy sessions may utilise a wide variety of dramatic expressive forms. These include:

The use of created roles and characters in order to explore life experiences. For example, a woman struggling with self esteem issues created the role of a heroine on a journey in search of love. In doing so she realized that she is actually searching for internal self love.

The use of materials such as small objects and toys to work with problematic feelings or experiences. For example in one group working with objects somebody chose a plastic toy lion to represent himself. Speaking as the lion he said “I am angry and aggressive. I am protecting my territory”. Through the symbol he was able to see how his anger had frightened people in the group and was then able to work more actively with it.

Educational Psychologist

An Educational Psychologist offers services to children, young people or adolescents who are experiencing problems within an educational setting with the aim of enhancing their learning. Challenges may include social or emotional problems or learning difficulties. They consult with teachers, parents, social Workers and other professionals. They are concerned with children’s learning, well-being and development. They have skills in a range of psychological and educational assessment and intervention techniques and methods for helping children and young people who are experiencing difficulties in learning or social adjustment. They have a central role in the assessment and intervention work in relation to children’s difficulties from an early stage.

Educational Psychologists have counselling skills which they use to work with children and young people of all ages, though more so with older children. They also undertake counselling work with adults, particularly parents and carers who are concerned about their children’s learning, behaviour or general progress.

Homeopath

A Homeopath is a registered health professional who treats patients using highly diluted preparations that are given mostly in tablet form, so as to activate the body’s natural system of healing. Depending on their symptoms, a homeopath matches the most suitable medicine for each patient.

Homeopathy is a type of alternative medicine that differs from allopathic medicine; mainly because of the profession’s founding principle that you can treat ‘like with like’. In homeopathy the matched medicines are administered in ultra-diluted form, which makes them non–toxic. Its purpose is to treat certain physical and emotional ailments with the use of these preparations that are able to cause the same symptoms as the actual condition. For example, small doses of allergens such as pollen can be used to treat a person suffering from an allergy, by de-sensitising the patient. The basic principle of homeopathy, was first communicated by Samuel Hahnemann a German Physician and is known as the “law of similars”, is “let like be cured by like.”

Find the contact details, profile information and practice location of the specific Homeopath of your choice via our easy search. Contact them directly for session rates and details of the specific treatment offered.

Industrial Psychologist

Industrial Psychologists study the behaviour of employees in a work setting. Because the workplace is a social system, the application of industrial psychology is useful in understanding its complexity.

Industrial psychology evaluates the interaction between people and their jobs. Industrial Psychologists can be used to improve job satisfaction as well as company productivity, and this field of expertise is becoming vital to the success of many organizations.

There are certain things that Industrial Psychologists focus on when evaluating the relationship a person has with their work. They analyze the way a person works, their skills, duties, obligations, and general satisfaction with their job on a day-to-day basis. This information is extremely helpful to human resources departments and company overseers who must create training programs, feedback and rewards systems, and make hiring decisions as well as engage in recruitment practices. Most companies use Industrial Psychologists to train their own staff so that the organizations can run smoothly and at peak capacity.

Naturopath

Naturopathy, or Naturopathic Medicine, is a natural approach to health and healing that is both a way of life and a concept of healing, which has as its primary goal the establishment and maintenance of optimum health. The Allied Health Professions Act [1982] officially defines it as “a system of healing based on promoting health […]

Neuro-Psychologist

A Neuro-Psychologist is a Clinical Psychologist that specializes in brain behaviour relationships. They are an expert in how behaviour and skills are related to brain structure and systems. Brain function is evaluated objectively by Neuro-Psychologists performing tests on the person’s intellectual ability, memory, thinking skills and personality. A detailed assessment of a person’s abilities is carried out in order to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Neuro-Psychologists are frequently involved in assessing the nature and extent of any damage or change to the brain. They assess cognitive alterations, personality change and occupational or scholastic ability and change that may or may not have physical or physiological explanations. They are frequently involved with assessing individuals who sustain traumatic brain injury.

A thorough neuropsychological test battery often assesses a variety of domains including (but not limited to): cognitive functioning, attention and concentration skills, language functioning, verbal and visuo-spatial abilities, academic/achievement performance, memory abilities, motor and sensory-motor integration, effort, executive functioning, and emotional status. A full neuropsychological evaluation often requires 6-8 hours to administer and score depending on the complexity of the case, and the referral question.

Nutritionist/Dietician

A Dietician (sometimes referred to as a nutritionist) plans food and nutrition programmes, and supervises the preparation and serving of meals. This is a professionally qualified person that will help prevent, as well as treat illnesses by promoting healthy eating habits and suggesting diet modifications.

Dieticians provide individual consultations for children and adults to assess their nutritional needs, they also can run food service systems for institutions such as hospitals and schools, promote sound eating habits through education, and conduct research. Major areas of practice include clinical, community, management, and consultant dietetics.

Occupational Therapist

The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational Therapists achieve this outcome by enabling people to do things that will enhance their ability to participate, or by modifying the environment to better support participation.

Occupational Therapists have a broad education that equips them with skills and knowledge to work collaboratively with individuals, or groups of people, who have an impairment of body structure or function due to a health condition, and who experience barriers to participation. Occupational Therapists work with young children, adolescents, adults and older people.

With regards to working with children Occupational Therapists can evaluate children’s visuo-perceptual skills, skills for playing, school performance, and daily activities and compare them with what is developmentally appropriate for that age group. They can assist children with underlying challenges (motor, sensory, social, emotional, behaviour) and functional difficulties (handwriting, dressing, eating, toileting, playing, social skills). They use a range of strategies to meet each child’s individual needs, including Sensory Integration Therapy and various other techniques designed to effectively help the child meet the underlying challenge.

Oesteopath

An Osteopath is a registered health professional qualified to treat medical disorders through the manipulation and massage of the bones, joints, and muscles. Osteopathy is a therapeutic system originally based upon the premise that manipulation of the muscles and bones to promote structural integrity could restore or preserve health. It is believed that diseases are due chiefly to a loss of structural integrity in the tissues of the body, and that this integrity can be restored by manipulation of the parts supported by the use of medicines, surgery, proper diet, and other therapy.

As a distinct form of medical practice that is relatively new in South Africa, Osteopathy emphasizes helping each person achieve a high level of wellness by focusing on health promotion and disease prevention. A central view of osteopathic medicine is the body’s innate ability to heal itself.

Key to this is the concept that ‘the structure influences function’. This aspect of Osteopathy’s holistic approach says that if there is a problem in one part of the body’s structure, function in that area, and possible in other areas, may be affected. Because of this, osteopaths like to work in partnership with their patients, taking into consideration the impact that lifestyle and community have on the health of each individual. It is a partnership approach that seeks to break down barriers to good health that might exist unconsciously in patients, or that manifest in their lifestyle. The person is viewed as more than just a collection of organ systems and body parts that may become injured or diseased.

Physiotherapist

Physiotherapy (physical therapy) aims to restore proper functioning to the body or, in the case of permanent disease or injury, to reduce the impact of any dysfunction. Physiotherapy is an effective form of treatment for a wide range of conditions. Contrary to popular belief, Physiotherapists aren’t limited to the rehabilitation of sports injuries and back pain. As well as musculoskeletal injuries, physiotherapists can also manage:

Neurological conditions, such as stroke

Multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries

Cardiothoracic conditions like emphysema, asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Physiotherapists help a person to recover from surgery.

Treatment options include a wide range tailored to your specific condition and individual needs. Physiotherapists can also show you how to use and where to get equipment aids.

Podiatrist

A Podiatrist is a registered specialist qualified to diagnose and treat foot disorders. They are also called chiropodists. This branch of medicine deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases of the human foot. The practice of Podiatry, or Chiropody, is the care and treatment of the human foot and associated structures in health and disease.

A Podiatrist is trained and skilled to assess, diagnose, and treat problems such as strains, sprains, and fractures of the foot and ankle, and also biomechanical deformities. Their professional field of expertise includes dermatological problems of the lower extremity, and many other conditions of the lower leg. While much of their professional focus is on treating the foot and associated structures, their professional service very much includes prevention and education. They are also skilled in testing, screening, and recommending the correct way to foot health.
for the later years.

Professional Nurse

There are three categories of nursing in South Africa: Professional; Enrolled; and Auxiliary Nurse.

A Professional Nurse (PN) or Registered Nurse (RN) and sometimes called a Sister is an individual who has completed a four-year programme at university or a nursing College. Besides knowledge of general nursing duties, this is a professional person educated and competent to practice comprehensive nursing. A Professional Nurse can further develop their nursing qualification to include, for example: Midwifery; Paediatric; Psychiatric; and/or Community nursing.

An Enrolled Nurse (EN) or sometimes called a Staff Nurse is an individual who has completed a two-year programme, usually at a nursing college or who has chosen to exit after completing two years of the university four year programme. This person is educated and competent to practice basic nursing.

An Enrolled Nursing Auxiliary (ENA) or sometimes called an Assistant Nurse (AN) is an individual who has completed a one-year programme or a similar course at college, or who has chosen to exit after completing the first year of the university four year programme. This person is educated and competent to practice elementary nursing.

Psychiatrist

A Psychiatrist is a HPCSA registered medical practitioner specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of medical illness. They hold medical degrees and can prescribe drugs and other medical treatments, in addition to also conducting psychotherapy. They often work closely with other mental health professionals to support patients and their families manage chronic psychiatric conditions.

The Psychiatrist often works as a member of a mental health team that includes clinical psychologists and social workers in private and public health settings.

Psychiatrists can specialize in Child and Adolescent psychiatry where they assess the need for medication in the treatment of various childhood emotional disorders.

Psychiatric disorders represent 10% of all diseases worldwide and in South Africa it is estimated that between four and a half to five million people are suffering from a psychiatric disorder.

Psychiatrists are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Find the contact details, profile information and practice location of the Psychiatrist of your choice via our easy search. Contact them directly for session rates, location and details of the specific treatment offered.

Psychometrist

A Psychometrist is a registered allied health professional who administers and scores psychological and neuropsychological tests under the supervision of a licensed Psychologist or Neuro-Psychologist. Psychometrists do not interpret psychological &/or neuropsychological measures unless licensed to do so.

Psychometric evaluations involve more than just applying a test to measure knowledge, ability and attitude or personality traits. The usefulness lies in taking into account the whole person and their life in context, not just focusing on isolated behaviours or answers to questions. Psychometric evaluation may contribute to being a useful means of helping people understand themselves better and often provides guidance to sort out what’s holding individuals back. Psychometric testing also assists to identify ways forward with clarity and confidence and to remove real (or perceived) barriers to progress.

Registered Counsellor

A registered counsellor provides short-term, supportive counselling, psycho-education and psychological assessments, e.g. intellectual or scholastic abilities, aptitude, interests, career placement, personality profiling.

The Professional Board for Psychology of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) created the registered counsellor category to meet the needs of the South African population at primary intervention level. These counsellors are trained to assist in dealing with specific life situations and problems such as divorce, death, family conflict, substance abuse, trauma, and career counselling, etc.

According to the HPCSA, the registered counsellor “must execute formalised, structured and short-term interventions” at primary curative or preventative level with the “application of concrete and predetermined decision making rules.”

The registered counsellors’ core competencies differ from those of psychologists, who are expected to function at a more complex and specialised level. Concerning psychological assessment, the core competencies specify that the registered counsellor may conduct ‘general’, versus the psychologist ‘specialised’ screening.

Speech Therapist

A Speech and Language Therapist specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of speech pathologies affecting children or adults. Speech and Language pathologists provide a wide range of services, on an individual basis, support for families and groups, as well as providing related information to the general public.
Speech therapy services begin with initial screening for communication and swallowing disorders and continue with assessment and diagnosis, and consultation regarding management, intervention and treatment of a communication disorder. Provision of counselling and other follow up services for speech disorders are provided. Speech-language therapists provide treatment for the cognitive aspects of communication (e.g. attention, auditory memory, problem solving, executive functions); articulation, phonation and voice; language (syntax, semantics, comprehension of oral and written language, expression, pragmatics), auditory processing skills (e.g. analysis, synthesis, discrimination) and swallowing disorders. Speech and Language Pathology is also known as logopaedics.
Speech and Language Therapists are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Find the contact details, profile information and practice location of the specific Speech and Language Therapist of your choice via our easy search. Contact them directly for session rates and details of the specific treatment offered.