Programme recognition
Coram Deo NPC works in close relationship with the University of Pretoria and two professional accountability organisations (CPSC, SignoPro). We are open to other registrations and affiliations but given our mandate for the type of organisation we are, this is not strictly necessary. Read more below.
Due to the unique type of organisation we are, and given a long standing (two decades) partnership with universities we have not yet gone through a process a registering separately as a higher education institution. We therefore cannot say, independently from our university partner that our courses are registered on a particular NQF level or with any of the SETA’s.
As for professional bodies (accountability organisations), we work closely together with two, namely CPSC and Signo Professional since we want our students to be able to register in private practice or even migrate to other roles beyond counselling, like coaching. For students attending short courses who do not come from a pastoral background we encourage them to consider Signo Professional (due to its wider positioning in the professional helping industry) as a supporting accountability organisation. Yet such students are also welcome to help us register any particular programme at their professional body of interest.
Interestingly psychologists and teachers have told us that they managed to get recognition from their professional body (respectively HPSCA and SACE) for CPD purposes. We have not formally registered our prgrammes at HPCSA or SACE but are open to it. There literally are just so many professional bodies.
We do offer an indication of where our respective courses might be acknowledged given experience and exposure to the tertiary landscape. Also the fact that our advanced programme articulates into a postgraduate diploma and in some cases counts towards credits on a masters level, this tells us that, for that particular course the university faculty recognises the porgramme at between NQF7-9.
As a non-for-profit and public benefit organisation we have been doing counselling and offering training for twenty years for a very diverse audience. Due to our mission to reach diverse audiences (from rural communities, to parents, to PhD students), if we were to register we will have to exclude certain segments of our audiences.
Registering as a higher education institution is something we consider every now and then. At present we simply want to do three things:
Empower anyone and everyone (despite their formal education) to speak out against and stand up to the effects of topics we address in our counselling and training.
The topics we cover include trauma, grief, loss, depression, anxiety, working with children and teens, abuse and dependency, and intimate relationships/families.
Create possibilities for people to study further via our university agreement through our core programme, our advanced programme in pastoral narrative therapy. The programme articulates into a postgraduate degree at the University of Pretoria (subject to UP’s faculty selection committee). This contributes to quality academic training that may well lead up to a PhD in Pastoral Family Therapy.
And in addition, or in the alternative to study further since not everyone will be able to continue with postgraduate studies. We make it possible for students to register at one of two accountability organisations that will put them in a position to set up private practice or continue with their passion to create healthy relationships in communities they are involved in.
Coram Deo is pastoral counselling organisation but also a training provider for narrative therapy (which can be used outside of matters that relate to pastoral concern or faith). For Coram Deo the advancement of the combination is important, in what is referred to as Pastoral Narrative Therapy. Our focus therefor when it comes to professional bodies or accountability organisations is:
CPSC
firstly with CPSC (the most formal council for pastoral care called the ‘Council for Spiritual and Pastoral Counselling’ – a council of the SAQA registered ACRP ‘Association for Christian and Religious Practitioners’).
CPD points are awarded by this body only on the basis of its relevance to pastoral counselling.
CPSC website
Signo Professional
secondly with voluntary accountability organisation ‘SignoPro’ as it advances interdisciplinary collaborative practices (under which narrative therapy with or without its pastoral connotation counts). Any helping profession (from coaching to facilitation) can register on a voluntary basis.
CPD points are awarded for a wide range of learning activities that spans different helping roles or professions.