The Landscape of Counseling in South Africa

David Schlosz • January 31, 2025

An Interview with Eduan Greyling

South Africa’s mental health sector is evolving, with increasing awareness of the importance of counseling and therapy. While access to counseling services continues to expand, both challenges and opportunities define the profession. I recently sat down with Eduan Greyling, a professional counselor based in Cape Town, to discuss his journey into the field, the regulatory landscape, and the nuances of counseling in South Africa.

I discovered Eduan through the Psychology Today website and reached out to request an interview. He was one of three counselors I contacted and the first to respond. Aware of Cape Town’s rich cultural diversity, I aimed to interview counselors from different racial and ethnic backgrounds as well. However, the others I reached out to did not respond. I plan to follow up again soon in hopes of capturing a broader range of perspectives on counseling within South Africa’s beautifully diverse cultural landscape.

The Evolution of Counseling in South Africa

The counseling profession in South Africa has evolved significantly, shaped by historical contexts and current societal needs. Historically, counseling psychology in South Africa was primarily concerned with serving the goals of the nationalist government and addressing the needs of the minority White Afrikaans-speaking citizens of the country. This focus on vocational issues and health promotion in the development of counseling psychology in South Africa mirrors the evolution of the specialty in the United States.

To practice as a counseling psychologist in South Africa, individuals must register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Prerequisites include completing a four-year degree in psychology, an accredited master's degree in counseling psychology, a one-year internship, and passing the Board Examination.

Registered counselors, distinct from counseling psychologists, are trained to provide a variety of psychosocial interventions to individuals, groups, and communities. These may include prevention and health promotion initiatives, psychoeducation, short-term supportive counseling, and psychological assessments. They work in various settings, including NGOs, correctional services, district hospitals, schools, and community programs.

Building a Counseling Practice in Cape Town

Starting a private counseling practice, particularly as a young professional, came with its fair share of skepticism. “People told me I was too young, that I didn’t have enough wisdom,” Eduan recalls. “But passion is what drives success. I had to push through the doubts and build my practice step by step.”

One of the key challenges in South Africa is the financial barrier to accessing mental health services. While some counselors are affiliated with medical aid schemes, many clients still pay out-of-pocket. “Counseling is often seen as a luxury,” Eduan admits. To make therapy more accessible, he offers pro bono sessions and discounted rates for lower-income clients. In fact, Eduan offers three pro-bono sessions each week on Wednesday mornings, available on a first-come, first-served basis. This innovative approach makes counseling more accessible to individuals who might otherwise be unable to afford it due to financial constraints.

Referrals have played a significant role in growing his practice. “Word of mouth is your best friend,” he emphasizes. “It’s about building trust and delivering results.”

Practical Training and Real-World Experience

Eduan points out a significant gap between university education and the realities of counseling. “My degree gave me a solid theoretical foundation, but it didn’t prepare me practically,” he admits. “I learned everything once I started working.”

For him, hands-on experience came through volunteering with an NGO, where he was mentored and supervised. “The biggest skills I learned were reading body language and active listening. You have to train yourself not to formulate responses in your head before your client has finished speaking.”

Diversity and Accessibility in Counseling

A common misconception about counseling in South Africa is that it is only accessible to white, upper-class clients. Eduan’s practice, however, serves a diverse client base, including Black, Indian, and Coloured individuals from various socioeconomic backgrounds.

“I have clients from different racial and economic backgrounds, which is a sign of progress,” he says. “But the reality is that private counseling still remains inaccessible to many.”

Despite the growing recognition of mental health's importance, challenges persist. The integration of counseling psychologists into the South African public health system has been an ongoing point of contestation. At present, the state mental health system only has posts for clinical psychologists, although this was not always the case. In 1996, the number of counseling psychologists in full-time state employment was significantly larger than the number of clinical psychologists. However, recent data show that the range of employment options for counseling psychologists outside of private practice and higher education is limited. Currently, almost half of all counseling psychologists work in private practice, a setting that excludes the economically marginalized, mostly Black residents of the country.

Ethics and Boundaries in Counseling

Maintaining professional boundaries is crucial in therapy. When asked about working with clients whose values or lifestyles may differ from his own, Eduan is clear: “Counseling is about helping people, not judging them. You have to bracket your personal beliefs and provide support within your scope of practice.”

Counselors in South Africa must follow strict ethical guidelines set by their regulatory bodies. If a client believes a counselor has breached confidentiality, they can file a complaint with the HPCSA or another governing organization. “There are systems in place to protect clients, and that’s important for accountability,” he says.

Final Thoughts

Eduan’s journey illustrates both the potential and the challenges of working as a counselor in South Africa. While financial constraints and accessibility issues persist, the profession is growing, and more people are recognizing the value of mental health support. With dedicated professionals like Eduan leading the way, the future of counseling in South Africa looks promising.

Professional organizations, such as the South African Association for Counselors, play a pivotal role in promoting and advocating for the counseling profession. They offer membership benefits, professional development, and networking opportunities to support counselors throughout their careers.

For more information on Eduan’s practice, visit his website here.

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Entrepreneurship and Mental Health

By David Schlosz • January 20, 2026

My conversation with Josh Rosen is, at its core, about the price of building something big. Not the visible markers; companies launched, revenue milestones, awards, and headlines; but the internal journey that rarely makes it into the highlight reel. We wanted to go underneath the “success story” and talk about what it has demanded of him: the pressure, the identity questions, the loneliness, the impact on mental health, and the way his definition of success has changed over time. The central tension is one many founders live with: how do you pursue ambitious dreams in a way that honors both ambition and humanity? Josh captures his approach in a line he shares right at the beginning: “I need to stand because motion creates emotion.” It’s a simple phrase, but it reveals something essential: his commitment to actively engage his inner world, not just endure it. The Making of a Leader: Duality, Sacrifice, and Audacity Publicly, Josh shows up as a “dream maker”. A leader who runs a digital media company and helps brands with go-to-market strategy. He talks about mentorship with genuine pride, describing himself as a “guiding light” for his team. What matters most to him isn’t a vanity metric; it’s watching people in his company reach real-life milestones: buying homes, building stability, starting families. He calls that his biggest standard of success. But privately, his story has another layer. Under the “unflappable” exterior is a deeply sensitive person who feels the weight of responsibility constantly. While his wife may describe him as someone who “doesn’t get nervous,” Josh tells the truth more plainly: “I’m nervous all the time. I just channel it in a different way.” His drive is rooted in a desire to protect the people closest to him and to do right by those who depend on him. A major theme in our conversation is learning when and how to be vulnerable. Leadership often demands steadiness, especially when you know people’s livelihoods are tied to your decisions. When the pressure spikes, he can’t always afford to fall apart. And still, he’s intentional about letting his team see the human being behind the role—often in moments like off-sites or holiday gatherings where the mask naturally comes down. The Weight of Responsibility and the Loneliness at the Top That gap between external perception and internal experience creates isolation. Josh doesn’t describe himself as an optimist. He calls himself a “measured realist,” and that realism comes with a particular kind of emotional load: the persistent awareness of what could go wrong. Over time, the self-doubt doesn’t disappear, it evolves. In some ways, it intensifies. He reflects on how different it felt in the early years, when the team was small and the consequences were simpler. Now, after 14 years and a staff of about 45, many of whom have been with him eight to ten years, the stakes feel enormous. “It can’t blow up. It can’t go away,” he says. “There’s too much riding on it.” That pressure shows up in the quiet moments, what he calls the “shower thoughts”, the relentless private questioning: Am I the right person to lead this? Am I making the right decision? And while people might see the glamour, travel to San Francisco, New York, Europe, they rarely see what it costs. Josh shares a painful example: the first year of his third child’s life, when she mostly knew him through FaceTime. Missed bedtimes. Missed bath time. The moments you can’t put back. That’s where the deeper existential questions emerge: What’s the point? Am I doing the right thing? Josh believes the “founder spirit” is often defined by the ability to compartmentalize, to hold grief and purpose at the same time, and to let sacrifice become fuel for something bigger. Ultimately, what he’s chasing isn’t just money. It’s freedom, especially the kind that buys time. The dream isn’t the number in the bank account; it’s being present on a random Wednesday at 4 p.m. for a ballet recital. The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Formative Moments and Rejection One of the more surprising parts of Josh’s story is that he doesn’t frame himself as someone who always wanted to be an entrepreneur. He calls himself a “reluctant entrepreneur”, pushed toward building his own path through rejection and disillusionment. He talks openly about not being a great student and struggling to respect teachers who hadn’t “been there.” Growing up in the ‘90s, he felt disconnected from traditional career narratives and more drawn to creativity and connection. A high school teacher, someone with real-world experience at Ogilvy, saw potential in him and opened a door into advertising. Then, at 19, his world cracked open. His parents divorced. His father experienced a serious mental health breakdown. His mother, who had been a career housewife, struggled financially. Josh describes the desperation of those years, including forging a document to receive a college bursary, just to cover food and gas. When that check arrived, around $600 or $800, it became a turning point. He felt a conviction settle into his bones: I will never rely on anyone again. I will be responsible for my own destiny. That resolve made him focused, but also impatient. He didn’t want to “pay his dues.” He felt corporate culture was skilled at “whack-a-moling” ambitious young talent. Every rejection became a stored source of motivation. The final push into entrepreneurship came when the company he worked for was sold to private equity. He was repeatedly asked to lay people off members of his own team. With a young family, the emotional cost wrecked him. Taking away someone’s paycheck wasn’t just “business.” It felt personal. It broke something in him and clarified what he didn’t want to be part of. When the opportunity to co-found his first company appeared, it led to a pivotal conversation with his wife: “If we don’t do it now, when are we going to do it?” Josh credits her support as foundational. She could see that, for him, this wasn’t just ambition. It was purpose. It was happiness. It was the future they wanted. Grounding and the Blur of Identity Josh names something many founders feel but rarely say out loud: the way identity fuses with the business. “I am the business, the business is me,” he says. And when you haven’t taken a true vacation in 14 years without work tagging along, it’s easy to start asking dangerous questions in low moments: Am I only what my net worth says I am? Is that all I am? What counterbalances that, for him, is family. Home life has a way of stripping the illusion off success. No matter what happens professionally, the garbage still needs to go out. Someone still has to get to hockey practice. In that space, you’re not “founder” or “CEO.” You’re Dad. You’re husband. That grounding is part of what helps him keep going without losing himself. Managing Stress and Seeking Support Josh is candid about what stress has looked like in his body and behavior: vaping addiction that escalated during COVID, poor diet, sleep deprivation, irritability. He’s developed a framework rooted in a simple truth: two things can be true at the same time . You can be overwhelmed and still grateful. You can feel crushed and still recognize your privilege. His strategy is to build tools that help him move through emotion faster: to compartmentalize, analyze, embrace, and then release. He speaks highly of therapy, crediting a long-term therapist with giving him practical tools for processing his internal world. He and his wife also do couples counseling, which he describes as a “tune-up”, maintenance, not emergency. One of his biggest takeaways: learning to ask for what you need has been a major unlock. And he returns again to the body: movement as release. The gym, for him, isn’t just about fitness, it’s about clarity. Solutions come in post-workout stillness. Reframing and Resilience A core element of Josh’s philosophy is reframing. He shares a story about his 12-year-old daughter struggling to make friends after a move. He helped her name the “worst case scenario” and then softened it: if today goes badly, she comes home to a family who loves her, eats ice cream, and tries again tomorrow. That shift didn’t erase the fear, but it made her brave enough to act anyway. That same resilience shows up in one of his most defining entrepreneurial memories: a time when the company was close to collapse, there was no money for rent, and he felt depleted in every direction. When his partner asked what they were going to do, Josh answered with a kind of stubborn, grounded courage: we’re going to get up, go to the office, and do the best we can, because that’s what we have left. The next morning, a check from their biggest client was waiting. That moment cemented a belief that has carried him: sometimes the win is simply putting one foot in front of the other. Lessons for Others and a Legacy of Humility Josh’s leadership ethos is surprisingly simple: build the kind of company the younger version of you would want to work for. He emphasizes that people don’t really work for companies, they work for people. And when new hires join, he tells them: “You don’t work for me. I work for you.” When I asked what he would say to a founder quietly burning out, his message was direct: you’re not alone. He urges founders to reach out, to tell the truth, to be vulnerable. He also warns against the glossy mythology of success online. For every Rolex and Lamborghini, there’s often a hidden stack of unpaid credit cards. His advice: live quietly. Let your actions speak. The legacy he wants most isn’t status, it’s humility. He wants his children to understand that nothing meaningful happens overnight. He uses examples like Olivia Rodrigo’s “overnight success” to reinforce the truth: what looks sudden is usually built on years of effort. Josh’s mantra is “Fortune favors the brave.” But in his telling, fortune isn’t primarily money. It’s the life he’s created, the family, the freedom, the ability to be present. In the end, he defines wealth in human terms: the family he’s built and the life they get to live.