UFS Unit for Professional Training and Service in the Behavioural Sciences

UNIBS serves a tri-functional purpose at the University of the Free State. The first, and most prominent of these, pertains to the training and delivery of professionals in the field of psychology – at the registered Counselling Psychologist level. The training is designed in accordance with the prescripts set by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and ensures that the core competencies (as identified by this professional body) are inculcated.

The second and third functions of this unit, namely public service and research, predictably result from the above mentioned primary role and result in the delivery of specialized psychological services to the wider community and the generation of relevant and eminent research and publications. A high priority is placed upon evidence-based and research-supported interventions.

In support of these overarching functions, the unit engages in robust international benchmarking partnerships as evidenced by an internship exchange programme entered into with the KU Leuven in Belgium and numerous other well-established international research collaborations and endeavours.

Since the beginning of 2014, this unit is one of only two internship sites accredited by the HPCSA for the training of Counselling Psychologists in the Free State and Northern Cape Province.

The multi-disciplinary in-house team at UNIBS consists of:

• registered counselling psychologists
• intern counselling psychologists
• a pastoral counsellor
• a psychometrist
• and a paediatrician
• A multi-disciplinary referral base consisting of a neurologist, psychiatrist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, remedial educator, and social worker serve as an extension of our services.