Counselling

Bachelor of Theology Honours (Counselling Stream)

This programme equips you to integrate narrative counselling and logotherapy within a Bible-based, Christ-centred, Spirit-led approach to Christian counselling. You will complete a Christian counselling ethics course, followed by courses in narrative counselling and logotherapy.

You will also develop practical counselling skills through creative and experiential activities, multicultural engagement, and the planning and facilitation of a community workshop. A supervised counselling internship provides opportunities to apply your learning in real-life contexts, while a research and skills development course strengthens your critical thinking, engagement with scholarly literature, and ability to integrate theory, theology, and practice.

As part of your studies, you will be required to complete supervised practical activities and counselling sessions. You will need to arrange and fund your own external professional supervision, which will involve additional costs.

On graduation, you will have developed the knowledge, practical skills, and ethical awareness to serve in Christian counselling contexts within churches and communities, journeying alongside others towards Christlikeness and flourishing. You will also be eligible to apply for the Master of Theology course-based programme specialising in Christian counselling subject to the applicable admission requirements.

Do I Qualify?

Please note that you may not register for the BTh Honours (Counselling) programme if you are currently registered for a cognate programme at another institution.

To register for the BTh Honours with a concentration in Christian Counselling, you need one of the following:

  • A Bachelor of Theology or equivalent degree that includes 144 credits of Christian counselling.

  • A Bachelor’s degree in another field with an accredited certificate or diploma in theology (plus 72 supplementary counselling credits, unless your Bachelor’s degree includes sufficient credits in Christian counselling).

Is The Honours A Research Degree?

The BTh Honours in Christian Counselling is a postgraduate qualification that combines academic study, research engagement, and supervised practical experience. The curriculum consists of five 24-credit courses.

The first course introduces the theological, ethical, and contextual foundations of Christian counselling. This is followed by a course in narrative counselling and a course in logotherapy, both approached from a Christian perspective. The fourth course focuses on practical counselling skills, multicultural awareness, community workshop facilitation, and a supervised counselling internship. The final course develops research literacy, critical thinking, and professional competencies through scholarly reading, article reviews, presentations, and an oral examination.

Throughout the programme, students integrate academic knowledge, Christian theology, and practical counselling skills. Although the programme includes research-related activities, it is not a dissertation-based research degree.

How Long Does It Take?

The degree typically takes 2½ years to complete on a part-time basis. However, students who have sufficient time available to dedicate to their studies may complete the programme in 18 months.

The 18-month option requires a greater commitment of time to academic work, practical activities, and supervised counselling requirements.

If you wish to complete the programme in 18 months, please contact our administration team for further information about the recommended order of courses and how to plan your studies accordingly.

Courses

Programme requirements

Compulsory Courses

These are the courses that you must do in order to graduate from the BThC Honours. If you earn 120 credits but do not have all of them as completed courses, you will not be eligible to graduate.

Total Credits (120)

The BThC Honours requires that you earn a minimum of 120 total credits.

Code
Course
Credits
Compulsory Courses6
CCC4240Counselling Ethics and SATS24 credits
CCC4241Narrative Counselling as Pastoral Care24 credits
CCC4242Narrative Counselling and the Church24 credits
CCC4243Logotherapy as Ministry24 credits
CCC4245CCC4245 Practical Skills and Counselling Internship 24 credits
CCC4246CCC4246 Research and Skills Development in Counselling24 credits

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Timetable

General Information

SATS has 3-month courses, called “term” courses and 6-month courses called “semester” courses.

Timetable

Course Name

Availability

CCC4240 Ethics and SATS

Available in semester 1 and 2

CCC4241 Narrative Counselling as Pastoral Care

Available in semester 1 only

CCC4243 Logotherapy as Ministry

Available in semester 2 only

CCC4245 Practical Skills and Counselling Internship

Available in semester 1 and 2

CCC4246 Research and Skills Development in Counselling

Available in semester 1 and 2

Important Information When Choosing Subjects:

• You are required to begin your programme with CCC4240 Ethics and SATS.

• CCC4241 and CCC4243 must be successfully completed before you can enrol in CCC4245.

• CCC4240 and CCC4246 may be taken concurrently with other subjects, provided you have sufficient time and financial resources to manage the additional workload.

Is this programme accredited?

Yes. The BTh Hons with a Counselling Concentration is accredited by the Council on Higher Education and registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training. The BTh Hons is a complete qualification on level 8 on South Africa’s National Qualifications Framework.

Professional registration

Graduates from the programs with a concentration in Christian Counselling can apply for professional registration with the Council for Pastoral and Spiritual Counsellors (CPSC). For more information visit CPSC website: https://www.cpsc.org.za

How are the courses delivered?

The courses are delivered via our online system, MySats. You will access all your study materials on the site. Some counselling courses require you to purchase prescribed textbooks.  You will be able to interact with the lecturer and other students through forums that are available on the site. You will also submit your assignments and receive your results on MySats. There are prescribed dates for the submission of each assignment; if you fail to meet one of those dates, you fail the course.

Counselling Internship

For courses CCC4241, CCC4243, and CCC4245 you will complete a specified number client conversations, group supervision sessions, and external, individual supervision sessions. Of the hours of client conversations in each of the above courses, a portion of the hours are acquired through role-plays within the course, and the remainder are conducted as a student-counsellor with volunteer conversation partners.

While group supervision is included in the course, the hours of external, individual supervision in CCC4241, CCC4243 and CCC4245 are for the student’s own account. There are normally around six external supervision courses in each of the courses mentioned above. CCC4240 and CCC4246 do not require external supervision. Recommendations for specialist supervisors will be made by your course lecturer.

The accumulated hours collectively constitute the graduation requirement, which enables candidates to acquire the hours needed for accreditation and registration as Christian counsellors.

Access to further programmes

The Bachelor of Theology Honours (Counselling Stream) articulates vertically into an MTh or MA in Theology, enabling you to specialize in Christian counselling. If you successfully complete the Bachelor of Theology Honours (Counselling Stream) and maintain an average of 65% for all the courses, you would be able to apply for the Master of Theology (Counselling Stream) programme.

Is the Honours a Research Degree?

The BTh Honours in Christian Counselling is a postgraduate qualification that combines academic study, research engagement, and supervised practical experience. The curriculum consists of five 24-credit courses.

The first course introduces the theological, ethical, and contextual foundations of Christian counselling. This is followed by a course in narrative counselling and a course in logotherapy, both approached from a Christian perspective. The fourth course focuses on practical counselling skills, multicultural awareness, community workshop facilitation, and a supervised counselling internship. The final course develops research literacy, critical thinking, and professional competencies through scholarly reading, article reviews, presentations, and an oral examination.

Throughout the programme, students integrate academic knowledge, Christian theology, and practical counselling skills. Although the programme includes research-related activities, it is not a dissertation-based research degree.

How Long Does It Take?

The degree typically takes 2½ years to complete on a part-time basis. However, students who have sufficient time available to dedicate to their studies may complete the programme in 18 months.

The 18-month option requires a greater commitment of time to academic work, practical activities, and supervised counselling requirements.

If you wish to complete the programme in 18 months, please contact our administration team for further information about the recommended order of courses and how to plan your studies accordingly.

How much does it cost?

Click here to see the Full Price List for all programmes

Complete our online application form, or contact us.