State of Clinical Social Work in South Africa

Abstract

Clinical social work has a long tradition in South Africa, with the first formal training program starting in 1977. More recently, clinical social work has been legislatively recognized as a specialization within social work, and clinical social workers will soon begin to register with this specialization. This article presents the only review of clinical social work in South Africa. It maps the history of the field, its current definition, training opportunities and registration (licensing) procedures. Drawing on a national survey of clinical social workers, the article describes the range of theories and practice modalities employed by clinical social workers, foregrounding the use of grief counselling, cognitive behavioral therapy, crisis intervention and psychodynamic therapy, and a predominance of individual work. Three case examples of clinical practice are advanced, related to a range of contemporary issues, including grief, violence, gender identity, sex work, migration and clinical work in macro contexts. The authors conclude with a reflection on the challenges and future directions for clinical social work, emphasizing clinical practice within a developmental social welfare approach and the need to address decoloniality and indigenous practice in the African context.