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| REFLECTIONS ON A DIVERSIFIED PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY At the time that we are meeting in a conference to deliberate on "Diversity" it is appropriate to reflect on how the Society for Student Counselling in Southern Africa (SSCSA) has endeavored to meet the needs of the times over a period of a quarter of a century. The SSCSA was founded in 1978 and the founding fathers (there were no mothers at the time) were from the established universities, later joined by the technikons. The constitution defined it as a professional society whose main business was to meet annually at a conference where academic papers were read and everything was very formal and proper. This first phase, which lasted for about five years, can be described as the "establishment phase" The second phase in the lifecycle of the organization can be described as the "shake up phase". It started with a sense of disenchantment expressed by the traditional black institutions and the situation came to a head in the middle 80's when a number of these institutions gave up their membership in the organization. On the other hand there were more established members who also felt uncomfortable with the way things were going. It resulted in a second breakaway albeit for different reasons. The result was that the Society had to take a serious look at itself, reposition itself and start a rebuilding and healing process. "Cometh the hour cometh the man/ men/ women" and the society was fortunate to have a number of dedicated individuals who believed in what it stood for and was prepared to step into the breach. Notable members who steered the society through the "healing phase" were Andrew Swart, Andre and Marina de Jager, Darryl Smith and others. The healing phase can also be regarded as the time when the society started to display its true sense of diversity. Women and people previously excluded from leadership positions started to take their rightful places. It led to the election of the first black President in the person of Prof Neo Mathabe, currently Vice-Chancellor of the Technikon SA. The membership of the society was also opened up to include all counselors working at tertiary institutions. The new members brought a truly diverse dimension to the meetings and conferences. In time the members of the Society became a family that cared for and supported each other. The fourth phase in the life of the SSCSA is just emerging and
it can be termed the "professionalism phase". It is a return to its
roots but in the process it is a profession enriched by an
understanding of the true nature of student counseling. It is a special
breed of counseling which is distinctly different from, yet draws from
the theories and techniques of traditional counseling psychology. It is
also enriched by other disciplines such as industrial psychology,
education, social work, communication science, etc. It is in many ways
a new profession, which needs to be supported, nurtured and developed.
This is the challenging task of the SSCSA and its management. It will
not be easy but we trust the process and we are confident that the
Society will take its rightful place in the newly developing higher
education arena. |
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