The Department of Counselling is committed to excellence in undergraduate and post graduate education under the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences. Our graduates are expected to be competent and ethical professionals committed to the application of counselling to real-world situations. Our programmes provide a foundation for the scientific understanding of people’s behaviour and mental processes and promote scholarship and service. Our programs prepare students to become licensed with the allied Health Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe as well as with other Health Councils across the globe. The department prides itself at facilitating registration for alumni at the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which would enable them to practice within the UK. Our department promotes an environment characterized by collaborative learning and scholarship among its graduate students, guided by the university’s core values and those of other professional organizations. Through the department of Counselling, the university has an MoU with CONNECT- Zimbabwe Institute of Systemic Therapy (Zist) which is a Zimbabwean Welfare organisation that it is staffed by Family Therapists, Counsellors, Social Workers and Psychologists registered to offer counselling, training, research and consultancy services. The institution is affiliated to the ZOU.
In this historic period, globally, each one of us encounters some aspects of drug and alcohol abuse, whether it is a family member, a friend or neighbor, a student, a person on the street or oneself. Families are all affected in some way. The department has been and is still driving a short course training on Drug and substance abuse management. The aim of this short course is to provide general guidelines regarding what people currently know about drugs and substance abuse, as well as helpful resources and possible solutions.
Mission and Vision Statement
- The Department’s mission aspires to be a nationally recognized provider of a platform for teaching, learning and research in counselling to undergraduate and post graduate students. In the process the department promotes professional counselling services that are guided by ethical principles to make significant contributions to social science and the profession of counselling and produces professionals who serve the local, national, and global communities.
- The vision of the Department of Counselling is to be a centre of excellence in provision of competent counsellors in diverse cultural settings.
Objectives
The Department is designed to:
- Develop advanced academic skillsin interdisciplinary research methods and design, across a variety of methodologies.
- Produce policy makers and leaders in the discipline of counselling culturally and linguistically
diverse populations.
- Produce experts and consultants that promote the growth and development of professional
counselling at national, regional, and international levels.
- Equip students with skills to participate in public and private policy processes including the role of the professional counsellor in advocating on behalf of the profession.
- Advocate in processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede
access, equity, and success of clients.
- Equip students with ethical standards of related entities and applications of ethical and legal
considerations in professional counselling.
- Achieve high standards of excellence and ethical behaviour in counselling practice, theory
and research.
- Provide counselling interventions that promote the well-being of all clients in their educational and social pursuits.
- Equip department members and students with skills of staff development in collaboration with other mental health professionals.
- Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling (3-8 years)
- Master of Science in Counselling (MSCC -2 years)
- Bachelor of Science Honours in Counselling (BSCHC – 4 years).
Department Chairperson
Dr Lilian Chaminuka
Department Staff
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