About ICP

Introduction

The Institute of Christian Psychology was founded in the year 2001 with the purpose of equipping people to help others, and many courses have been developed in order to educate people to counsel others on both a lay- and professional level.

The Institute of Christian Psychology started as an initiative of Prof Nicolene Joubert to present a BA Psychology with specialization in Christian Psychology.  Christian Psychology is an approach to psychology that emphasises a holistic approach to the scientific study of human behaviour.  A holistic approach includes the critical studying of human behaviour on an intra-psychological, interpersonal, socio-economical and spiritual level.

The Institute of Christian Psychology is a site of delivery of Die Afrikaanse Protestantse Akademie, a registered private higher education institution (DoE Registration Certificate Nr 1999/HE08/001).  The Institute of Christian Psychology offers a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Psychology degree.  The BA and Bachelor of Psychology degrees are awarded by Die Afrikaanse Protestantse Akademie and are accepted nationally as BA and B Psych degrees for further studies.

Founder and Head

  Prof Joubert

Prof Joubert is a registered Counselling Psychologist in private practice as well as a teacher, who obtained her Masters degree from Unisa and later went on to obtain her Ph.D. in Psychology from Northwest University.  Prof Joubert is a well-known speaker on the effects of trauma and the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder.  Prof Joubert is a lifelong honorary member of The Red Cross Society and the Women’s Federation.  She is also a member of organisations such as the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA), The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), International Play Therapy Association (IPTA), International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) and the Association for Christian Counsellors (ACC). Prof Joubert is the founder and chairperson of the South African Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (SASSTD), a component group of ISSTD. Prof Joubert's publications include amongst others: Joubert, N.L., Venter, C.A. & Venter, C.J.H. (2004). The development and evaluation of a Biblically-based therapy programme for a congregation. In die Skriflig, 38(1) and Joubert, N.L. (2008). An African Perspective on Miracles. In J.H. Ellens (Ed.), Miracles: God, Science, and Psychology in the Paranormal.

 

Dr Hennie Scheepers

Deputy Head

Dr Hennie Scheepers is a research psychologist who has been involved with the ICP since 2007. He was recently appointed as the Deputy Head of the ICP and is involved with lecturing as well as programme accreditation and registration. The topic of Dr Scheeper’s doctoral thesis was the design and evaluation of a career counselling intervention within the context of schools in the early nineties. His interests include nature, photography, reading and music.

 

Roché Snyman

Course Developer and Subject Head

Mrs. Roché Snyman is a counselling psychologist and life coach who joined the ICP in 2001. She has been involved in the developing of ICP courses and is also currently the subject head of Communication and Industrial Psychology. Her interests include business and life coaching. 

 

Vision

The vision of the Institute of Christian Psychology is to equip people to effectively deal with the demands of life by providing private Christian higher education that focuses on a holistic approach encompassing spiritual, psychological, social and economical development of all people.  The Institute is committed to the presentation of high quality teaching and training programmes that will prepare Christian psychological counsellors and psychologists to practice within the South African community.

Mission

The Institute is committed to effective and efficient training, education, research and community service which are of high quality and will produce socially useful and enriching knowledge, as well as the relevant skills and competencies necessary for social and personal growth.

 

Objectives

The objectives of the course in Psychology are to:

  • Teach the facts, principles and technical vocabulary of psychology and to engage the students in critical thought processes; 
  • Teach the technical vocabulary and principles of spiritual belief systems with specific reference to the Christian belief system and to study the role of belief systems in human functioning on an intra-psychological, interpersonal and cultural level; 
  • Engage students in scientific inquiry about psychological processes including spirituality; 
  • Increase students’ awareness of important social processes; 
  • Equip students through knowledge and experiential learning to understand and cope with their personal and professional lives; 
  • To support every student in the process of self-actualisation, the search for meaning in life and developing social responsibility.

The central objective of the ICP is to benefit the larger community by providing the community with emotional, psychological and spiritual support networks in the form of counsellors and psychologists.