Hiring Policy for Counsellors at Saaya Health

By Rasha Alshafie

| August 30, 2021

At Saaya Health we evaluate counsellors very carefully before appointing them on to our approved panel of counsellors who offer counselling services to organizations and individuals via our online counselling portals. Our evaluation process has 3 steps.

Education & Training

Currently a Masters degree or a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology or Social Work or Counselling is a prerequisite for becoming a counsellor on Saaya’s panel. This criteria has been informed by international standards of professional qualifications for counsellors.

In cases where a counsellor’s education is from a country where education standards are not consistently strong, then the educational institute is also part of the criteria. Saaya only works with counsellors whose education is from credible educational institutes. This credibility has been determined by the performance of these educational institutions and its graduates over the last decade.

2. Professional Experience

A counsellor must have prior and ongoing professional experience of counselling individuals. Counsellors are evaluated based on this experience. Their theoretical counselling approach, ability to handle a range of clinical issues, relational skills and professionalism are assessed through an in-depth interview. Their professional expertise is then verified by obtaining reviews of the counsellor’s performance from the counsellor’s professional peers and past counselling clients.

3. Ongoing Professional Development

Once counsellors are appointed onto Saaya Health’s panel of counsellors, they are required to remain under the supervision of a clinical supervisor. A supervisor is another counselling professional who is usually more experienced than the supervisee and has additional training in supervision. Counsellors periodically discuss their counselling cases with their supervisors. A supervisor, like the counsellor, is also bound by confidentiality. Supervision enables counsellors to have ongoing professional guidance and support. It prevents the counsellor from having blind spots during their clinical work, and ensures that they are practicing safely and ethically.

Saaya regularly verifies that a counsellor is under supervision by sharing records with the counsellor’s supervisor.

At Saaya Health, we understand that the relationship between a client and a counsellor is extremely sensitive and can have a significant impact on the client’s life. Our hiring policy is informed by this understanding. We believe in doing our homework on counsellors’ backgrounds, and we believe in putting safety measures in place.