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.

临床社会工作在南非有着悠久的传统，第一个正式培训计划始于 1977 年。 最近，临床社会工作已被立法认可为社会工作中的一个专业，临床社会工作者将很快开始注册该专业. 本文介绍了南非临床社会工作的唯一综述。它描绘了该领域的历史、其当前定义、培训机会和注册（许可）程序。本文利用对临床社会工作者的全国调查，描述了临床社会工作者所采用的理论和实践方式的范围，突出了悲伤咨询、认知行为疗法、危机干预和心理动力学疗法的使用，以及个人工作的优势。提出了三个临床实践案例，涉及一系列当代问题，包括悲痛、暴力、性别认同、性工作、移民和宏观背景下的临床工作。作者最后反思了临床社会工作的挑战和未来方向，强调了发展社会福利方法中的临床实践，以及在非洲背景下解决非殖民化和本土实践的必要性。