Singapore Association for Counselling

What Singapore Association for Counselling does

Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1982 and headquartered at 151 Chin Swee Road, #03-12 Manhattan House in Singapore. It serves as the primary professional body for counsellors, psychotherapists, counselling educators, and students in Singapore, maintaining the official Register of Counsellors and Register of Clinical Supervisors and accrediting postgraduate counselling programmes. Membership spans seven tiers — Student, Allied, Associate, Provisional Clinical, Clinical, Master Clinical, and Fellow — with annual fees ranging from SGD 50 (Student) to SGD 100 (Standard categories) and biennial accreditation fees of SGD 100-200 for Registered Counsellor and Registered Clinical Supervisor status. Members must meet ongoing requirements including 400 clinical hours and 50 CPD hours for RC renewal.

The association's product portfolio includes the SAC Membership System (online portal), public Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor registries, the Find a Counsellor directory, a Course Recognition Programme, a CPD Pre-Approval Service, the Counselling & Psychotherapy Review Singapore (CPRS) journal, advertising placements, and a group MedMal Professional Indemnity Insurance add-on (SGD 109 annually). Distribution is direct via the website (sacsingapore.org) and self-serve through the membership portal (member.sacsingapore.org), with marketing through social media, newsletters, events, and the directory.

Revenue is generated from three primary streams: recurring membership and accreditation subscriptions (the dominant stream), advertising fees for website postings and email blasts (SGD 100-500 depending on member status and channel), and CPD pre-approval fees for training providers (SGD 150-400 per application). SAC is a member of the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), has signed multi-year MoUs with the Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association and Family Justice Courts via the Panel of Therapeutic Specialists (POTS), and participates in the CCPA International Panel and Singapore's Interagency Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-being. The organization employs 21 staff and is led by President A/Prof Frederick Low with a member-elected Executive Committee.

Name

Singapore Association for Counselling

Legal name

Singapore Association for Counselling

Website

https://sacsingapore.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Singapore Association for Counselling is a nonprofit professional membership body founded in 1982 that accredits counsellors, maintains public registries, sets training standards, and delivers CPD, directory, and member services to counselling professionals in Singapore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: SAC generates primary revenue from membership fees across multiple categories including Clinical Members, Provisional Clinical Members, Allied Members, Associate Members, Student Members, Registered Counsellors, and Registered Clinical Supervisors. Fees range from SGD 50-200 depending on membership type and validity period.
2. Advertising Services: SAC offers advertising placements on its website and email blasts to members for counselling-related events, workshops, and job opportunities. Rates vary for members and non-members.
3. CPD Pre-Approval Services: Training providers can apply for recognition of CPD hours for short courses and workshops, with application fees ranging from SGD 150-400 depending on category and duration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC) is a nonprofit professional body that operates a membership management system offering tiered annual and biennial memberships, maintains public Registers of Counsellors and Clinical Supervisors for credential verification, runs a Course Recognition Programme for postgraduate counselling programmes, and provides CPD pre-approval, advertising placements, an annual journal (CPRS), and group Professional Indemnity Insurance for counselling professionals in Singapore.

Product overview

Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC) operates as a professional membership organization offering a suite of interconnected services rather than a unified software platform. The core portfolio includes: the SAC Membership System (online portal for membership management), Register of Counsellors and Registered Clinical Supervisor Registry (public directories for professional verification), Counsellor Directory (Find a Counsellor - searchable public listing by specialization), Course Recognition Programme (standards-setting for counselling education), CPD Pre-Approval Service (Continuing Professional Development verification), Counselling & Psychotherapy Review Singapore (CPRS - annual publication), Directory Listing Service (business listings for members), Events and Advertising Platform (workshop/job advertising), Practice Guidelines for FAM Counsellors, Skills Framework for Social Service Counselling Track, and MedMal Professional Indemnity Insurance (group coverage). These services collectively support the counselling profession in Singapore through standards-setting, professional development, public verification, and member benefits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SAC Membership System Online membership portal handling application, renewal, and conversion across seven membership categories (Fellow, Master Clinical, Clinical, Provisional Clinical, Allied, Associate, and Student members) for counselling professionals in Singapore.
• Registered Clinical Supervisor Registry Public directory of Registered Clinical Supervisors (RCS) who have met SAC's advanced clinical supervision qualifications, enabling verification and information for the public.
• Counsellor Directory (Find a Counsellor) Searchable public directory listing SAC Clinical Members and above who offer counselling services, organized by specializations including anxiety, trauma, couple therapy, and more.
• Course Recognition Programme Programme that reviews and recognizes postgraduate counselling programmes delivered in Singapore, establishing standards for counsellor education and training.
• CPD Pre-Approval Service Service for third-party training providers to apply for pre-approval of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours for workshops and short courses, with fees from SGD 150 to SGD 400 per category.
• Counselling & Psychotherapy Review Singapore (CPRS) Annual publication for practitioners, researchers, and educators to share best counselling practices with emphasis on practice-based research and indigenous counselling modalities relevant to Singapore and Asian contexts.
• Directory Listing Service Service for SAC Clinical Members and above to list their counselling businesses in the public directory with specializations and contact details.
• Events and Advertising Platform Platform for counselling-related organisations to advertise workshops, courses, and job opportunities through website postings and email blasts to SAC members.
• Practice Guidelines for FAM Counsellors Guidelines document for Family and Ministries (FAM) Counsellors, providing professional standards and best practices.
• MedMal Professional Indemnity Insurance Group professional indemnity insurance coverage for Provisional Clinical Members, Clinical Members, Master Clinical Members, and Fellow Members, providing protection against malpractice claims at SGD 109 per year.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Singapore Psychological SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 July 2022Joint readiness to support Interagency Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-being. Collaboration to contribute to nation's mental health needs and safeguard community well-being.
• Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2022SAC was invited to join CCPA's International Panel. President A/Prof Frederick Low participated in discussions on counselling and psychotherapy landscape around the world with representatives from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Uganda, and International Association for Counselling.
• Family Justice Courts (FJC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2022Panel of Therapeutic Specialists (POTS) MoU signing ceremony with FJC, College of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine Singapore, and Singapore Psychological Society. Collaboration to help children and families with relational challenges as they transit through difficult times.
• Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association (HKPCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 July 2021Four-year Memorandum of Understanding signed to facilitate working relationship between the two associations. Explores possibility of mutual recognition of specific membership types, professional exchanges, and joint research projects relevant to practitioners.
• National Council of Social Service (NCSS)coreOthersSAC is a member of NCSS, Singapore's national umbrella body for social service agencies, providing a link to the broader social service ecosystem.
• College of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine SingaporecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in the Panel of Therapeutic Specialists (POTS) initiative with Family Justice Courts and Singapore Psychological Society to develop professional requirements and improve access to therapeutic services for families in legal proceedings.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association: Hong Kong's professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists. SAC has signed a 4-year MoU with HKPCA to explore mutual membership recognition, joint research, and professional exchanges, making it the closest functional counterpart.
• Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association: Canada's national counselling and psychotherapy professional body. SAC was invited to join CCPA's International Panel, sharing perspectives on counselling regulation and standards — indicating a near-identical mandate in a different country.
• International Association for Counselling: Global federation of counselling associations that SAC engages with through partnerships. It operates at a supranational level but plays the same 'professional body for counsellors' role that SAC plays nationally for Singapore.

Broad incumbents

• American Counseling Association: The US professional body representing counsellors across specialisations. As a much larger and older incumbent, ACA parallels SAC's role in accreditation, ethics, and advocacy within a far bigger market.
• Australian Counselling Association: Australia's national peak body for counsellors, providing membership tiers, registries, and CPD recognition analogous to SAC. It serves as a regional proxy for SAC's service model and credentialing approach.
• Singapore Psychological Society: Singapore's professional body for psychologists, overlapping the mental health professional pool that SAC serves. SAC and SPS jointly support the Interagency Taskforce on Mental Health, making SPS the closest domestic adjacent peer.
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy: The UK's largest professional association for counselling and psychotherapy. BACP operates a substantially larger register and broader service portfolio, providing a benchmark for what SAC could scale into as a regional incumbent.

Emerging players

• International Coach Federation: Global credentialing body for professional coaches. While focused on coaching rather than counselling, ICF competes with SAC-credentialed professionals for adjacent client spending on personal development services.

Others

• National Council of Social Service: Singapore's national umbrella body for the social service sector, of which SAC is a member. NCSS governs the broader ecosystem in which SAC's members operate and is a key channel for funding and policy access.
• Singapore Medical Association: Singapore's principal professional association for medical doctors. As a peer governance and membership model for healthcare professionals in Singapore, it is a useful structural analogue for SAC's professional body role.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SingaporeAssociationforCounselling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/singapore-association-for-counselling
• Instagraminstagram.com/sgassociationforcounselling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Singapore Association for Counselling