Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim has taken the Board of Counsellors to task for being lax in accrediting counsellors in the country.

Rohani was reported as saying that since the Board was formed under the Counsellors Act (1998), only 5,085 have been accredited and this was considered a low figure.

According to in Berita Harian, Rohani said she believed many more unregistered counsellors are now freely practising in government departments and schools.

"The need for professional and registered counsellors to treat victims of domestic violence is very important, more so for emotional cases due to a crisis or trauma.

"If this problem is not addressed, it can lead to mental pressure that will affect families. The counsellors need to be accredited to avoid making mistakes that can prolong a traumatic experience," Rohani was quoted saying.

She added that her ministry would organise a special convention next year to gather all registered and unregistered counsellors nationwide.

Rohani also said that women's groups under the 1Malaysia Perwani Community programme would be given training to become the front-liners in dealing with trauma and crisis cases, before being referred to a counsellor.