Given that the suicide rate for South African children aged 10 to 14 years has more than doubled in the last 15 years, and in keeping with Child Protection Week, we ask Rudolf Bezuidenhout, Manager of Durbanville Children’s Home, a SACAP fieldwork placement centre, some hard-hitting questions about the plight of the country’s smallest, most vulnerable citizens.
Q: What are the most common psychological wounds your social workers and counsellors see in the children who come to Durbanville Children’s Home?
A: The children admitted to our care have lost the ability to trust; they feel abandoned and are experiencing rejection in all of their relationships. In general they have no sense of belonging.
Q: How do these psychological wounds in children manifest in behaviour? What are some of the more common behavioural issues that have to be dealt with at Durbanville Children’s Home?
A: The most common manifestation is in the form of challenging behaviour, where the child has no trust and displays negative behaviour as a way to test new relationships.
Q: What kinds of treatments (counselling and otherwise) are on offer to the children at your facility?
A: Social-work services, various forms of counselling therapy, psychotherapy and occupational therapy.
Q: In your professional opinion, are children who are estranged or abandoned by a parent scarred for life?
A: Definitely, it is sometimes only because of their inner resilience that children are able to continue through life despite this scarring.
Q: What kinds of processes are engaged to help children seamlessly reintegrate with families and the community?
A: We focus on reunification and reintegration from the moment a child is admitted. We are very reluctant to admit a child if there is no reunification plan in place. Continuous contact is maintained with family and significant other to ensure that the child remains in contact with his family.
Q: What are your personal views, as someone working in this field, on the unique challenges faced by the children of our country?
A: Our children are in a very precarious position. The effect that anti-social behaviour, drugs and alcohol, and a struggling economy have on our communities is devastating. In my view a lot more should be done by Government in making sure there are sufficient care placements and facilities available for the children who need them, depending on their different needs. Civil society and NGO’s are doing their utmost in this regard, but a lack of sufficient funding from Government seriously hinders progress.
If you’d like to enter the child-care services why not consider taking a counselling course at SACAP? The South African College of Applied Psychology also offers a Bachelor of Psychology professional degree, approved by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) for the education and training of Registered Counsellors.
