South Africa’s White Paper on the Transformation of the Health System argues that a move to community-based health care, specifically mental health, would help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness because community and family involvement would be integral parts of the plan. As the White Paper states: “At the community level, non-governmental and other grassroots organisations should be involved in mental health services. Communities should be actively involved in the planning and implementation of community-based mental health care services, as well as substance abuse prevention, management, and rehabilitation.”

However, stigma still exists and access to mental health care services has not improved as much as we had hoped since the end of apartheid. We also find that, in the space of mental health care, there still seems to be a large focus on one-on-one interventions, rather than community-based interventions.

Panel Discussion

Dr Poppy Masinga, Head of Social Work and Community Development at SACAP, will facilitate a panel discussion with our esteemed panelists.

Prof. Tirusha Naidu

Professor Thirusha Naidu is a clinical psychologist and Head of the Clinical Psychology Unit at King Dinuzulu Hospital. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioural Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. Thirusha is drawn to how the established positivist, epistemological landscape of ‘modern’ science and medicine reproduce dominant methodologies and research narratives. Implicit in this tension is a bias which excludes sufficient Global South perspectives and is perpetuated in medical education. Thirusha is currently conducting research projects on Global North-South engagement in medical education research and teaching, as well as in the health humanities aspects of MDR-TB and HIV.

Grisel Pretorius

Grisel Pretorius is currently completing her Master of Social Science in Community Mental Health Promotion at the South African College of Applied Psychology and holds an Honours degree in Psychology and is also a qualified Psychometrist. Grisel has been involved in the field of community-based work for over 8 years, in various positions such as volunteering and she is currently employed as the Project Coordinator at the Friends of Valkenberg Trust, an NGO that works closely with patients at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital in Cape Town. Grisel is passionate about her work in government psychiatric spaces, where she focuses on developing support programmes for both in-and out-patients. She also deeply values social entrepreneurship and community-based care approaches in the South African mental health field and relies on these approaches when tackling issues such as the ever-present Revolving Door Phenomenon.

Lindiwe Dlamini

Glenrose Lindiwe Dlamini holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree with 29 years’ experience in NGO/CBO governance, social development, health care, entrepreneurship development, and environmental justice programs. Currently, Lindiwe is in private practice and a social development practitioner, involved in organisational development, strategic planning, project management, and multi-stakeholder engagement. Previously, Lindiwe worked as a clinical social worker and community development practitioner in different township and rural settings, offering a range of services varying from interventions with individuals and families, advocating for access to healthcare, poverty alleviation, facilitating income generating programmes, and capacity building of rural women through Self Help Groups (SHG). Lindiwe has also implemented multiple community development approaches to nurture and support ethical leadership and good governance within economic development entities and small business enterprises in rural areas.

Mamiki Ramaphakela

Mamiki Ramaphakela is an Executive Director at Gauteng Children’s Rights Committee. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work, specialising in Social Development and Policy. Mamiki also holds a diploma in Public Relations and Marketing. Mamiki has been a social work practitioner for the past 38 years and her areas of interest are children’s rights and welfare as well as women’s socio-economic development. Her other work experience extends to both the provincial and local governments, as well as in NGO and private/business sector. She specialises in strategic leadership, training and mentorship, projects development and management, projects monitoring and evaluation, as well as research.

Join the Discussion

Join us on Thursday, 22 September 2022 as four experts in the field of community-based services who come from diverse backgrounds and fields of practice discuss their experiences and views on the relevance of community-based intervention, particularly to enhancing people’s mental health and well-being. RSVP here.