Embedding mental healthcare into the country’s public health system is crucial to ensure that South Africans living with severe mental health conditions (SMHC) are not left behind after being discharged from psychiatric facilities.

That was the conclusion of Fadia Gamieldien, a PhD candidate in the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Department of Psychiatry, whose research examined the barriers that hinder personal recovery for those living with SMHCs, like bipolar mood disorder, severe depression and schizophrenia, especially after their discharge from psychiatric facilities.

“While a form of integration is seen as a way of making mental health part of general health, the system is still too focused on clinical recovery (medication adherence and symptom reduction). The current system fails to include interventions that support MHSUs [Mental Health Service Users] to meet their personal recovery goals,” she said.

The result, she cautioned, was that the perspectives of MHSUs on their personal recovery were not prioritised, diminishing how they find meaning and purpose in life beyond their diagnosis.

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