HISTORY OF THE DIVISION
The Division of Psychotherapy started with a focus on the development of a Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy. A psychotherapy reading group, consisting of clinicians (psychologists and psychiatrists) interested in psychotherapy teaching and training contributed to the development of the curricula for the PGDip in Psychotherapy. Louise Frenkel, Ereshia Benjamin and Dr. Adele Marais were all founding members of the Division, and remain active in the teaching and research agenda of the Division. In 2016 the division registered an Mphil in psychotherapy services research, providing the opportunity to clinicians to expand their exposure to clinical services and psychotherapy.
CLINICAL
The Division of Psychotherapy provides professional integrated clinical services, training opportunities and resources aimed at enhancing the quality of life and wellness of the appropriate referrals. Services are provided for a diverse population (including children and adults).
Psychotherapy services: Different psychotherapy modalities are required in different settings: we prioritise an initial assessment of each person, so that the appropriate intervention is found for that individual. In the acute services, this is predominantly short-term supportive therapy for the patient (combining elements of CBT, psychodynamic concepts, dialectical behaviour therapy and the recovery approaches). Family sessions are also provided which deal with the structural and emotional impact of the illness on the family, and psycho-educational input.
Group work is also a feature of the services we as a Division offer:
Psychoeducational groups are offered in all settings and are facilitated by psychologists and intern psychologists, at times co-facilitated with other members of the multidisciplinary team.
In-patient and out-patient Group psychotherapy (based on Yalom’s model , and the recovery approach) are offered in all wards. There are also specific skills based groups which are based on the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy model.
Couple, family and group therapy services are provided as an adjunct to the individual patient’s recovery programme in the acute, forensic and intellectual disability services as well as the Consultation-Liaison service/ward , and the Therapeutic programme ward.
Psychometric assessments and specialized neuropsychological assessments are conducted to inform comprehensive diagnostic assessment and treatment planning where indicated.
The Department serves as an accredited internship training site registered with the HPCSA for the professional training of intern clinical psychologists, and it is the Division of Psychotherapy which co-ordinates and manages the training and provides placement and supervision for these clinical interns.
THINKING AND LEARNING
The Division supports and provides psychology and psychotherapy teaching and training opportunities in the following areas:
Undergraduate teaching
Our involvement with the undergraduate medical teaching programme in the Faculty of Health Sciences includes teaching to the 4th and 6th year medical students. The core outcomes include clinically appropriate and relevant psychological knowledge and exposure to communication and counselling skills-based learning, and provision of support and supervision to students. Clinical supervision and case discussion are utilised to illustrate clinical skills.
Postgraduate
Registrar training and supervision
The Division is involved with the registrar pre-part 1 psychology teaching.
In the 2nd and 3rd year psychotherapy cases are supervised by psychologists.
At Lentegeur Hospital, group psychotherapy supervision/in service training is provided for Registrars at Pathways (Ward 15)
BASE
The Division is based at both Lentegeur and Valkenberg Hospitals.
STAFF IN THE DIVISION
HEAD OF DIVISION Mr Waseem Hawa Qualification/s: Mpsych (Clinical psychology) UWC Employment: Joint staff on WCG conditions: Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital and UCT Position at employment: Principal Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer Research Interest: Task sharing, Schema therapy, Psychoeducation |
Ms Hayley Julius Qualification/s: MA (Clinical Psychology) UCT Employment: Joint staff on WCG conditions: Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital and UCT position at employment: Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer Research interest: Public Health Email: hayley.julius@uct.ac.za |
Mr Kamal Kamaloodien Qualification/s: Employment: Joint staff on WCG conditions: Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital and UCT position at employment: Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer Research interest: |
Dr Maura Lappeman
Qualification/s: BA: Honours (NMMU), M.A (Clinical Psychology) UCT, PhD (Psychology) SU Employment: Joint staff on WCG conditions: Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital and UCT Position at employment: Principal Psychologist and Senior Lecturer Research interests: Improvement of health systems, Trauma |
Ms Nasera Mokoa
Qualification/s: BA (UWC), BA Honours (UWC), MA in Clinical Community Psychology (US) Employment: Joint staff on WCG conditions Lentegeur Hospital & UCT Senior Lecturer. Position: Senior Clinical Psychologist Research interest: Task Shifting, Group therapy, Maternal Infant Mental Health Email: nasera.cader@westerncape.gov.za ; nasera.mokoa@uct.ac.za |
Ms Cebokazi Ngcakani-Mtati Qualification/s: Employment: Joint staff on WCG conditions: Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital and UCT position at employment: Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer Research interest: |
Zareena Parker Qualification/s: MA Research Psychology (UCT- 1999); MPSYCH (Clinical Psychology) (UWC - 2002) Research interests: group psychotherapy, trauma, mental health and recovery |
Dr Helena Thornton Qualification/s: Employment: Employment: Joint staff on WCG conditions: Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital and UCT Position at employment: Senior Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer Research interest: Email: helena.thornton@uct.ac.za |
HONORARY STAFF:
Professor Gail Wyatt
Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
Director, UCLA Sexual Health Program
Director, Center for Culture, Trauma and Mental Health Disparities
Associate Director, UCLA AIDS Institute
Professor Norweeta Milburn
Director of Research and Evaluation, Nathanson Family Resilience Center, UCLA
Professor-in-Residence, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA
Dr. Rehana Kader
Ph.D., University of Stellenbosch
M.Psych, University of the Western Cape
HDE, University of the Western Cape
BA. Honours, University of the Western Cape
BA, University of the Western Cape
OTHER PROJECTS
- The Division is collaborating on various projects, with partners from UCLA and the International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR).