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Final Board Exam Preparation Workshop – 10 September 2026

Final Board Exam Preparation Workshop – 10 September 2026

by | Aug 27, 2026 | Board Exam Workshop, Division for Research and Methodology (DRM), Division of Registered Counsellors and Psychometrists (RCP), Events and Announcements, Society for Educational Psychology of South Africa (SEPSA), The South African Association for Counselling Psychology (SAACP)

Board Exam Preparation Workshop – 10 September 2026

Final Board Exam Preparatory Workshop for 2026

Preparing for the Professional Board Examination? Join PsySSA for the final Board Exam Preparatory Workshop for 2026, designed to support candidates as they prepare for this important step in their professional journey.

The FREE workshop will provide focused guidance to help candidates approach the Board Examination with greater clarity and confidence.

Workshop Details

Date: Thursday, 10 September 2026
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Platform: Online

The workshop is presented in collaboration with the following PsySSA Divisions:

  • Division for Research and Methodology (DRM)
  • South African Association of Counselling Psychology (SAACP)
  • Society for Educational Psychology of South Africa (SEPSA)
  • Registered Counsellors and Psychometrists (RCP)

Candidates preparing to write the Board Examination are encouraged to take advantage of this final preparatory workshop for 2026.

Registration is essential.

Prepare. Engage. Ask questions. Move forward with confidence.

Click here to register
Book Launch: Mothering, Mental Health & the Village

Book Launch: Mothering, Mental Health & the Village

by | Aug 26, 2026 | Events and Announcements, Psychology Events

Book Launch: Mothering, Mental Health & the Village

The PsySSA Division of Clinical Psychology is pleased to highlight the upcoming launch of Mothering, Mental Health & the Village, edited by clinical psychologist Thabang Tlaka.

Motherhood is shaped not only by individual experiences, but also by the relationships, communities and social structures that surround and support mothers. Mothering, Mental Health & the Village brings these interconnected realities into focus, exploring motherhood through the lenses of mental health, relationships, family and community.

At the heart of the book is the idea of “the village”: the networks of family, friends and communities that support mothers as they navigate the emotional and practical demands of parenting. It invites reflection on maternal mental health beyond individual experiences, recognising the important role that connection, social support and broader systems play in psychological well-being.

Edited by Thabang Tlaka, the book contributes to an important conversation about how we understand and support mothers, families and the communities in which they live.

Join the Book Launch

Date: Saturday, 24 October 2026
Time: 13:00–16:30
Venue: Alkantrant Library, Pretoria

The PsySSA Division of Clinical Psychology encourages psychologists, mental health professionals and members of the broader community to join this timely conversation on motherhood, mental health and the power of the village.

Book Launch: Fathering, Mental Health & Society

Book Launch: Fathering, Mental Health & Society

by | Aug 26, 2026 | Events and Announcements, Psychology Events

Book Launch: Fathering, Mental Health & Society

PsySSA is pleased to share the upcoming launch of Fathering, Mental Health & Society, edited by clinical psychologist Thabang E. Tlaka.

Fatherhood is an important, yet often underexplored, dimension of mental health and family well-being. This timely publication explores the intersections between fatherhood, emotional well-being and the societal expectations that shape men’s experiences of parenting.

The book examines how changing understandings of masculinity and fatherhood influence emotional expression, relationships, parenting practices and psychological well-being. In doing so, it encourages a move beyond traditional understandings of fathers primarily as providers, towards a broader recognition of their emotional, relational and developmental roles within families and communities.

From a psychological perspective, the publication contributes to important conversations about men’s mental health, parenting and family well-being. It also highlights the value of creating spaces in which men can engage openly with emotional experiences, parenting challenges and the pressures associated with contemporary fatherhood.

Join the Conversation

The official book launch brings together the editor, authors and contributors to celebrate the publication and engage with the conversations it raises around fatherhood, mental health and society.

Date: Saturday, 5 September 2026
Time: 13:00–16:30
Venue: Alkantrant Library, Pretoria

Enquiries: +27 64 003 4626 | tlakamedia@gmail.com

The launch offers an opportunity for psychologists, mental health professionals and the broader community to reflect on how psychological knowledge and practice can more meaningfully recognise and respond to the experiences and needs of fathers, families and communities.

Join the authors for an afternoon of conversation, reflection and engagement around fatherhood, mental health and society.

Coming Soon: Psychology Otherwise: The Decolonial Option

Coming Soon: Psychology Otherwise: The Decolonial Option

by | Aug 26, 2026 | Events and Announcements, Psychology Events

Coming Soon: Psychology Otherwise: The Decolonial Option

What becomes possible when psychology begins from Africa and other Majority World contexts?

Psychology Otherwise: The Decolonial Option, by the Readsurama Decolonial Collective, offers a critical contribution to ongoing conversations about the decolonisation and transformation of psychology.

The book challenges dominant theories and research traditions rooted largely in WEIRD contexts: Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic societies. Beginning from Africa, it invites a fundamental reconsideration of how psychological knowledge is produced, whose experiences are centred, and whose perspectives have historically been marginalised.

Through a decolonial Africa(n)-centring (DAC) approach, the authors position African and other Majority World contexts not as peripheral sites for applying theories developed elsewhere, but as vital sites for generating knowledge, theory and new understandings of human experience.

In doing so, Psychology Otherwise moves beyond simply calling for greater inclusion within established frameworks. It invites readers to imagine psychology differently, grounded in histories, realities and ways of knowing that have too often been excluded from the centre of the discipline.

The book is a timely contribution to conversations on decoloniality, epistemic justice and the future of psychology, with particular relevance for South Africa, the African continent and the wider Global South.

The Readsurama Decolonial Collective

Glenn Adams | Nick Malherbe | Kopano Ratele | Geetha Reddy | Shahnaaz Suffla

Publisher: Mandela University Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-0671819-8-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-0671819-9-4

Available soon.

For orders and enquiries: orders@africansunmedia.co.za

SGD Webinar: Promoting Positive Masculinities as a strategy to end sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women

SGD Webinar: Promoting Positive Masculinities as a strategy to end sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women

by | Aug 18, 2026 | Events and Announcements, Psychology Events, Sexuality and Gender Division (SGD)

SGD Webinar: Promoting Positive Masculinities as a strategy to end sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women

Hosted by the PsySSA Sexuality and Gender Division

Webinar Details:

  • Date: Tuesday, 8th September 2026
  • Time: 18:00 – 20:00
  • 2 General CPD Point
  • Platform: Online via Zoom

Promoting Positive Masculinities as a strategy to end sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women.
This webinar is intended for mental health professionals who:

  • Psychologists and mental health practitioners interested in preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
  • Counsellors, social workers, and community-based practitioners working with adolescents, young adults, families, and communities.
  • Researchers and academics engaged in gender studies, masculinities, youth development, social justice, and violence prevention.
  • Students and early-career professionals in psychology, social work, public health, and related fields.
  • Educators, programme developers, and NGO practitioners involved in youth and community interventions.
  • Anyone interested in understanding how masculinities, hetero-cis-patriarchy, and gender norms contribute to SGBV and how positive masculinities can be promoted as a preventative strategy.

About the Workshop:

Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remains one of the most urgent social and public health challenges facing South Africa. Deeply rooted in unequal power relations, harmful gender norms, and rigid constructions of masculinity, SGBV continues to have devastating consequences for women, girls, families, and communities. Addressing this challenge requires not only responding to violence but also transforming the social and cultural conditions that enable it.

This workshop explores the role of positive masculinities as a powerful and evidence-informed strategy for preventing and reducing SGBV. Through an intersectional lens, participants will examine how masculinities are shaped by gender, culture, history, socio-economic realities, and lived experience, and how these factors influence attitudes, behaviours, and relationships.

Drawing on community-based programmes with adolescent boys and young men, the workshop will showcase practical approaches that encourage critical engagement with traditional gender norms, foster healthy and respectful relationships, and support more equitable expressions of masculinity. Particular attention will be given to the South African context, highlighting culturally relevant understandings of masculinity that move beyond dominant Western paradigms and recognise the diversity of local experiences.

Participants will also explore the role of psychologists, mental health practitioners, educators, researchers, and community practitioners in promoting positive masculinities and advancing violence prevention efforts. The workshop aims to provide both conceptual insights and practical tools that can inform professional practice, programme development, advocacy, research, and community engagement.

By the end of the workshop, participants will have a deeper understanding of the relationship between masculinities and SGBV, greater awareness of gender-transformative approaches to prevention, and practical strategies for contributing to safer, more inclusive, and more equitable communities.

Click here to register

About the Presenters:

Dr Angeline Stephens

Dr Angeline Stephens

Facilitator

Angeline Stephens, is the PsySSA Chair of the Sexuality and Gender Division. She is a mental health practitioner in private practice, after having worked in student mental health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal for 13 years. She works within a critical, feminist, decolonial framework that recognises the intersections and interconnectedness between person and historical, political, social, cultural and economic contexts. She has extensive experience within the therapeutic context in the areas of trauma, violence, and healing. Her research interests centre around qualitative methodologies that explore social citizenship in the South African context. She is particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, and sexual identities among marginalised people and how these intersections play out in experiences of social citizenship. She has a PhD in Psychology from UCT.

Pierre Brouard

Pierre Brouard

Facilitator

Pierre is a Clinical Psychologist and a Research Associate of the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender (CSA&G) at the University of Pretoria (UP) where he worked for 25 years. At UP he is also an Extraordinary Lecturer of the Centre for Human Rights. He sits on the Executive of the Sexuality and Gender Division of the Psychological Society of South Africa and is a Board member of the Professional Association for Transgender Health South Africa. His interests and work include sexualities, gender, human rights, transformation, diversity and social justice.

Dr Sakhile Msweli

Dr Sakhile Msweli

Presenter

Dr Sakhile Msweli is a Clinical Psychologist, researcher, and author with a PhD in Psychology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He works in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health Ngwelezana Tertiary Hospital and is the founder of a private psychological practice, where he provides psychotherapy to adolescents and adults.
His clinical, research, and advocacy work focuses on sexual and gender diversity, LGBTQIA+ mental health, gender-affirming healthcare, and culturally responsive psychological care in African contexts. He is a member of the Sexuality and Gender Division (SGD) of the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) and is part of the African LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Project. Contributing to several national initiatives advancing affirming mental healthcare and human rights. He is also serving as a Founding Board Member of the Professional Association for Transgender Health South Africa (PATHSA).
Dr Msweli is also an award-winning poet and author whose creative work explores identity, trauma, healing, grief, and African futures. Across his academic, clinical, and literary work, he is committed to fostering compassionate dialogue, challenging stigma, and promoting more inclusive understandings of what it means to be human.

Ms Shelley Barnsley

Ms Shelley Barnsley

Presenter

Shelley Barnsley is the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science Manager for Student Support Services at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. In addition, she is registered as a Counselling Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as an independent practitioner. She has 35 years of experience working as a Counselling Psychologist and in various management positions at UKZN.
Her interests lie in student wellness and in fostering personal and professional growth and improving productivity in individuals and organisations. She has facilitated a large number of workshops for students, staff and organisations on topics such as interpersonal communication skills, improving motivation and productivity, gender-based violence, managing change and stress, conflict resolution, helping skills, crisis intervention, mental health awareness, career decision making and making your willpower work for you.
Ms Barnsley has presented her work at a number of National and International conferences and has published some articles and book chapters on issues related to higher education including risk factors for student attrition, student food insecurity, the process of choosing a career and providing access to higher education.
Ms Barnsley has experience in career assessments and has a small private practice offering individual and couple psychotherapy and leadership development and training.

Mr Sanele Zuma

Mr Sanele Zuma

Presenter

Mr. Sanele Zuma is a Student Development Officer in Student Support Services at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). He has more than a decade of experience in student development and the facilitation of training programmes for organizations and community groups both within and beyond the university.

His work focuses on equipping students with the academic, career, and psychosocial competencies needed to thrive during their university journey and in their future professional and personal lives. Mr. Zuma also serves as Chairperson of the UKZN Men of Virtue(MOV) programme, a male-led initiative dedicated to addressing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and promoting gender equality through advocacy, education, and psychoeducational interventions which are primarily targeting men.

He has facilitated numerous SGBV awareness and prevention programmes across higher education institutions, schools, government departments, e.g., the Department of Correctional Services, community organizations, and professional conferences. Passionate about the holistic development of young people, Mr. Zuma is committed to empowering individuals to become responsible leaders and agents of positive social change.

Sheri Errington

Sheri Errington

Presenter

Sheri is a Research Psychologist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is passionate about strengthening programmes and services that improve the lives of children and young people, specialising in child and youth development, and monitoring and evaluation for non-profit organisations. Registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa since 2005, she holds a Master’s Degree in Research Psychology from Wits University and serves as a Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Social Development in Africa.
Sheri is the founder of Social Perspectives, a research consultancy providing research, monitoring, and evaluation solutions to non-profit organisations working with children and young people. She is also a Director of Fight with Insight, an open-access boxing gym for inner-city children. There, she coaches boxing, leads operations, research, monitoring and evaluation, youth leadership programmes and fundraising.
Across all of her work, Sheri believes that genuine relationships and integrated evidence-based programmes are essential to individual and community development.

Luke Lamprecht

Luke Lamprecht

Presenter