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PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 10: Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation: Key Principles and Challenges

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 10: Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation: Key Principles and Challenges

by | Aug 2, 2023 | CPD Opportunities, Professional Development, PsySSA 2023 CPD Workshop Series

About this workshop:

Neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation play a crucial role in comprehending and managing cognitive and behavioural impairment stemming from neurological conditions or injuries. The acknowledgement of neuropsychology as distinct area of registration in South Africa with the population of the register for Neuropsychologists since 2020 is a significant milestone that highlights importance of this discipline within the country. This webinar aims to explore the current status of neuropsychology in South Africa by focusing on key theoretical and conceptual principles that form the foundation for neuropsychological assessment, diagnosis and rehabilitation. The webinar will also delve into the challenges and concerns specific to the field, particularly within the South African context.

Register for this Workshop

16 August 2023
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PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 10: Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation: Key Principles and Challenges

Meet our Presenter

Dr Watts has for many years been actively involved in developing neuropsychology in South Africa. She was President of the International Neuropsychological Society in 2015, to date their only President from a developing country. She served as Secretary-General of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) for a decade and is their Main Representative to the World Health Organization (WHO). She served on the WHO International Advisory Group for the Revision of ICD-10 Mental and Behavioural Disorders and was a member of the WHO Rehabilitation Competency Framework Technical Work Group. Dr Watts is Treasurer of the Pan African Psychology Union, Past President of the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) and the South African Clinical Neuropsychological Association, and chairs PsySSA’s Division of Neuropsychology and Forensic Psychology. She is also an Executive Committee Member of the Professional Board for Psychology of the Health Professions Council of South Africa and chairs their examinations Committee.

Dr Watts completed her Ph.D and a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in neuropsychology at the then University of Natal. She is a Clinical and Neuropsychologist based at Entabeni Hospital, Durban. Ann was an expert in the field (neuropsychology) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal until 2019 and a visiting neuropsychology lecturer at the Universities of Zululand and the Free State. She was Editor of the International Platform of the International Journal of Psychology for a decade and is a Consulting Editor of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

IJP Special Issue Call for Papers – Tutorials on Quantitative Methods

IJP Special Issue Call for Papers – Tutorials on Quantitative Methods

by | Jun 13, 2023 | Collaborations, Events and Announcements, Professional Development

More and more researchers in psychology and related disciplines are eager to learn how to get the best from their data. Although tutorials on statistical analyses are routinely published by specialised journals, they often assume an advanced statistical background and/or rely on abstract examples that may prevent applied researchers from fully engaging with those techniques. As a result, methodological barriers grow among researchers who do not have a strong quantitative background, which, ultimately, may lead them to use suboptimal statistical techniques.

For more details about this special edition, click here. 

Webinar: Decolonial Feminist Ethics of Care – Recording Out Now!

Webinar: Decolonial Feminist Ethics of Care – Recording Out Now!

by | May 29, 2023 | Events and Announcements, Professional Development

Webinar: Decolonial Feminist Ethics of Care – Recording Out Now!

Webinar Abstract

This webinar, hosted by the Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa and the Decolonising Psychology Division of the Psychology Society of South Africa, is based on a panel discussion with scholars located nationally and globally on the relevance of decolonial feminism in pushing back against the colonial academy. It will highlight the ways in which a decolonial feminist ethics of care has become crucial for liberatory scholarship. Moreover, it will feature the ways in which voice, agency and liberation constitute the ubuntu-centric practices of decolonial feminist scholarship. The webinar focus is aligned with the programmatic work of restorative justice against settler-colonialism. To this extent, we have invited colleagues from institutions based in the Global North and Global South to discuss how the objectives of a decolonial feminist ethics of care can reimagine decolonising scholarship. The panellists work in different disciplines with similar objectives of decolonising the curriculum.

Click here to meet the presenters

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 10: Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation: Key Principles and Challenges

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 3: Untangling trauma after grief and loss: Diagnostic considerations and treatment guidelines for practitioners

by | Apr 4, 2023 | COVID-19, CPD Opportunities, Events and Announcements, Professional Development, PsySSA 2023 CPD Workshop Series

About this workshop:

In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest and devastating flooding in South Africa has meant that experiences of traumatic grief and loss are not new to our nation.  COVID-19 illuminated the difficulties often facing South Africans who are grieving.  Factors that complicate bereavement came to the fore:  economic fallout, the instability of job security, and the monumental increase in dependency of debt to keep households running.  Funerals became a staple in our public spaces. Such loss of life: Gita Ramjee, Clarence Mini, Kenneth Mthiyane, to name a few of the 101,000 deaths due to Covid-19. 

This workshop aims to assist healthcare practitioners think about traumatic grief through a lens that accounts for South Africa’s complex socio-political and cultural milieu. 

  • Using the recent student protests as a case study, Mr Vhugala Nthakeni will provide a practitioner’s reflection on how prior traumatic experiences and a sense of loss have contributed to how we currently engage with student protests in higher education. 
  • Dr Cornelia Drenth will provide diagnostic considerations for grief as well as some proposals for intervention at an individual level. 
  • Ms Phillipa Haine will engage with how practitioners may can work with children experiencing traumatic grief within the clinical setting. 

The workshop, chaired by Mr Danial Den Hollander,  hopes to provide guidelines for practitioners who are faced with complex traumatic grief cases that arise from the specific historical and contemporary features of South African society.

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 3: Untangling trauma after grief and loss: Diagnostic considerations and treatment guidelines for practitioners

Meet our Presenters

Daniel den Hollander is a clinical psychologist who has worked in specialised mental health care, both in the public and private sectors. His expertise lies in voluntary, involuntary, and forensic treatment care, Complex PTSD and co-occuring addiction work. He has chaired the Psychology Professionals in Public Service Division of PsySSA from 2016-2021. During his term, PiPS became an established voice within parliamental NHI discussions and building key stakeholder relationships with other government departments (e.g. DBE, SARS). He is an activist for mental health care in South Africa. He is passionate about cultivating and promoting empowerment and change: may it be in the therapy room, on radio, at governmental stakeholder meetings, or at conferences. He is a regular feature on SAFM Living Redefined, and contributor for the Mail & Guardian.

Dr Nelia Drenth obtained her MA Degree (Social Work in Health) from the UP and her PhD from NWU. The title of her PhD thesis is Complicated grief in the South African context – A therapeutic intervention programme. 

Dr Drenth is a peer reviewer for International Social Work, British Journal of Social Work, and has also peer reviewed articles for Health SA Gesondheid, a local online professional health care publication.

Dr Drenth is the author and/or co-author of 9 peer reviewed articles with titles related to loss, grief, and bereavement. Two of these articles have been accepted in international peer reviewed social work journals. She authored and co-authored 2 chapters in A. Herbst & G Reitman (Eds). 2016. Trauma counselling. Principles and practice in South Africa today. Cape Town: Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd.

Phillipa Haine is a registered Counselling Psychologist. Phillipa has successfully completed the degrees, BSc (Genetics, Psychology & Human Physiology) and Hons (Psychology) (Cum Laude) at Stellenbosch University, as well as the degree MA (Counselling Psychology) at Rhodes University; she completed her internship at the Rhodes University Student Counselling Centre. She is currently a PhD candidate at Rhodes University. She has a special interest in public mental health, health psychology and community based psychological interventions. Phillipa has a drive to contribute towards improving the accessibility, relevance and credibility of mental healthcare services in South Africa. Phillipa is also a part-time lecturer at Rhodes University teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and currently supervising research at a Masters level. She has published research in various peer-reviewed academic journals. Phillipa also manages a part time private practice where she predominantly works with children, adolescents and young adults.

Vhugala Nthakheni holds BCom Law and LLB qualifications from the University of the Free State and is currently the Manager: Student Life and Governance at the University of Cape Town. Vhugala has worked in the Student Affairs and services sub-sector for over 10 years.

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 10: Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation: Key Principles and Challenges

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 9: Assessing competency to testify in sexual violence survivors with intellectual disability

by | Mar 26, 2023 | CPD Opportunities, Events and Announcements, Professional Development, PsySSA 2023 CPD Workshop Series

About this workshop:

The workshop addresses (i) the practice aspects of examining and reporting on survivors of rape for whom the courts have questions about their competency to testify, and (ii) the ethical and human rights issues inherent in this work. Among the various legal questions posed by the courts when complainants in sexual violence have possible intellectual disability or other mental disorders, are their competency to testify and the need for an intermediary. The presentation will detail the procedure involved in conducting these examinations, and answering the questions. However, the authors will also highlight the controversial issues that permeate this area of work, namely witnesses’ ability to take the oath or affirmation, the expectations of the court, and the degree of accommodation that is extended (or not extended) to witnesses with intellectual disability. In addition, mental health specialists undertaking these examinations need to consider their primary clinical and advocacy roles which can collide with the role as expert witness, and this dilemma will be engaged.

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 9: Assessing competency to testify in sexual violence survivors with intellectual disability

Meet our Presenters

Anthony Pillay is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioural Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Principal Clinical Psychologist at Fort Napier Hospital. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the South African Journal of Psychology and his research areas include forensic psychology, women and children’s mental health and social justice issues. He received his post-doctoral training in Maternal and Child Health at Harvard University, and has been a Visiting Clinical Fellow at the Boston Children’s Hospital. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Mauritius, where he also conducts research, and he has published over a hundred papers in journals and books around the world. He is a Past President of the Psychological Society of South Africa.

Anne Kramers-Olen obtained her Masters degree in Social Science (Clinical Psychology) from the then named University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg campus). She completed her internship at the Midlands Hospital Complex in Pietermaritzburg during 1998 and is currently employed at Fort Napier Hospital, where she provides forensic mental health and psychosocial rehabilitation services. She has worked in the public and private sector, and has published papers in the area of ethics, forensics, intellectual disability and psychosocial rehabilitation. She is an associate editor of the South African Journal of Psychology and honorary lecturer at the Department of Behavioural Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal.

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 10: Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation: Key Principles and Challenges

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 8: Reflections on using Trauma-focused CBT to treat PTSD in South African adults and adolescents

by | Mar 26, 2023 | CPD Opportunities, Events and Announcements, Professional Development, PsySSA 2023 CPD Workshop Series

About this workshop:

Due to high rates of trauma exposure in South Africa, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common presenting problem that mental health practitioners must be equipped to address. However, many South African practitioners have had limited training or experience in evidence-based trauma treatments and may also have concerns about whether such approaches are relevant to the local context and can be applied safely and effectively. This workshop will review the core components of trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), one of the leading evidence-based treatment approaches for PTSD. The presenters will share their experiences of implementing trauma-focused CBT with South African adults and adolescents in clinical research studies, with an emphasis on the benefits and challenges of using prolonged exposure techniques to address distressing traumatic memories.

PsySSA Workshop Series 2023: Workshop 8: Reflections on using Trauma-focused CBT to treat PTSD in South African adults and adolescents

Meet our Presenters

Debbie Kaminer (PhD) is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cape Town. She has conducted research on the prevalence and impact of trauma amongst South African youth and adults for over twenty years. She completed training in Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) and Trauma-focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (TF-CBT) and was a principal investigator on two clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions in the South African context. 

Duane D. Booysen (PhD) is a senior lecturer in the Psychology Department at Rhodes University and a practicing clinical psychologist. His primary research interests include investigating the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of prolonged exposure (PE) therapy for PTSD in low resourced settings. He has completed training in PE for PTSD and has three active implementation and intervention studies on PE for PTSD in the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa.