Facilitators:

Prof Peace Kiguwa 

Peace Kiguwa (PhD) is Associate Professor in Psychology at the School of Human and Community Development, the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her research interests include critical social psychology, gendered lives and identities, racism and racialization and the nuances of teaching and learning. She is the current Chair of the Sexuality and Gender Division of the Psychology Society of South Africa (PsySSA).  

Pierre Brouard

Pierre Brouard is a clinical psychologist, Acting Director of the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender at the University of Pretoria, and the secretary of the Sexuality and Gender Division of the Psychological Society of South Africa. His work explores social justice in relation to HIV, sexualities and gender.

Presenters:

Akani Shimange(They/They)

Akani is a Human Rights Defender and the founder of Matimba-an organisation that works with trans and gender variant children and teenagers in South Africa. In 2019 they were an RFSL (The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Rights) United Nations Rainbow Advocacy fellow and delivered a speech at the United Nations 42nd Human Rights Council. Over the last few years Akani has worked with a number of Transgender and LGBTIQA+ organisations in Africa such as Gender DynamiX, Iranti, Pan Africa ILGA in the past 10 years. They currently serve as the coordinator of the African Trans Network -A regional organisation that networks trans organisations across the region- Akani has lead a number of research publications on transgender youth experiences over the last few years, such as “Needs Analysis of Transgender Youth in South Africa”, “Access to Legal Gender Recognition for Transgender Youth” and is also featured in the upcoming anthology on experiences of queer individuals in Africa.

Simon Pickstone-Taylor

MBChB, General Adult Psychiatrist, and Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist

Simon Pickstone-Taylor works with inmates for the department of correctional services, part time private practice at the Neuro Diversity Centre in the Boland that specializes in Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has a special interest in Gender Diversity particularly in young people. In 2012 he started the Gender Identity Development Service within UCT’s Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, where he provide support for young people up to 18 years old and their families, as well as to other professionals supporting these young people. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the psychiatry department at UCT, and gives training on gender and sexuality to trainees and staff. He is member of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health and founder member of PATHSA.

Ronald Addinall

Ronald Addinall, BA (SW); BSocSc (Honours) in Clinical Social Work; MSocSc in Clinical Social Work (1st Class). Registered with the SACSSP.

Clinical social worker, sexologist and academic at UCT with 28 years practice experience across many fields and 11-years’ experience as an academic in social work, clinical social work and sexology. He further specialised as a sexologist and sex therapist, under the 20-year mentorship of Prof Clint Gould from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in the US. Ron went on to establish the first ever sexual health clinic in a military health setting which he managed for 10 years offering sex therapy, sexual health promotion and sexual health prevention programmes. Ron is a founding member and present board member of the Southern African Sexual Health Association (SASHA) and a founding member and present board member of the Professional Association for Transgender Health South Africa (PATHSA). He serves on the Transgender Clinic Multi-disciplinary Team of Groote Schuur Hospital. He served on the WHO task team for South Africa for the Clinical Utility research on the ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for Gender Incongruence and Paraphilias.

Chris McLachlan (They/They)

Clinical psychologist working in the field of Gender Affirming Healthcare and Trans and Gender Diversity. Chris is the chair of The Professional Association for Transgender Health South Africa (PATHSA), co-chair of The South African Gender Affirming Guidelines (GAG) core group – Southern African HIV clinicians society, serves as the vice-chair of the Psychological Society of South Africa’s Sexuality and Gender Division and is on the Advisory Board of Wits RHI. Chris has presented numerous papers at national and international congresses, conferences and symposia and was the runner-up of the WPATH student award in 2018. Chris lectures and does training in the field of gender affirming healthcare and sexual and gender diversity. Furthermore, Chris lectures psychology and theology. Chris is a Reverend and a PhD candidate at UNISA. Their Doctoral in Psychology focusses on trans healthcare and the ways trans and gender diverse people navigate the healthcare system. Chris attained a MSocSc (UKZN); MA -Biblical studies (UJ) and a MTh (UNISA). Chris was also part of the core team developing ‘Practice Guidelines for Psychology Professionals Working with Sexually and Gender-Diverse People’. Chris has published academic articles and other opinion pieces in the field. Chris was interviewed for the programme ‘Becoming’, done radio interviews and has been a keynote speaker at the KZN legislature’s LGBTIQA+ symposium. Chris resides in beautiful Hilton with their family, runs a small private practice and works at a rape crises centre, DOH Thuthuzela Care Centre.

Dr Ariane Spitaels

Paediatric Endocrinologist, UCT

Registered as paediatrician 1998, and endocrinologist 2007, Spitaels has worked as a paediatrician with a special interest in endocrinology and diabetes since June 2000 and has treated many transgender individuals, including differences or disorders of sex development (DSD) patients.

Facilitator:

Ms Andrea Jacobs 

Andrea Jacobs is a registered Educational Psychologist in Private Practice as well as a Lecturer of statistics, research, and psychometric assessment at The South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP). Andrea is also a Research Supervisor, where she supervises both honours and masters level students, within the research area of Gender and Sexuality. Andrea holds a M.Ed Educational Psychology, MA Research Psychology and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. She has a special interest in Psychometric Assessment, specifically concessions. Andrea is an active PsySSA member, having served on the Executive Committee for the Student Division, and as a current Executive member of the Society of Educational Psychologists of South Africa (SEPSA). Andrea was also involved in the Student Division’s Mentorship Programme where she was a mentor, senior moderator and past recipient of the Prestigious Mentorship Executive Award (2018).

Respondent: 

Ms Bridgette Mogoje 

Bridgette Mogoje is an Additional Executive Committee Member of the PsySSA Student Division (SD). She is the current Executive Portfolio Holder of the SD’s Transformation Subcommittee, SD Regional Representative and Mentorship Coordinator for the Free State. Bridgette holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Applied Psychology from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and a Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree in Human Societal Dynamics from the University of the Free State (UFS). She has recently been admitted into the PGDip Psychological Counselling programme at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. She currently works as a Social Mobiliser at Soul City Institute for Social Justice, where she implements various programmes that address the challenges faced by adolescent girls and young women in South African communities. She served as an Executive Committee Member for TEDxUFS in 2016/2017. In 2017/2018, she became the Community Service Director for the Golden Key Honours Society at UFS and served on a Residence Committee in 2017.

Presenters:

Professor Jacqui Akhurst

Professor Jacqui Akhurst is a Counselling Psychologist who qualified in 1991 at the predecessor of UKZN. She then completed a PhD in Psychotherapy at Rhodes University, with her thesis exploring a model of peer group supervision with intern psychologists, using grounded theory. As a former teacher, she trained school counsellors in the 1990s; and after completing an additional Educational Psychology registration, coordinated a Masters in Educational Psychology at UKZN for ten years. She moved to the UK in 2003, working first at the Higher Education Academy Psychology subject centre, University of York; before moving back to lecturing, at York St John University for a further ten years. She led an initiative to launch a Community Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society, becoming its inaugural chair in 2010. Having been promoted to Professor of Community Psychology in 2014, she returned to South Africa in 2015, to Rhodes University. There she co-ordinated the Masters in Counselling Psychology in 2016-2017. Her research focuses on community-based interventions, career psychology and Higher Education experiences, often utilizing Action Research or Activity Theory. She has written critical community psychology perspectives on Psychologists’ competencies, as well as on Community-based Service Learning in HE. She has authored over 40 national and international journal articles and 30 book chapters. She is now an Emeritus Professor of Rhodes University.

Dr Nick Malherbe

Nick Malherbe is a researcher at Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa & South African Medical Research Council-University of South Africa Masculinity and Health Research Unit. His research interests include violence, culture, psychological praxis, and visual methods.

Ms Ashley van Heerden

Ashley van Heerden is a Clinical Psychologist completing her community service at Tara Hospital, Johannesburg. She holds a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and Master’s in Research Psychology. Ms Van Heerden further holds certifications in Programme Management (University of Geneva) and Gestalt Therapy (Centre for Play Therapy and Training, South Africa). In 2015, Miss Van Heerden was invited to attend a human rights training on behalf of the United Nations of South Africa at the United Nations Head Office in Geneva, Switzerland. She subsequently began engaging in relevant, cost-effective programme implementation within the South African context, assisting numerous NPO’s and being invited to present her work at national and international conferences. Miss van Heerden’s other broad areas of interest include healthy child development and social justice, particularly in relation to LGBTQI+ rights and gender-based violence.