Cape Town - Several mental health service providers are appealing to the Western Cape government and the City to prioritise safety in the province, citing that this could help the mental health of its people.
The Counseling Hub, the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture, Lifeline Western Cape, Famsa Western Cape, Jelly Beanz, MOSAIC and Rape Crisis have all banded together to amplify the calls for greater protection, including psychosocial support to be made available for all.
Executive director and social worker Marguerite Holtzhausen, of the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture, said the centre has seen an increase in requests for services for adults in the areas they serve (Delft Bellville and Langa/Bishop Lavis/Bonteheuwel).
“For children the need is overwhelming in Cape Town. The Counselling Hub noticed a high exposure to violence of their social media users. A recent group of teenagers had more than 50% youth with a serious risk of suicide. Shelters have many people needing specialist trauma counselling and a high demand for counselling of persons from refugee backgrounds as well.”
Holtzhausen said the need for counselling corresponds with the increase in sexual offences and murder rates in the province, and that there were not enough psychologists available for communities depending on free services.
“Gang violence and increase in crime contributes to mental health issues. Prevention is always better than cure. We need to improve policing, support neighbourhood watches and victim support volunteers. We also need to work on attitudes fuelling violence be it xenophobia or GBV.”
Counselling Hub co-founder Romi Kaplan said people still do not know where and how to access resources.
“People don't even know that they can go to their local clinic for therapy. There is a lack of posts being filled. According to the Mental Health Act of 2002, there are supposed to be primary healthcare support services available. These are not sufficient and certainly not publicised,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan said people in South Africa and in the province are living with chronic trauma, resulting in high stress levels, irritability and the inability to cope as a result of untreated trauma.
“When we improve safety, we allow people to focus on their daily lives and to be able to cope better with their daily lives instead of being in a state of high stress,” Kaplan said.
Department of Social Development spokesperson Monique Mortlock-Malgas said there were social workers in all districts, from the metros to rural areas, to provide on the ground services to communities.
As of December 12 there were 639 social workers and 118 social work graduates.