Clinical Psychologist
“I suppose it is tempting if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail” – Abraham Maslow, 1966
My interest in psychology began in high school during an art lesson on surrealism. I began to realize that I had looked at the world very concretely and that the human mind was layered..
Everything I did, felt and how I reacted to my personal world had meaning. So much of our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are based on what we have had uniquely available to us tangibly and emotionally, and our worlds are in fact subjective and not objective, no two people experience the world the same.
After I matriculated, I applied for Psychology but still kept one foot in the arts by majoring in English literature. After receiving my undergraduate degree I felt Psychology was where my true passions lay, therefore I applied for an Honours degree in Psychology. Along the way, I took a keen interest in psychopathology which led me to continue my journey toward a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.
I gained my first experience during an exchange program in the Netherlands. I spent a month living at Bartemeus which is an institute for the blind and also a facility for children with ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. I attended classes at Vrije University and had supervision by a Clinical Psychologist.
During my Masters’ year, I gained more hands-on experience, but also under supervision, at the Institute of Psychology and Wellbeing as a Student Psychologist, working primarily on everyday life stressors, adjustment problems, mild to moderate mood disturbances, problem-solving, and so forth. I flourished and enjoyed delving deeper into psychopathology when I began working at Witrand Psychiatric Hospital, where I was exposed to psychosis and related disorders, and working further with mood and substance-related disorders.
Currently, I am a registered Clinical Psychologist. I have worked with childhood disorders, personality disorders, mood, trauma, anxiety, and substance use disorders in both adult males and females. I have also worked with neurocognitive disorders.
Here is a brief description of some of the therapeutic perspectives I use during my psychotherapeutic intervention:
• Person-Centered Therapy
• Existential Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Rational Behavioural Therapy
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Attachment theory
• Gestalt
• Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
I have also had the priviledge of working with the following disorders/ patients and in their corresponding wards: neuropsychology, substance and mood-related disorders, children, adolescents, and personality disorders.
Qualifications:
• BA in Psychology and English (with distinction)
• BA HONS in Psychology (with distinction)
• Masters in Clinical Psychology
• I am also a member of the Goldenkey Honorary Society
Credentials: M. A. Clinical Psychology HPCSA No. PS0137073
Practice no. 0907502