Clinical psychology in South Africa: A comparative study of emerging professional trends.

The deliberate and sometimes unwitting complicity of psychology with apartheid social formations has received limited attention in the psycho-historical literature. This paper, in an attempt to break the silence, offers a descriptive characterisation of South African psychology. Details obtained from a content analysis of seven journals show South African psychology, between 1948-1988, to be characterised by five features. Firstly, white males affiliated to the historically white universities dominate knowledge-production in the discipline. Secondly, English is the majority language in publications. Thirdly, although the majority of analysed articles are empirical in nature there is an increase in the production of articles that scrutinise the ideological premises of the discipline. Fourthly, empirical studies tend to select both male and female research SUbjects who are mainly white. Fifthly, journal publications are dominated by conventional areas such as psychometrics, research methodology, industrial psychology and educational psychology. The more recently developed sub-areas such as community psychology and the psychology of oppression receive marginal attention. The findings of the content analysis are interpreted from within two perspectives, thus yielding a nuanced characterisation of South African psychology. When the findings are initially reviewed from within the respective journals' editorial objectives, research and theoretical enquiry within the discipline may be viewed as varied and diverse. However, at a more profound level, when the findings are contextualised within the argument that South African psychology is an extension of the colonial and western ethnoscientific enterprise, psychology is shown as neglecting the black psychosocial experience and alienating blacks and women from the processes of knowledge production.

Section: Aims and Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

A Characterisation of South African Psychology (1948–1988): The Impact of Exclusionary Ideology

Seedat

1998

“…A literature search of two data bases, Medline and PsychInfo, yielded four published papers on the characteristics of psychologists in South Africa. However, the published research is plagued by at least two deficiencies: none of them is more recent than 1988 (Bassa & Schlebusch, 1984;Ebersohn, 1983;Manganyi & Louw, 1986;Visser, 1988), which is an important consideration given the transition though which South Africa is currently going. In addition, none of the previous publications addressed policy issues, such as type of financing mechanism preferred by respondents, or perceptions about policy changes required to meet the needs of the black population of South Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Current Practice Patterns of Clinical and Counselling Psychologists and Their Attitudes to Transforming Mental Health Polices in South Africa

Pillay

Petersen

1996

The current political changes in South Africa and the realization that there is a need to transform many institutions have resulted in strident calls for changes to mental health policies. However, it is also recognized that these changes must be coherent, and should enjoy the support of all interested constituencies. The authors surveyed members of the mental health professions, namely, Clinical and Counselling Psychologists to elicit their opinions regarding these changes. The aim was to obtain data on their current practice patterns and attitudes to change in mental health policies designed to meet the needs of the majority of South Africans. In this article the authors discuss results of the survey and emphasize some of the issues that need to be addressed if the mental health needs of the population are to be mel.Die huidige politieke veranderinge in Suid-Afrika en die besef dat daar 'n behoefte is om instellings te transformeer het gelei tot ernstige beroepe om die geestegesondheidsbeleid ter verander. Nietemin word daar besef dat die veranderinge samehangend moet wees, en moet die ondersteuning van aile belangstellende groepe geniel. Om die nodige standpunte van hierdie verskillende groepe te bekom, was die lede van die Kliniese en Raadgewende Sielkundiges oor hul meinings gevra. Die doel was om data te bekom oor die huidige modelle en houdinge in die uitoefening van die beroep met betrekking tot veranderinge tot geestgesondheidsbeleid wat geruk is op die geestegesondheids behoeftes van die meerheid van Suid-Afrikaners. In hierdie artikel bespreek die outeurs die resultante van hierdie ondersoek en beklemtoon sommige van die vraagstukke waarmee rekening gehou moet word indien aan die geestegesondheidsbeloftes van die meerderheid van die bevolking voldoen moet word.

“…Given that the majority of these services are available in the private rather than 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 Years. '56-'76 '77-'78 '79-'80 '81-'82 '83-'84 '85-'86 '87-'88 '89-'90 '91-'92 '93-'94 '95-'96 Biennia Figure 4 Students majoring in psychology (1970, 1975 & 1993) 1924 (39.3%) Figure 3 Percentage registrations in each year by biennia One could argue, given the limited available data from previous studies of professional issues (Bassa, 1982;Ebersohn, 1983;Manganyi & Louw, 1986;) that the psychological profession in South Africa has developed along stable lines and direction. However, several analyses have concluded that the profession is generally irrelevant and inadequate, both ideologically and programmatically, to meet the social needs of South Africans in our current state of development (Berger & Lazarus, 1987;Fullagar & Paizis, 1986;Perkel, 1988;Vogelman, 1987).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been little self-reflective research and analysis in South African psychology as applied to the development of both the discipline and the profession, and the dangers of not having such a perspective has been noted (Manganyi & Louw, 1986;. As Louw puts it: 'Historical knowledge is the only directive according to which perspective can be given to the future ' (1990, p. 1090).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Employment Opportunities for Psychology Graduates in South Africa: A Contemporary Analysis

Richter

Griesel

Durrheim

et al. 1998

The practice of psychology in South Africa currently depends on a high level of qualification and is reserved within professional registration. Apart from the fact that this professionalisation does not produce the human resources necessary to meet the social needs of the country, it is also excluding the potential enlistment of a very large number of graduates in psychology in social practice domains. In order to make an analysis of the current situation, an audit was done of professional and graduate trends in 1993/1994, and a newspaper survey of employment opportunities in 1994 for graduates in psychology was conducted. The data indicate a rapidly developing professional population, with little apparent uptake for employment in public service or the private sector. On the other hand, employment opportunities exist for graduates in the broad social sciences, mainly at a non-professional and generalist level. Job advertisements indicate that a wide range of skills are required of graduates, many of which are not reflected in current degree curricula in Psychology. It is recommended that data on social trends, together with information on the ongoing development of the psychological profession, be used to reflect on current social and psychological practice and tertiary educational curricula in psychology.