I am a Clinical Psychologist and Director at Mindful Psychology Practice.
How I Work
I have been practicing for over ten years and my approach has developed and been shaped by my experience and the experience of those I’ve worked with. Currently I have a mixed practice and I work with teens, families, parents, couples and adults.
A forte is the setting up mindful spaces that create collaboration between those seeking help and the passionate professionals dedicated to providing healing.
Another speciality is parent-infant psychotherapy, where focus is on attachment and bonding, and parent-child relationships. My belief is that that the power of therapy lies in the client’s ability to find their own sense of direction, when given the space and frame in which to do so.
Working psychoanalytically, I am interested in mechanisms of psychotherapeutic change from a perspective of how our brains evolve to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Although neurobiology plays a significant role in psychotherapeutic change there are many other subtleties and complexities as far as human behavior is concerned. Therapists have to look beyond words, diagnoses, and presenting problems to the inner and outer histories of their clients. There are various paths towards “wholeness” and preferred change. This shift embraces both verbal and non verbal processes, and takes place in an integrated mind-body space.
Special Interests:
- Working with teens
- Addiction
- Adult therapy
- Couples therapy
- Parent/infant psychotherapy
- Peer mentor training
- Supervision
Where I’ve Worked
My training as a Clinical Psychologist involved working in various township and community settings within the South African context as well as government hospitals. My passion and professional development in the early years of practice tended towards working with children, adolescents and their parents. As a result I played a significant role in developing adolescent intervention programmes for youth at risk in various areas such as teen depression and suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, and other emotional and behavioural problems.
In 2008 I took over the management of Youthworx Wellness Centre, and developed a programme aimed at Adolescent Wellness. For 6 years I built The Youthworx Adolescent Programme, which incorporated individual therapy, family therapy, parent enrichment groups, and group therapy. At Youthworx I managed a multi-disciplinary team of Psychologists, Social Workers, and Psychiatrists who worked together to help teens and their families find their preferred way of being in the world.
In 2013 with a partner, Michael Benn, I expanded Youthworx into becoming a broader based wellness practice, Mindful Psychology Practice. Mindful provides therapeutic interventions across development life cycle. A branch of Mindful was opened in Cape Town in November 2016.
Media
I’ve been interviewed on Carte Blanche and on SABC 3 about my therapeutic interventions aimed at teenagers who are at risk and about areas such as teen addiction, self-harm and depression.
I’ve been interviewed on Carte Blanche and on SABC 3 about my therapeutic interventions…
I have also presented on these issues at various schools in Johannesburg. I also run Peer Mentorship Programmes at schools in Johannesburg, which have been very successful in empowering young adults to help and guide each other.
Base of Professional Training & Professional details
My academic record includes the following degrees:
Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology cum laude, Unisa; and
Honours cum laude, University of the Witwatersrand
Notably, my Master’s thesis was submitted to the American Evaluation Association, and as a result I was privileged to receive a travel award to the United States in 2006. The trip included presenting my research, which involved a Substance Awareness Intervention Programme for Youth in South Africa. The experience and valuable feedback received has laid a foundation for the development of the interventions and programmes I have been involved with since.
I am a member of the South African Psychoanalytic Initiative (SAPI), a group representative for the South African Psychoanalytic Confederation (SAPC), and I am a member of GRASP reading group
Start working with me by sending me an email or calling:
Email: deborah@mindful.co.za
Phone: +27 83 320 1500