Here in South Africa, there is a lot of uncertainty about when, where, and how to seek help for mental health problems. Many are faced with social and internal stigma around mental illnesses.
Am I weak for struggling mentally? Will I be judged for seeing a therapist?
Some might feel that it is better to suffer alone than to talk openly about their experiences with mental illness, but this is not the case. The social stigmas and healthcare barriers surrounding these illnesses are dangerous because they allow them develop further, causing unnecessary and preventable suffering.
While searching for information about mental heath stigma in South Africa, we found ourselves in conversation with Vuyolwethu Tuluma. Vulyolwethu is a clinical psychologist practicing in KwaZulu-Natal. She has worked at psychiatric hospital for the last 10 years, while also maintaining her private practice the Fullness of You, which she started in 2016.
In South Africa, the "treatment gap" is about 75% for common mental heath disorders, like depression and anxiety. This means that 75% of people in South Africa requiring mental heath care are not receiving that care.
Vuyolwethu spoke at length about the barriers preventing people from speaking up about their mental health and receiving treatment. She said "the government, the system, really doesn't allocate sufficient funds when it comes to mental health or mental illnesses".
The clinician spoke about the emotional barriers that may prevent people from asking for help; "an emotional barrier could be that you actually just shut down [...] the idea of talking to someone else is a bit tiring, it might seem like it could be exhausting".
She continued "I always want to advise people to have a good support system because your friends might be able to speak on your behalf, they might be able to maybe call a therapist on your behalf".
Vuyolwethu mentioned the importance of community care throughout the interview, especially in a context where community welfare is of high importance in African value systems. She spoke about how she employs Western modalities of psychotherapy, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in treating her patients. However, Vuyolwethu said that she hopes to "one day invent a model that caters more to the African context, where it would be more of a narrative therapy".
She hopes to decolonize therapeutic treatment through a "focus on community healing, a focus on how do we correct these overwhelmed systems that are in place". She often treats people experiencing Acute Stress Disorder or Depression, illnesses that are often caused by workplace stressors.
The systems of labor themselves trigger these mental health issues, which means that to truly treat them, therapy has to "not only cater individually, but it would also look at how to we correct the system. How do we inform the system into how to treat this person [...] so that they can heal?"
Often, another barrier people face is the fear of being misunderstood. They might have the misconception that you must be at your lowest in order to seek therapy. Vuyolwethu said "you could come to therapy for growth, for just clarity, for unpacking certain things in your life". She said that in South Africa there is a notion that "We don't talk about our feelings. Therapy is only for the elite".
In order to increase the amount of people receiving treatment for their mental struggles, there needs to be more information about what therapy actually does, and how it is useful for people from all walks of life.
Lastly, she mentioned the cultural attitudes about therapy. Vuyolwethu said that "in some communities, especially among Black South Africans, there is still shame about opening up, and so it is sometimes seen as a weakness".
In her closing remarks, the therapist reminded our listeners that even if you are struggling through dark times, that "You are not alone. Reaching out, it doesn't make you weak, it just means you are human" . In humanity and in community are where the true healing happens.
Vulyolwethu Tuluma: Phone number: +27 (45) 050-0962 | Email: info@tulumapsychologist.co.za | Website: https://tulumapsychologist.co.za/about-us/
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Written by: Lyda Martin
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