Welcome to the Department of Psychiatry. The Department, established in 1971, has a wonderful tradition of innovation in research, service delivery, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching & training, community engagement, professionalism, transformative leadership and mentoring.
The Department straddles three key institutions in the Western Cape, South Africa – Tygerberg, Stikland and Lentegeur Hospitals – with psychiatric care at these hospitals reflecting the full spectrum of in- and out-patient psychiatric and psychological services spanning child and adolescent psychiatry, general adult psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, addiction services, therapeutic programs, and geriatric care. We also provide community outreach and support to regional and district hospitals within the Northern Metropole and West Coast/Winelands, in addition to running several specialist clinics.
We are a team of highly experienced clinicians, master teachers, and expert scientists. Our collective mission is to provide optimal clinical services, conduct excellent teaching and training, and perform cutting edge research by adhering to our values of integrity, excellence and innovation. We are committed to improving the mental health of South Africans, through a holistic clinical and basic neuroscience lens. We have developed outstanding research partnerships, both local and international, and continue to seek out partnerships in our pursuit of discovery. We run several thriving research programs focused on anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, fetal alcohol syndrome, neurodegenerative disorders, neuroAIDS, substance abuse, and the intersection of psychiatric and other non-communicable disease, directly seeking to address the multiple disease burden in South Africa. Further, the Department is home to two SAMRC (South African Medical Research Council) research units – the MRC Risk and Resilience Unit and the Genomics of Brain Disorders Unit – and the South African Research Chair in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Our vision as a Department is to have considerable reach and impact in the global mental health arena through innovative scholarship, strategic collaboration, and strengthening and diversifying our expertise in mental health. Please browse our website for descriptions of our degree programs, current research, staff and to learn more about the Department.