News

Prof Willie Pienaar, an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychiatry with more than 40 years of experience in healthcare (clinical and academic) published a book in Afrikaans titled ‘Sober – n’ Pratiese gid na vryheid van verslawing’.   What inspired Prof Piennar to write this book? As clinicians, educationists,…

In 2023, the Department of Psychiatry enrolled the first students for the new MSc in Neuroscience degree, a research-based programme with no study modules. The aim of the programme is to train researchers who can contribute toward the biopsychosocial understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders and develop much-needed research capacity in neuroscience in…

Dr’s Angus Fletcher,  Kholofelo Morodi, Musa Ngwenya, and Sinombulelo Booi joined the MMed (Psychiatry) programme in February 2023.   Dr. Flecther completed his MBChB degree at the University of Pretoria after growing up under the purple canopy of the Jacaranda trees. He then set his sights on Cape Town, where…

At the Stellenbosch University December 2022 graduation ceremony, the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences had 3 PhD graduates: Dr Jaiyeola A. Kajero investigated the potential attenuating effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on antipsychotic-induced vacuous chewing movements, behavioural and biochemical aberrations, and cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia…

Dr. Stéfan du Plessis is a clinician scientist who specializes in MRI neuroimaging with related software and hardware development and has over ten years of experience in the field. He received his MBChB from Stellenbosch University in 2005. In 2019 he completed his PhD, where he investigated the impact of…

Dr. Dominique Eugene, Ph.D., is a multicultural Haitian American who has been residing in Cape Town since October 2021. She is an early career clinical psychologist, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a registered play therapist, a certified trauma specialist, and an infant-family and early childhood mental health specialist focused…

Mindfulness is an inherent human capacity that can be cultivated intentionally through attending to personal phenomena (e.g. sensations, thoughts and feelings) and moving through the present moment with an attitude of kindness, curiosity and non–judgment. The formalisation of mindfulness as a clinical approach has received increasing attention in the last decade…

(L to R: S. Maharaj, K. Rowe, C. Schumann, C. Lochner, M. Bowers, L.L van den Heuvel, P. Steyn, A. Lachman)   As 2021 comes to an end, and as is customary in the Department of Psychiatry, we have honoured members of the department and broader SU who have made…

As we fast approach the end of 2021, we are also fast approaching the two-year mark since COVID-19 first affected us all. On the one hand, the impact that this pandemic has had on all of our lives is truly profound and underscores painful and increasing inequalities — on the…

When I got the news of this promotion relatively recently, it marked the end of a slightly uncomfortable process of self-promotion and self-examination. In fact, the promotion was the result of a very long administrative/HR process, which has granted me the luxury of time to reflect upon many things, including…