Family Psychotherapists in Cape Town

Family therapy works with the relationships between people rather than one person's symptoms. It is talking therapy aimed at improving relationships among family members ¹. It can involve any combination of them.

Families come with conflict, separation, a child's behaviour, illness or bereavement. Some come with the strain of caring for someone. A therapist may also meet members on their own.

It is not a report for a court or a school. The therapist does not decide who is at fault. Ask a practitioner who they would want in the room.

If you are afraid of someone in your family, say so to the practitioner before any joint session is booked. Ask to be seen on your own first. The support numbers at the top of this page are for that situation.

Everyone on this page describes their work as psychotherapy. A psychotherapist works through talking with you about your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Psychotherapy usually runs longer than counselling and aims for clinical change. It works on patterns that repeat rather than on one current problem.

A psychotherapist trains in psychological treatment rather than in medicine. What that training covers, and which approach a practitioner uses, differ between practitioners. Ask which approach a psychotherapist trained in, and how long they usually work.

Groote Schuur Hospital - Psychiatry Outpatient Services. Phone +27 21 404 9111. Western Cape public hospitals charge on a means-tested scale. Patients in the lowest band pay nothing for specialist outpatient visits. Public patients are accepted by referral from a district or secondary service. Each specialty has its own eligibility criteria.

• Services to Families Programme in Cape Town offers family, marriage and couple counselling, reached through a social worker's assessment.²

South Africa has no separate register for the title psychotherapist. A psychotherapist must register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), most often as a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Regulations still in force (R993 of 2008) place the use of any psychotherapeutic method within the scope of psychology. You can check a name on the HPCSA iRegister.