Female Depression Psychologists in Cape Town

Effective psychological treatments include behavioural activation and cognitive-behavioural therapy ³. Interpersonal psychotherapy and problem-solving therapy are also used. In the World Health Organization's words: ‘Psychological treatments are the first treatments for depression.’ ‘They can be combined with antidepressant medicines in moderate and severe depression.’

Effective treatment exists for mild, moderate and severe depression. A depressive episode means low mood, or loss of interest in things you enjoyed. It lasts most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks.

Low mood after a loss or a hard year is not automatically a disorder, though support can help. Ask a practitioner what they would suggest, and why.

Everyone on this page is listed under the professional title psychologist. Psychologists apply the study of the mind and behaviour to assist people through difficulty. Clinical psychologists work with people of all ages, with families, carers, teams and communities.

Assessment belongs to a psychologist's training, and sits alongside therapy. Clinical, counselling and educational psychology are different training routes. Each route emphasises different work.

Which titles are registered varies by country. Where the title is registered, the register says what it covers. Ask a psychologist which route they trained through, and what they work with most.

Our Cape Town fee guide puts a session with a clinical psychologist at R1,100 to R1,900. Those are the published fees of the few practices that publish them, not a survey.

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.

• Valkenberg Hospital in Cape Town offers specialist psychiatric care by referral, including a service for persistent, difficult-to-treat depression.⁴

Titles you will see include Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist and Educational Psychologist. Search the register by name at Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Check that the name and title match and that the entry is current. If they do not, ask the practitioner why.

In South Africa psychologists and social workers must be registered to practise. No statute protects the plain title counsellor.

See the South Africa page.