It is estimated that only one in four South Africans suffering from a mental illness or disorder will receive some form of mental health care or treatment. This means that most people who need mental health care services in the country will not get the help they require.
In South Africa, some barriers that make it difficult for people to access psychosocial support include the stigma and shame of asking for help, long wait times at clinics, and the high cost of private treatment. As a low-cost service, The Counselling Hub positions itself as an equitable and affordable choice for adult individuals to access basic mental health care.
Our goals
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Provide increased local access
While we are physically located in Cape Town, South Africa, our online services extend our offering and support. We counsel adult individuals from the suburbs surrounding Woodstock and District Six, where we are based, to areas around the country. We are working to connect people to local services and initiatives that offer and promote sustainable practices that support secure wellbeing. We encourage and welcome other organisations and groups to refer clients and members to us as a multicultural and multi-faith mental health space.
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Offer increased capacity
Our collective of volunteers, including professional and supervised student counsellors, come from many different walks of life. They are trained to provide emotional and psychosocial support to people from diverse backgrounds in person and remotely. We bring their skills towards offering quality counselling, supervision and mental health resources. We aim to research, monitor, and evaluate our actions and interventions to deliver improved support based on evidence that promotes individual and community wellbeing.
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Build partnerships
We look to collaborate across sectors and communities to improve mental health through avenues like intervention delivery, policy and advocacy work, and research. Partnerships lead to shared knowledge and resources, increased impact, reduced duplication, and long-term sustainability. A collaborative approach promotes participatory, inclusive, and community-based actions that can lead to more transformative and sustainable outcomes for everyone. We aim to increase access to resources that offer connections, involvement, and participation in local initiatives.
The Counselling Hub is a project of the Kaplan Kushlick Educational and SACAP Foundations, aiming to promote favourable and supportive transformation, social growth, and coherence - addressing the wide gap between mental health care needs and available quality provision in disadvantaged and marginalised communities.