ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on mental health in the South African context. When rendering mental health services, awareness and knowledge of how cultural differences influence the service users, the different perceptions between service users and mental health practitioners (MHPs) are important. The organisation of mental health treatment settings should also be considered, as culture bears upon people’s perceptions of health and wellness, their help seeking behaviours, the expression and manifestation of symptoms, their coping skills, the social support, their views about stigma, and the meaning they impart to their illness. A critical analysis of Western and Indigenous cultural and traditional mental health practices in the South African context is provided by highlighting the demographics, reflecting on the relationship between colonialism and the evolution of Western mental health care; and explaining the cultural representations of illness and well-being, Indigenous and traditional practices from a South African perspective. In addition, the current mental health system, training and development in mental health care and contemporary mental health care practices in South Africa are presented. The chapter concludes with some final reflections on future research, training and practice.
