Education & Experience
THE SOUTH AFRICAN DEPRESSION & ANXIETY GROUP
SADAG
Alexa aspired to be a psychologist from a young age, starting at SADAG at the age of 16.
From administrative duties, school talks, support groups, mental health awareness programs in schools to mindfulness and debriefing sessions for the counselors, Alexa has performed many roles for SADAG and could not be more grateful for all the experiences and opportunities she's had through her work at SADAG.
Since the start of the pandemic, Alexa has joined ranks with many other mental healthcare practitioners to provide support to fellow healthcare workers, through the Healthcare Worker's Care Network.
SUPPORT GROUPS
Facilitator & Trainer
Alexa ran two SADAG support groups during her university career:
UCT - Founded a support group for students with depression and anxiety (2010 - 2011)
Grahamstown/Makhanda - Co-facilitated a support group for people with mental health issues with psychologist Graham Kingma (2012)
She went on to train support group leaders for SADAG around South Africa - in Mitchell's Plain, Strandfontein, Diepsloot and more.
DIEPSLOOT
Counselor & Mental Health Awareness Coordinator
In 2014, Alexa worked in Diepsloot for SADAG, providing face-to-face lay counseling as well as mental health awareness activities and talks in schools, clinics and local support groups.
Alexa returned to the SADAG Diepsloot container in 2019, where she assisted in managing a psycho-social support program to a school in Diepsloot, in collaboration with the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation.
Qualifications & Clinical Training
As like many healthcare professionals, I've lived all around South Africa in order to qualify and complete my clinical training. Knowing from a young age I wanted to be a psychologist, I chose to study isiZulu as my second language in high school, as I felt strongly that South African's should all be able to access mental health care in their first language.
I went on to major in isiXhosa at UCT, graduating with a distinction and a lot of enthusiasm to strengthen my understanding of the language and culture. I briefly live in a village called Zithulele, on the wild coast in Eastern Cape, where I spent 5 months living with a Xhosa family - the Siyephu's - who welcomed me in to their home. I was incredibly enriched from the experience and still endeavour to improve my understanding of the language so as to be able to provide therapy in isiXhosa.
The psychology training process had other plans in mind for me however and I ended up in KwaZulu Natal for my Masters degree and Ekurhuleni for Community Service, so my language skills have become somewhat of a blend... which luckily for me is mostly understood by those gracious enough to put up with the inaccuracies.
My passion for mental health awareness and creating behavioural change has only strengthened over time and I look forward to finding and working towards new and innovative ways to improve mental health care and awareness in South Africa.
Timeline
2009 - 2011
BSocSci – University of Cape Town.
Majors - Psychology, Philosophy and isiXhosa
2016
Internship at Valkenberg Hospital and
Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
2012
Honours in Psychology - Rhodes University.
Graduated with distinction.
2013 - 2014
SADAG Work.
Living in Zithulele.
Traveling.
2015
MSocSci Clinical Psychology – University of KwaZulu Natal
2018
Community Service at Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, located at four clinics.
Kempton Park Civic Centre Clinic, Kemston Clinic, Reiger Park Clinic and Crystal Park Clinic.
Alexa also ran a mental health programme for Reiger Park Secondary School's gr11s.
2020 - Present
Started her Independent practice.
Is a mental health consultant for organisations such as MySociaLife - Digital Lifeskills program for students,
teachers and parents - and The Tutroom Foundation.
Continues to spread mental health awareness in anyway possible, for organisations such as SADAG, Investec, Allan Gray and more.