BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – EmaSwati are about to experience a more organised engagement with mental health experts in the country.
This comes after the launch of the Eswatini Psychology Association (EPA) on Saturday October 15. The sold-out launch event was attended by different players in the mental health space, primarily the country’s psychology experts. The EPA also invited corporate organizations to the launch to celebrate the prioritization of mental health in the workplace as well.
The association was originally founded in 2015 before the official launch at the Mountain View International Hotel in Mbabane this past weekend. It was launched under the theme “Mental health in an evolving context”, a few days after World Mental Health Day was celebrated under the theme “Make mental health and well-being for all a global priority.”
Speaking to Eswatini Positive News, EPA Chairperson Nontobeko Dlamini revealed that the association is an umbrella body for registered psychologists in the country as well as affiliated members who are other professionals who work in the mental wellness space. She revealed that the affiliate members include student psychologists, social workers, health workers, intern psychologists and counsellors among others.
“The EPA is an umbrella body for psychologists where we gather to document and keep a database of all the psychologists we have in the country. We are an advisory body as well to the Eswatini Medical and Dental Council (EMDC), which is a regulatory body of psychology,” said Dlamini.
She added that the EPA approved all new applications for practicing psychologists in the country, working under their partner the EMDC. She also emphasized that She said that they decided to launch the association precisely to let emaSwati know that they exist on a wider scale, as well as to ensure that people who are affiliated to the field of psychology can have clear guidelines on advancing in the career.
She emphasized that one of the main goals was to sensitize emaSwati about mental issues and how deeply they can affect someone’s livelihood.
“We are also an association which looks into ethics, to ensure that psychologists are sticking to the guidelines when doing their work in the country,” added the chairperson.
She revealed that this happens when psychology practitioners conduct their practices without going through the full accreditation process.
Dlamini also highlighted that the association is also meant to guide people who studied psychology in terms of their specialisations as there are different types of psychologists for work, community life, educational, as well as personal issues.
“Our vision is to ensure that any person who is pursuing a career in psychology has access to all the resources they need”, said the chairperson.
The chairperson urged people interested in joining the council to reach out to them via their contacts which are listed on the EPA’s social media.
