The Emthonjeni Centre (EC) opened its doors in April 2007.
The multidisciplinary Centre is an initiative of the School of Human and Community Development (SHCD).
Services
- Services pertaining to a number of disciplines are offered to the public. These disciplines include:
- Psychology
- Social work
- Speech pathology
- Audiology
Goals
1. To provide quality services for disadvantaged communities for a nominal fee. Specific services include:
- Assessment
- Intervention
- Counselling and psychotherapy (emphasis is placed on early diagnosis and intervention.)
2. To engage with the needs of communities to facilitate a better understanding of issues pertaining to community development.
3. To establish collaborative networks internationally, with a focus on the African continent. It is hoped that this will nurture scholarship and generate knowledge that promotes sustainable development in the region.
Service Delivery
The Centre serves approximately 44 schools, 8 hospitals and 32 individual civil society organisations. Through such relationships, about 800 clients per year are served.
Services are delivered by undergraduate and postgraduate students under the supervision of lecturing staff.
The Emthonjeni Centre offers community service to the following organisations on a weekly basis:
- Nkosi's Haven
- Lyndhurst Primary School
- Christ Church Christian Care Centre
- Yeoville Primary School
- Thabisile Primary School
- Trinity Church
- Ma Africa Tikkun
- Sparrow School
The Community Psychology Clinic offers free psychotherapy and counselling services to people from the surrounding community who cannot otherwise afford or access these services.
The clinic offers short-term counselling and screens new clients, referring to partner resources when necessary. The service is run by advanced clinical masters students under the supervision of four licensed clinical psychologists.
Services offered
- Individual and family therapy
- Play therapy
- Parental guidance
- Trauma counselling
- Bereavement counselling
- Couples counselling
- Interventions for more debilitating psychological conditions such as major depression and anxiety
A part of the University's vision is to develop students who are critical thinkers, socially responsible and dedicated to community outreach.
The Emthonjeni Community Psychology Clinic embraces this vision and strives to make a meaningful contribution towards providing quality psychological services to surrounding communities that would not have easy access to such services.
For more information or to make an appointment contact:
Ms Paballo Lepota
Tel: +27 (0)11 717 4513
Email: paballo.lepota@wits.ac.za
Social Work services take the form of individual, group, community and organisational interventions. Social work services at the Centre attend to the following:
- Crisis Intervention
- Personal growth and development
- Couples and family centred counselling
- Support and Self- help groups
- Transitional adjustments
- Life skills
- Parenting (STEP programme)
- Grief work
- HIV/AIDS
- Trauma
- Conflict resolution
- Community Development
- Referrals for social work services are obtained from different sources, including, CCDU, schools, Speech and Hearing clinics, psychological services, and individual (word of mouth)
For further information about these services contact the Emthonjeni Centre:
011 717 4513
Administrator
Ms Paballo Lepotapaballo.lepota@wits.ac.zaTel: 011 717-4513 Physical AddressEmthonjeni Centre
1 Jan Smuts AveWits University Braamfontein
Johannesburg
South Africa Postal Address
Emthonjeni Centre
Private Bag X 3
University of the Witwatersrand
2050
Where to find us:
East Campus
Emthonjeni Center (opp. Biology Building)
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The WITS Hearing Aid Bank (HAB)
The Wits Hearing Aid Bank (HAB) provides hearing instruments and earmoulds to children up to six years old. These children typically meet one of the following criteria:
- They are waiting for their own hearing instrument through a state hospital.
- They are awaiting a cochlear implant evaluation.
- They Require a trial with amplification based on a diagnosis of auditory neuropathy/dyssynchrony.
The hearing instruments are provided on a loan basis for a period of up to six months. In exceptional circumstances, the loan period may be extended for a further three months.
Purpose
The Wits HAB has been established to reduce delays in making amplification available to young children. There are many reasons why delays in providing amplification may occur and this places children in jeopardy in terms of speech and language development.
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The Mental Health and HIV and Aids Project
Background
The mental health correlates of HIV and AIDS remain largely unacknowledged and under-researched in sub-Saharan Africa. The HIV-mental health nexus is a considerable social services and health problem.Overview
- Research indicates that people with a mental illness are more likely to become infected with HIV as they may be vulnerable to abuse and may engage in risky sexual behaviour.
- People-Living with HIV/AIDs (PLHA) are more likely to develop some form of mental illness.
- Rates of mental disorder amongst PLHA are as much as 2-3 times higher than the general population.
- Mental health problems are both a precursor to and a consequence of HIV/AIDS. Mental health interventions appear vital to the prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS with regard to the behaviour of both PLHA and those not (yet) infected.
- People with poor mental health tend to be poor adherers to medication, including adherence to anti-retroviral medication.
Aims
- Collate and advance existing research in the field
- Mobilise research in areas where knowledge is limited
- Begin with education and advocacy in the area of mental health and HIV and Aids
- Provide resources for those wishing to extend this advocacy
- Develop training in the field with the aim of developing models of best practice
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Emthonjeni Management and Research System (EMARS)
South Africa is committed to providing equitable access to higher education.
This requires the ongoing monitoring of health, including the mental health of its student population toward the provision of timely evidence-based intervention programmes that may be applicable to other populations in due course.
As part of a formative attempt to address the need for the systematic and routine collection and housing of mental health data, a team of researchers and developers at the University of the Witwatersrand's Emthonjeni Centre have produced a digital technology that standardises and records key data upon intake of clients to the University's community health centre.
It houses all the data related to each case according to the prescribed clinical protocols and provides real-time reports for the key stakeholders involved in the training, monitoring and evaluation of community services within the University.
While the system was intended to manage Emthonjeni data in the short term, the up-scaling of the system to centrally locate clinical material related to psychology, social work and speech pathology and audiology training programmes nationally is envisaged in the foreseeable future.