Browsing by Author "Salt, Greer Maree"
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- ItemExploring perceived barriers and facilitators to the delivery of primary mental health care in under-resourced communities in South Africa by registered counsellors in private practice(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Salt, Greer Maree; Roomaney, Rizwana; Stellenbosch University. Faculty Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Primary mental health care in low- to middle-income countries, including South Africa, is hampered by a lack of resources, including a lack of human resources. The registered counsellor is an academically trained mid-level mental health professional tasked with the provision of primary mental health care to communities. The introduction of this category was an attempt to close the treatment gap between South African communities in dire need of primary mental health care and the lack of human resources to do so. By 2017, however, almost half of these community- oriented mental health professionals were in private practice, and focusing on one- on-one counselling interventions, largely in urban areas. The purpose of this study was to explore whether registered counsellors in private practice could and did provide primary mental health care from their practices. In particular, the study explored the barriers and facilitators to the delivery of primary mental health care to diverse and under-resourced communities in South Africa by registered counsellors in private practice. The study was conducted among 19 registered counsellors in full- time or part-time private practice. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants for the study. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data generated by the semi-structured interviews. The study used the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation (COM-B) model and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to frame and understand the data. The study found that the facilitators of the delivery of primary mental health care by registered counsellors in private practice related to their capability and motivation. Key facilitators included adequate training, knowledge, skills, interest and passion to provide this service. The barriers to providing primary mental health care were related to the lack of physical and social opportunities. The key barriers were the lack of employment opportunities in the public sector, and the lack of knowledge, recognition and engagement by government, other mental health and health professionals and communities. The barriers identified the areas where interventions can be implemented to ensure that the registered counsellor, a necessary mental health professional and resource, does not remain untapped, worse still, disappear.