ELIZE MORKEL CLINICAL & COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOG

I am a registered Clinical and Counselling psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. I live and work in Somerset West, a town situated in the picturesque Cape Winelands about 40 km outside of Cape Town. I love starting my days with a walk or run in the area of the Helderberg Nature Reserve. This is usually my time for reflection and meditation while enjoying the mountains, fynbos, trees, occasional encounters with wildlife and glimpses of the ocean. My career as a psychologist started in schools for children with special educational needs. In 1989, after seven years in various schools, I opened a private practice in Somerset West where the focus is on therapeutic work with people of all ages, including couples and families. During the mid 1990s my awareness of the pain and suffering of the majority of South Africans was heightened largely through witnessing the political changes in the country and the effects of the stories reported by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The fact that my services were limited to middle-class people – who make up less than ten percent of the community – was becoming increasingly burdensome for me. Similarly, I was disturbed by the discrepancy in services available to poor communities compared with those enjoyed by the small middle-class community. But when I volunteered my services to people from disadvantaged communities I was confronted with the effect of the limitations of my training and experience as well as with the isolated, privileged life I lived as a white South African. The nature and extent of the problems confronting people from impoverished communities seemed overwhelming and my attempts to offer effective services felt inadequate.