The Professional Board for Psychology is using Mental Health Awareness Month to encourage greater understanding of mental health, reduce stigma and promote appropriate help-seeking among South Africans.
Mental health is an integral part of overall health and wellbeing, as it affects people across all ages and communities. The HPCSA states that greater public understanding is essential to ensuring that people experiencing mental health difficulties are not judged, labelled or encouraged to suffer in silence.
Professor Ramodungoane Tabane, Chairperson of the Professional Board for Psychology, said: “Mental health is everyone’s concern. We need to create an environment in which people can speak about their experiences without fear of being judged, labelled or dismissed. Listening is an important first step, but meaningful support requires us to move from listening to understanding and from understanding to action. People experiencing mental health difficulties should be treated with dignity, compassion and respect, and encouraged to access appropriate support.”
The Board recognises that access to mental healthcare remains uneven across South Africa, particularly in underserved communities, and supports efforts to expand equitable, community-responsive mental health services. Mental health awareness should ultimately lead to greater understanding, earlier support and appropriate access to care. The Professional Board for Psychology is also advocating for stronger collective action on suicide prevention, urging families and communities to recognise signs of serious distress, respond with compassion and help people connect with appropriate support. Suicide prevention is not the responsibility of healthcare professionals alone.
Concluding the Mental Health Awareness Month the Professional Board for Psychology will host a webinar on 28 October 2026 at 18:00.
The webinar will focus on the following topics:
- Mental health and impairment focussing on Practitioner Wellbeing, Help-Seeking and Ethical Responsibility.
- Social media guidelines
Click here for the link to the webinar.
Last Updated on 27 October 2026 by HPCSA Corporate Affairs