What does your work as a clinical psychologist involve?
As a clinical psychologist now in private practice, I get the incredible privilege of doing individual psychotherapy with people from all walks of life who are often privately battling serious mental health challenges while putting up a brave face for those around them. On any given day, I get to join someone on their journey through depression, anxiety, trauma and bereavement, and at times work closely with a psychiatrist if medication is required as part of the treatment plan.
In my experience, since the pandemic there’s been a positive shift in how mental health is perceived, so people seem to be more open to actively seeking professional help to better cope with adverse life events and the chronic stress levels they are experiencing. An interesting trend I’m seeing is that far more men are recognising their need for therapy to address their unresolved issues and I find that promising.
When help-seeking behaviour is redefined as a strength rather than a weakness, we can reduce the barriers to obtaining help. While the world has moved on from Covid, I also find many people still stuck in their grieving process from having lost loved ones during the hard lockdowns — this is part of the rewarding work I get to do in therapy. Like everyone else, some days are tougher than others, so practising my own self-care has been critical to maintaining my own wellbeing.
What drew you to do this work?
I’ve always been drawn to working with people, though I never imagined it would be in this capacity. In preparation for doing this work, your life is put under a microscope — and for good reason. While I found the years of psychology studies very interesting, I think what motivated me most to pursue this career was experiencing my own process in personal and group therapy and realising that I was well on my way to becoming a part of something similar for others in the future.
How did you get into radio?
It all started with me randomly deciding to join a group tour to the Good Hope FM studios in the early 1990s — and that’s when the bug bit. Shortly after that visit I got involved with UWC’s campus radio station and soon found myself recruited to host a daytime slot on a community radio station at the time called C-Flat Radio. Shout out to you Jeffrey Kleinsmith for that first gig! It would take a few years before feeling brave enough to approach Good Hope FM, but after getting some helpful tips from the Vanilla Thriller, Graeme White, who was the Good Hope FM breakfast DJ at the time, I gave it a swing — and here I (still) am — 25 years later. The Sunset Smoothie is now my playground, and, in some ways, it has become one of my prized self-care rituals — so it feels good to practice what I preach.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
A pilot. I didn’t get to be in the air, but at least I got to be on the air. I was quite a shy kid so there’s no way I would have ever thought of going into radio. People can change.
What career advice do you have for young people?
First, finish your matric as strong as you can. Go to the career expos at the universities. Get inspired. Find out about funding if money’s a problem. Get the brochures. Make the calls. Send the emails. Go to college. Do a learnership. Do something. Get into university if you can. Finish that. Then do postgrad studies if you can. Post-matric qualifications will improve your prospects in life. Start with something. You might change careers along the way. That’s OK. But start somewhere. Who knows where you may end up. Oh, the places you’ll go.
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