Psychotherapy Shortcomings

Psychotherapeutic models and practices are routinely criticised for being insufficiently sensitive to the lived realities of most South Africans. This has also been highlighted in the relevance debate in psychology which calls for the discipline to develop into a more socially valuable resource to the individuals who are in need of its services (Ahmed & Pillay, 2004; Sher & Long, 2012). This paper seeks to discuss the various theoretical and practical shortcomings of psychotherapy in the South African context and how these shortcomings can be addressed. It shall highlight the importance and the need for addressing issues in psychology in the South African context and suggest solutions for psychotherapy shortcomings in the South African Context.

One of the reasons for the reluctance to make use of psychological services was the belief that problems that occur within families and communities are solved within that institution, where black men are expected to adopt a dominant position of power and authority (Ruane, 2010). The worldview of African is often influenced by spirituality, religion and magical beliefs as well as folktales. Many Africans and South Africans alike, feel that psychologists do not know their culture which results in them being unable to understand them and their world (Ruane, 2010). This notion of psychologists and psychotherapy is rooted in the perception of the discipline being culturally insensitive to issues of the African people and their experiences of black people and historical disadvantage. Participants in the study conducted by Ruane (2010) also highlighted that “few, if any, of the therapies in use were developed with black treatment in mind” (pp. 221) with a lack of insight into “what black communities suffer with on a daily basis (pp.

Apart from the barrier that is formed in the provision of services and the perception of psychotherapy by the South African community, the lack of psychotherapists’ insight and understanding in the perceptions of the world and pathology from the eyes of the black South Africans reduces the desire for both parties to communicate and engage in solving mental health issues that may exist (Viljoen, Beukes & Louw, 1999). The universal and Euro-Americanism of psychology was highlighted in the results conducted by Viljoen et al., (1999), where 20.4% of the sample sighted that problems that they had with perceptions of pathology and how to handle pathology; the lack of psychotherapists’ knowledge with regards to the client’s beliefs, customs and traditional healing (28.5%) as well as a lack of confidence for both psychotherapist and client (7.4%). This alienates the clients even further, as it strengthens the belief that psychotherapy is meant for the rich and white population (Ahmed & Pillay,