MENTAL HEALTH POLICY IN SOUTH AFRICA, exploring problem representation

99pp., hardback, Routledge, London & New York, 2026

ISBN: 9781032992914

This book investigates how mental health in South Africa is conceptualised and constructed in public policy, critiques embedded assumptions within existing policy documentation, and advocates for policy solutions centred on poverty alleviation and economic development.

While South Africa has enacted progressive mental health policies, their effective implementation remains hindered by systemic challenges. This book investigates the dominant problems represented in mental health policies, including the segregation of mental health from general health services, inadequate intersectoral collaboration in mental health care, community disconnection from mental health services, the association between poverty and mental health issues, and infringements upon the rights of individuals with mental health problems. 

Claire Morrison works as a fundraising officer at Camp Sizanani Life Skills, an NPO dedicated to empowering South Africa’s orphaned, vulnerable, and at-risk youth.

Pieter Fourie teaches political science at Stellenbosch University. He has worked in the field of global health since the late 1990s, including at UNAIDS and at the AIDS Foundation of South Africa.

Ubanesia Adams teaches political science at Stellenbosch University.