APARTHEID IN SOUTH-AFRICA - TOWARD A MODEL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTION

In this paper the authors argue that Euro-American 'mainstream' models of psychological intervention have limited value in the context of South African apartheid. Given the unique nature of political oppression and economic disparity, apartheid in South Africa is a contributing etiological factor in the onset of psychological difficulties. The case is made that counselling and psychotherapy must go beyond merely dealing with intrapsychic phenomena, toward a mandate to address political, economic and social variables which influence behavior. Reformulations have occurred in the nature and form of apartheid resulting in a dynamic political and economic system that promises further shifts in the future. Given the undeniable delay between legal and political change on one hand, and the fundamental transformation of South Africa from a position of racism and violence to a democratic, non-racial society on the other hand, the search for alternative psychological intervention models will remain an imperative.