The promotion of quality of life, independence, and resilience for persons with Psychiatric and Intellectual Disabilities is at the core of our Social Work Programme. Our aim is to enhance people’s ability to cope so they can live as independently as possible within the community and enjoy an improved quality of life. In so doing we seek to lessen the burden of care that rests on family and caregivers and minimize the impact of Mental Disabilities in our communities.
This is achieved through counseling services, mental health promotion, education, prevention, and community development programs. Our interventions on a therapeutic level focus on assisting families to reduce stress through providing Mental Health Care Users with the necessary tools and skills to improve their quality of life; through counseling, psycho-social rehabilitation, victim empowerment, and access to appropriate services.
Our Preventative Interventions focuses on disability sensitization campaigns, life skills, group work, training, and educational workshops, family support services, and promotion of sustainable livelihood. Durban and Coastal Mental Health (DCMH) implements and supports programs across 14 districts from 55 service points in the eThekwini North, eThekwini South, and iLembe regions. Our footprint extends across the following districts, namely: Durban, Pinetown, Umlazi, Chatsworth, Inanda, Umbumbulu, Chatsworth, Mpumalanga, Ndwedwe, Maphumulo, Verulam-Tongaat, Phoenix, Kwa Mashu, and Mandeni.