LISTEN: Registered Durban counsellor Juanita Ragbeer chats about mental health in South Africa
With mental health deteriorating in South Africa, as well as the topic of bullying in the workplace, it's important to touch base with each other...
On the back end of the new code of conduct law introduced by the Department of Labour a few weeks ago, Carol Ofori wanted to chat to someone about the effects on workers who have been privy to bullying in the workplace.
As revealed recently, South Africa is ranked as one of the worst countries when it comes to mental health.
In fact, to be precise, "South Africa scored the lowest average score on the mental health wellbeing scale. The rate of distressed or struggling on the scale increased by 8%, from 28.5% in 2020 to 36%." (News24)
The clause that caught our attention in the updated code of conduct law was:
"Passive-aggressive or covert harassment may include negative gossip or jokes at someone else’s expense, sarcasm, condescending eye-contact [such as eye-rolling], facial expressions/gestures, mimicking to cause ridicule, ‘invisible’ treatment, marginalisation, social and professional exclusion, and deliberate sabotage.” (Department of Labour)
On that note, Carol Ofori thought it important to chat to someone who is experienced in counselling about the effects that these may have on people.
So she reached out to registered counsellor, Juanita Ragbeer. Ragbeer was passionate about psychology from a young age. She is a mental health practitioner and is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in psychology.
She also has over 10 years of experience in private practice and higher education and specialises in trauma, stress management, grief, career guidance, couples therapy, and anxiety.
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The research study that was conducted regarding the mental health of people around the world, revealed that "Venezuela topped the list with a score of 91 while the UK and South Africa had the lowest scores at 46." (News24)
With this in mind, as well as the updated laws on harassment, it is important to find out what this means for society and the effects it can have on a person's mental health.
Carol addressed these concerns and more with Juanita Ragbeer on-air. Take a listen below:
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