Welcome to Pebetse Matabane

Clinical Psychologist

Individual therapy | Couple’s therapy | Group therapy | Family therapy

About Me

I obtained a Bachelor of Psychology (B-Psych) with the University of Zululand (UZ) and further studied a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology with the University of KwaZulu-Natal – Howard College.

I undertook my internship rotating between various hospitals (Addington; King Edward, King DinuZulu – previously known as King George hospital and Prince Mshiyeni Hospitals), in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

I then joined the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) for my community service and was later employed on a full time basis. I am now a practicing Clinical Psychologist in the DCS and also doing work in the private sector. I am currently a PhD candidate at the University of South Africa (UNISA) and my research study focuses on trauma.

I am a registered Clinical Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA – 0124842) and registered with the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) – Practice no: 0589349.

I have been in the field for the past 7 – 8 years dealing strictly with Clinical Psychology. I offer a multitude of psychological services and I am best known for my passion in what I do. My clients are my most precious asset.

I have contributed psychological expert advice on radio stations such as Thobela FM and Motsweding FM as a guest speaker. I have also rendered group and individual therapy sessions for companies such as Pep Cell, DHL, Makro, etc.

I do my day-to-day consultations in Mabopane Extension X and admit my patients at Fisha Wellness Hospital.

The Services I provide

Individual psychotherapy for children and adults

Psychotherapy refers to a range of treatments that can help with mental health problems, emotional challenges, and some psychiatric disorders. It aims to enable patients, or clients, to understand their feelings, and what makes them feel positive, anxious, or depressed. This can equip them to cope with difficult situations in a more adaptive way. Often, the course of therapy lasts under 1 year; individuals who are eager to change and willing to put in the effort often report positive results. Psychotherapy can provide help with a range of problems, from depression and low self-esteem to addiction and family disputes. Anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by their problems and unable to cope may be able to benefit from psychotherapy. Combined with medication, it can play a role in treating bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Couple’s therapy

Often, one of the most tangible outcomes of couple’s therapy is an increase in communication, and a major improvement in its quality. A skilled counselor can equip you with tools that will help you connect, hear, and understand each other much better on a daily basis.

Group therapy

Groups can act as a support network and a sounding board. Other members of the group often help you come up with specific ideas for improving a difficult situation or life challenge, and hold you accountable along the way. Regularly talking and listening to others also helps you put your own problems in perspective. Many people experience mental health difficulties, but few speak openly about them to people they don’t know well. Oftentimes, you may feel like you are the only one struggling — but you’re not. It can be a relief to hear others discuss what they’re going through, and realize you’re not alone.

Family therapy

Family plays an important role in our spiritual, intellectual, and emotional development. Each family has its unique problems, and its own way of communicating, or not communicating with the other members. Although the nuclear family has changed over the years, and the description of “family” now greatly varies, everyone is brought up in some sort of family unit. Within family units, even when one person is having a bad day, or in a bad mood, all of the others are affected. When a member is struggling with an addiction problem, everyone around him/her suffers too. This is why family therapy can be beneficial.

My Interests and focus

Pre and post HIV/Aids counselling

You must receive face-to-face counselling before you have the test. This is known as pre-test counselling and is aimed at ensuring that you make a well-informed decision about whether to have the HIV test or not, and encourages you to explore the possible impact that having the test may have on your life. Once the test had been done, you will receive post-test counselling. This is the counselling during which you will receive your result. We know that people who have good pre and post-test counselling are able to cope better with their results, and are more likely to look after their health, and protect others from infection.

Grief therapy

Most people will experience loss at some point in their lives. Grief is a reaction to any form of loss. Bereavement is a type of grief involving the death of a loved one. Bereavement and grief encompass a range of feelings from deep sadness to anger. The process of adapting to a significant loss can vary dramatically from one person to another. It often depends on a person’s background, beliefs, and relationship to what was lost.

Trauma-Focused Therapy

A specific approach to therapy that recognizes and emphasizes understanding how the traumatic experience impacts a child’s mental, behavioral, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. This type of therapy is rooted in understanding the connection between the trauma experience and the child’s emotional and behavioral responses. The purpose of trauma-focused therapy is to offer skills and strategies to assist your child in better understanding, coping with, processing emotions and memories tied to traumatic experiences, with the end goal of enabling your child to create a healthier and more adaptive meaning of the experience that took place in his/her life.

Depression and Anxiety

Clinical depression, also known as major depression, is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. Clinical depression affects the way you eat and sleep. It affects the way you feel about yourself and those around you. It even affects your thoughts. People who are depressed cannot simply “pull themselves together” and be cured. Without proper treatment, including antidepressants and/or psychotherapy, untreated clinical depression can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression.

Adjustment disorder

Adjustment disorders are stress-related conditions. You experience more stress than would normally be expected in response to a stressful or unexpected event, and the stress causes significant problems in your relationships, at work or at school. Work problems, going away to school, an illness, death of a close family member or any number of life changes can cause stress. Most of the time, people adjust to such changes within a few months. But if you have an adjustment disorder, you continue to have emotional or behavioral reactions that can contribute to feeling anxious or depressed. You don’t have to tough it out on your own, though. Treatment can be brief and it’s likely to help you regain your emotional footing.