Prof Matete Madiba, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Development & Support at UWC (middle) is flanked by Dr Melanie Swanson from CPUT, Thobeka Msengana from Fort Hare, UWC’s Verushka Daniels and Beverley Dankers-Kotze from Cornerstone Institute. Image: Andrew Pleinprod

They are often the first point of contact for students in distress - accustomed to listening, comforting and carrying the weight of others. But for about 80 mental health specialists from universities across South Africa, the spotlight shifted to their own well-being at the third University of the Western Cape (UWC) Mental Health and Wellbeing Colloquium.

Held against the picturesque backdrop of the Blouberg beachfront, the event - themed "Building Sustainable Ecosystems of Care: Practitioner Well-Being, Neurodiversity, and Structural Support in Higher Education" - was far more than a mere talk shop. It was designed to practice what it preached, providing a dedicated space for practitioners to reflect on their well-being, share experiences and explore concrete strategies to combat burnout.

Alongside insightful strategic discussions, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, disability support practitioners and student affairs professionals indulged in wellness activities like massages, skincare treatments, and exercise sessions. It served as a timely, experiential reminder that they cannot continue pouring from an empty cup.

Conference delegates gather for a group photo outside Blaawberg  Beach Hotel during the UWC Mental Health and Wellbeing Colloquium, with Table Mountain providing a spectacular backdrop. Image: Andrew Pleinprod

Opening the colloquium, Prof Matete Madiba, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development & Support at UWC, highlighted the importance of diversifying and layering mental health resources. She pointed to UWC's efforts to expand support beyond traditional one-on-one counselling - a critical move given the widespread shortage of psychologists.

To help students and staff remain resilient, UWC has introduced group therapy, a 24-hour digital mental health support service such as Wysa - an interactive AI-powered mental health chatbot, creative arts initiatives, and ecotherapy programmes like nature walks and the University’s recently opened  Peace Garden. “These interventions are based on scholarship,” Prof Madiba noted. “They are designed and informed by well-tested mental health theories and frameworks.”

Bringing decoloniality and transformation into the conversation, Prof Shose Kessi, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town (UCT), challenged the audience to consider: “What kind of a university allows individuals to flourish?”

Subsequent speakers stressed that simply expanding services will not resolve the systemic pressures facing higher education. Dr Khalida Sabi, a naturopath, researcher and UWC PhD candidate, argued that employee wellbeing must become an urgent institutional priority.

Mr Naythan Kayser, Chair of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Colloquium, addresses delegates during a session. Image: Andrew Pleinprod

"If the staff are not well, the institution cannot be well," Dr Sabi said, comparing universities to cars driven with damaged engines: the destination might still be reached, but the journey becomes unnecessarily difficult. Her research identifies widespread challenges among university employees, including burnout, mounting workloads, poor work-life balance, and the stigma surrounding mental health. She challenged the institutional culture that celebrates overwork, cautioning that late nights and sleep deprivation should be recognised as warning signs of burnout rather than worn as badges of honour.

Participants echoed these sentiments, describing the emotional toll of supporting traumatised students while receiving minimal support themselves. Many reported overwhelming caseloads, critically low staffing levels, and fears that confidentiality concerns discourage employees from seeking help.

To address this, several speakers argued for greater workplace flexibility, such as hybrid work and flexible hours, to improve both productivity and well-being by helping staff better balance professional and family responsibilities. They also questioned the efficacy of standard Employee Assistant Programmes (EAPs), arguing that many organisations rely on superficial, one-off wellness events without measuring their long-term impact.

The link between practitioner wellbeing and student success featured strongly in discussions on disability inclusion. Carmen Loubser, from UWC's Office for Students with Disabilities, shared a case study on supporting neurodivergent students, demonstrating that true inclusion requires far more than formal academic accommodations.

Naythan Kayser, Chair of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Colloquium addresses delegates during a session addressing delegates during a session. Image: Andrew Pleinprod

Loubser noted that supporting neurodivergent students demands significant emotional labour, administrative coordination and long-term relationship building. For this support to be sustainable, the responsibility cannot rest solely on a handful of vulnerable staff members. “When care depends on individuals alone, inclusion becomes fragile. But when care becomes a shared institutional responsibility, inclusion becomes sustainable,” she said. To achieve this, researchers proposed an "ecosystem of care" model that embeds students within interconnected networks of support involving university leadership, policy frameworks, academic staff, healthcare providers and families.

This systemic view was championed by Dr Kerry-Ann Louw, a psychiatrist and senior lecturer in Stellenbosch University’s Department of Psychiatry. Dr Louw cautioned against treating burnout as an individual failing that can be cured by resilience training alone. Instead, she argued for systems-based approaches that target organisational culture, resource constraints, stigma and discrimination. While self-care matters, she honed in on ‘self-compassion’ and associated practices to tackle burnout. 

Colloquium Chair, Naythan Kayser, said the meeting highlighted an important reality. “While we continue to support increasingly diverse student populations and respond to complex challenges within our institutions, we too are navigating many of the same structural pressures, uncertainties and well-being considerations in our professional lives. It is through these shared experiences and collective wisdom that we strengthen our capacity to build more sustainable ecosystems of care."

The colloquium also highlighted UWC's innovative edge. A case study on UWC’s implementation of WYSA - an AI-driven CBT chatbot used by students and staff to manage stress and anxiety - features in the June 2026 issue of the Educause Review. This global recognition follows a feature by the UK-based Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) in 2024, and a recent invitation from the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) to present the case study in an upcoming webinar, cementing UWC's role as a leader in ‘building ecosystems of care’, which include the use of tech-driven systems.