Image: SuppliedThe University of the Western Cape's (UWC) Centre for Student Support Services (CSSS) was recognised at the Inaugural BrainWorking Recursive Therapy (BWRT) Africa Congress 2025 in Stellenbosch for pioneering the use of BWRT as a modality in higher education.
The congress, held on September 12 to 13, brought together 114 mental health practitioners from South Africa, Norway and New Zealand to celebrate 10 years of BWRT innovation in Africa.
All CSSS therapists are now BWRT-accredited Level 1 therapists, an accreditation approved by the HPCSA - making UWC the first university in South Africa to achieve full implementation.
In recognition of the leadership in integrating BWRT into student mental health care, Director of CSSS, Dr Laetitia Permall, also a certified BWRT practitioner and supervisor, was invited to deliver a keynote address.
She highlighted the impact of SA's political past on historical and intergenerational trauma on the mental health of youth who have to manage the paradox of burden and their innate capability; and how BWRT can be integrated into a broader capability model to unlock their potential for healing and flourishing.
Image: SuppliedBWRT is a neuroscience-based, brief intervention that restabilises the reptilian brain's response to trauma without requiring clients to share the full story of their trauma. This makes it both effective and culturally sensitive - critical for UWC's diverse student body. The therapy was developed by UK-based Terence Watts and brought to South Africa by clinical psychologist Dr Rafiq Lockhat, a former UWC Psychology lecturer, who established BWRT SA in 2014. Since then he has trained more than 2000 mental health professionals across the country.
CSSS's implementation of BWRT has proven valuable in addressing the prevalent mental health challenges facing students, with depression, anxiety, psychological distress, trauma, grief and academic pressure being the top presenting issues.
"The efficiency of BWRT not only benefits our students through rapid therapeutic results, but also has the potential to significantly reduce compassion fatigue among our therapeutic team," said one CSSS therapist.
"When we can help students more effectively in fewer sessions, it allows us to serve more students while maintaining our own professional wellbeing."
Dr Permall, affirming UWC’s commitment to student wellbeing, added: "Cultural competence is not a gesture of inclusion but a responsibility - quiet, conscious and continuous."
The proposed model is a significant step toward more responsive, resource-efficient support in higher education. This recognition reflects UWC's broader commitment to innovative, evidence-based mental health interventions that can effectively serve diverse student populations.
