Dr. Nicki Dawson

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Title: Decolonizing Infant Mental Health for South Africa: Contextual and Community-Based Approaches

Bio: Dr Nicki Dawson is a clinician-research and Counselling Psychologist from Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the Research Development and Training Lead at the Ububele Educational and Psychotherapy Trust, a mental health service and training centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nicki obtained her doctorate in psychology through the University of the Witwatersrand. Her doctoral research investigated the cultural and contextual applicability of infant mental health and attachment constructs for the South African context. Nicki also works as the clinical lead for Ububele's Parent-Infant services, which includes a basket of locally developed and adapted infant and maternal mental health interventions including Ububele's Home Visiting Programme and a Neonatal Consultation Service, which Nicki developed. Her work also involves supervising and training practitioners in contextually-relevant Parent-Infant Psychotherapy. Nicki holds an honorary lectureship position at the University of Stellenbosch, as part of the Masters in Infant Mental Health Programme. She also runs a small part-time private practice in Johannesburg, with a focus on working with adoptive families. 

What to Expect from This Presentation:

This lecture will provide an overview of the mental health work of the Ububele Educational and Psychotherapy Trust, a non-profit mental health service centre located in Johannesburg South Africa. Ububele has a focus on rolling out preventative infant mental health interventions, to promote child outcomes in South Africa. In doing so, Ububele is highly cognisant of the ethical imperative to provide contextually and culturally relevant services. By unpacking Ububele's attempts to decolonizing infant mental health practice, we will discuss the importance of contextually appropriate interventions that resonate with diverse cultural backgrounds. Additionally, the presentation will highlight the organisations development of models for community-based interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the need for adaptation and flexibility. Attendees will gain insights into creating more equitable and culturally sensitive mental health practices for infants and their families. 

Learning Objectives:  

1. Identify and critically evaluate potential biases in existing infant mental health theories, research and intervention 

2. Explore Ububele's strategies for decolonizing infant mental health practices and developing contextually appropriate interventions. 

3. Examine various models and approaches for implementing community-based interventions in low-resource settings. 

Presentation Upcoming on December 12th, 2024