Mahrukh Mohamed

There is a significant challenge with the accessibility of mental health facilities and scarcity of mental health services in South Africa. Although, the South African National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan (2013-2020) intends to incorporate mental health into its primary healthcare system and looks toward the development of community-based services, there still remains a constant challenge largely related to the implementation of outpatient facilities and community-based care within the public health sector. These initiatives have not been put into action due to inadequate resources and limited funding leading towards a mental health catastrophe and a severe shortage of psychiatrists in the country.
Indigenous healing continues to be practiced in the various communities dispersed throughout our urban environments where nearly 80% of South Africa’s population is reliant on indigenous healing and other spiritual counselling as their primary form of health care. This demonstrates the important role that indigenous healers may play in addressing the issues that mental health facilities confront by offering alternative means of holistic therapy and mending the treatment gap that currently exists.
The focus of the research study is on developing an interface between western and indigenous healthcare systems by designing spaces of collaboration, knowledge and wellbeing as the main driver. The research report explores principles of biophilic design to create an optimally supportive patient-centred healing environment for mental healthcare users. The architectural response is collaborative mental healthcare facility that creates synergy between western methods of treatment and indigenous healing within the context of Orange Grove. This will create an opportunity to provide accessible and affordable mental healthcare to marginalised communities by ultimately working towards a universal model of collaborative care that provides holistic support.