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WElcome

My name is Donita Rodrigues. I am a Clinical Psychologist offering online psychotherapy.

I offer short and long-term psychotherapy to adolescents, adults, couples as well as families to facilitate growth during life transitions and manage psychological distress / clinical conditions.

 I specialise in the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma and complex PTSD, and bereavement. I also work extensively with parents, including expectant parents, to grow nurturing parent-child relationships and enhance parenting practices that may be complicated by family separations, divorce, death, mental illness or other circumstances.

In my online practice, I also offer psychotherapy to expatriates, guiding them through the complexities of relocation and acculturation.

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about

clinical training

Following undergraduate training in Psychology and Criminology, I worked at Bethlem Royal Psychiatric Hospital in London (an inpatient child psychiatric unit) in 2011. I registered as a Trauma Counsellor with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in 2012 and provided trauma counselling services at the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children in Manenberg, Cape Town.

I completed my Masters in Clinical Psychology at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2014. During this time, I was trained in various modalities of psychotherapy as well as psychological assessment at the UCT Child Guidance Clinic. Furthermore, I completed my master's thesis, titled, My kids are then my life: Mothering in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence, and presented these findings at the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Health Professionals (IACAPAP) Conference in 2014.

professional experience

I was based at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital for my clinical internship. I worked at the Female Admissions Unit, as well as Alexandra Hospital (Inpatient Unit and Outpatient Service for adults with co-morbid Intellectual Disability and Mental Illness), J2 Psychiatry Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital and Vanguard Community Health Clinic. In collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams, I offered individual, family and group psychotherapy, as well as neuropsychological assessments. As a Community Service Clinical Psychologist, I was employed by the City of Cape Town and worked at five specialised health clinics with clients dealing with HIV and/or TB and co-morbid psychiatric conditions.

Within the education setting, I established the Student Wellness Department at Cedar House in Kenilworth, Cape Town where I offered psychotherapy services, classroom interventions for children with scholastic / psychological difficulties, and implemented mental health awareness programmes in the educational curriculum.  

In conjunction with private practice, I have worked as a Sessional Clinical Psychologist for the Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatric Service at Valkenberg Hospital.

memberships

I am registered with the HPCSA as a Clinical Psychologist in Independent Practice, and am registered to practice with the Board of Health Care Funders (BHF). I am an associate member of the South African Clinical Neuropsychological Association (SACNA), and Western Cape Association for Infant Mental Health (WCAIMH). I am also a registered Babies in Mind practitioner and a BrainWorking Recursive Therapy Practitioner (BWRT), Level 1. All of these affiliations contribute to my ongoing professional development.

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Services

therapeutic style

I value a non-judgmental, empathic and confidential therapeutic environment that facilitates my client's sense of emotional safety and a collaborative therapeutic relationship. My interventions are informed by psychodynamic and intersubjective systems theory; therapy therefore focuses on understanding underlying unconscious conflicts and its impact on a client's current emotional and interpersonal functioning. I am also trained in and offer other therapies, such as BrainWorking Recursive Therapy® (BWRT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT).

As a therapist and human being with my own interactional style, I am mindful of the mutual creation of therapeutic interactions. I therefore enjoy working collaboratively with clients to understand the meaning of our therapeutic interactions so that we can better understand their current problem and interactions with others.

therapy process

Your psychotherapy process will commence with three 50 minute sessions (90 minute sessions if involving a child and their family). These initial consultations will offer us an opportunity to establish a safe, containing and trusting therapeutic space in which to understand your reason for seeking therapy, your personal history and its influence on your current problem. 

Therapy is a voluntary process and we will therefore use these consultations to reflect on and consider if our therapeutic relationship is the best fit for you.

A treatment plan will also be discussed, which will cover topics such as the frequency or length of therapy, which individuals will be involved in therapy, and what form of therapy may be most useful.

Please feel free to email or complete the below form for my consultation rates.

types of therapy offered

Psychotherapy:

Parenting Support 

Individual Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychotherapy

Family Psychotherapy 

Couples Psychotherapy

Psychological Assessments:

Cognitive and Scholastic 

Emotional

Career 

Neuropsychological 

Assessments for diagnostic purposes

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Contact

If you would like to book a session or have any questions, please feel free to email or fill in the form below.  

Call / Whatsapp: +27 76 635 1208

Email: therapy@donitarodrigues.com

Practice Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 18:30 (GMT+2)