Stellenbosch University

Mental Health Information Centre

Preparing the next generation of industry experts

The Mental Health Information Centre of Southern Africa (MHIC) has been in operation since 1995 and forms part of the SAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders of the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University.  The MHIC office is situated in the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University.

Mental illnesses are real and have a significant negative social and economic impact on South African society. These conditions are highly treatable and have enjoyed considerable research attention since the 90’s were declared “The Decade of the Brain”. Important breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment include the development of selective medications that are effective and safe for the treatment of major psychiatric disorders.

Also, the development of functional brain imaging techniques allows us to show how specific neurocircuits are involved in psychiatric disorders.

However, the World Health Organization estimates that nearly two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional, although treatment is available in many cases. Often, stigma, discrimination and ignorance are barriers to treatment reaching people with mental disorders. 

The MHIC is being run by Deviné Kamalie who joined in May 2025. She is a Counsellor, registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and holds a Master’s degree (MA) in Research Psychology from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Deviné brings fresh energy and commitment to the continued growth and daily functioning of the MHIC.
 

For more information, please contact us:  

Ms. Deviné Kamalie: 
Tel nr: 021 938 9029/9229 or [email protected] 

Prof Christine Lochner: [email protected] 
Prof Dan J. Stein: [email protected] 
 

What we do

The Mental Health Information Centre of Southern Africa (MHIC) aims to address mental health challenges by:

•    Being actively involved in the psychoeducation of clinicians and mental health professionals
•    Conducting and collaborating research efforts in psychiatry and related fields
•    Promoting public awareness of mental health issues
•    Encouraging early diagnosis and treatment of mental illness
•    Addressing stigma associated with mental illness
 

The Centre attempts to meet these goals by:

•    Updating and publishing various mental health textbooks and patient guides
•    Hosting workshops and educational activities to both clinicians and the lay public
•    Assisting the SAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders with various clinical research trials
•    Providing medical professionals with accurate, up-to-date information
•    Providing the media with facts about mental disorders and results from research studies and trials
•    Assisting journalists in compiling articles and conducting interviews
•    Providing telephone, web, e-mail and mail information services with a 24-hour-turn-around time
•    Liaising with other mental health role-players such as government departments, NGO’s, professional member bodies, academic and research institutions, and consumer groups
 

The MRC Unit has worked towards obtaining status as a cross-University Centre, with key unit researchers now located at the University of Stellenbosch, as well as the University of Cape Town (UCT), and at Northwest University. Prof Dan J. Stein, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UCT, is director of the Unit. Priority has been given to establishing a unit focusing on anxiety disorders, including PTSD, fostering a multi-disciplinary biopsychosocial approach to the anxiety disorders, promoting increased awareness of the anxiety disorders in the community, and finally, ensuring capacity building of clinical and research skills in students and staff.