Bio-Psych Workshops
Addressing self-harming behaviours
This pre-congress workshop offers a comprehensive 3.5-hour exploration of self-harm behaviour (SHB) and suicide prevention within diverse clinical populations, emphasising its manifestation in eating disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual developmental disorders. Structured into three focused presentations, the workshop aims to deepen understanding of the underlying functions and motivations driving SHB in these distinct conditions, highlighting the heterogeneity in clinical presentations. Throughout the workshop, participants will engage with evidence-based approaches to assessment, clinical response, and ongoing support, fostering skills to manage SHB effectively across these populations, including the application of Psychological First Aid (PFA). Ethical considerations will be critically discussed, promoting reflective practice and patient-centred care. By integrating multidisciplinary perspectives, this workshop equips clinicians, researchers, and allied health professionals with practical knowledge and tools to enhance care quality for individuals exhibiting SHB in complex clinical contexts.
Facilitator: Dr Thupana Seshoka
More information coming soon.
Prof Carla Kotzé
Carla, a subspecialist in forensic psychiatry is an Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria and the Head of Geriatric Psychiatry at Weskoppies Hospital. She holds prominent roles including Chair of the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee at UP, member of the International Psychogeriatric Association Board of Directors, and President of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa Council of Psychiatrists. She integrates her extensive clinical, teaching, and research experience to enhance ethical practice and mental health care for older individuals.
Dr Fiona Schulte
Dr Fiona Schulte studied medicine, anthropology and gender studies in Germany and graduated in 1997. She qualified as a child & adolescent psychiatrist and psychotherapist in Germany. Upon immigration to South Africa Dr Schulte became a Fellow of the College of Psychiatrist in 2010, having trained at Wits University and UCT. She completed her Certificate of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in 2014 based at Tygerberg Hospital/Stellenbosch University. Dr Schulte holds a Tavistock Diploma in Therapeutic Communications with Children and is a trained infant mental health therapist. Dr Schulte worked as a consultant in various tertiary psychiatric hospitals and in private practice. From 2018 until 2022, Dr Schulte was consulting for the Department of Justice with regards to criminal capacity assessments of juvenile offenders at Valkenberg Hospital. She is currently employed in the Child Psychiatry and Family Unit at Tygerberg Hospital. Dr Schulte is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University and a sessional lecturer in Department of Humanities/University of Cape Town. Dr Schulte is the past Convenor of the Child & Adolescent Special Interests Group (CAPSIG) of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) and a past Board member of SAACAPAP (South African Association of Child & Adolescent psychiatrists and Allied Professions).
Dr Christina van der Merwe
Dr Christina van der Merwe is a registered Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience across clinical practice, academia, organisational psychology, and psychometric assessment, with a specialised focus on child mental health and eating disorders. She served as Principal Clinical Psychologist at Tygerberg Hospital and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University before relocating to George to establish a private practice. Dr van der Merwe has formal training in evidence-based treatment of eating disorders in adolescents and young adults and has presented locally and internationally, contributing to peer-reviewed publications. Her work reflects a strong commitment to integrating biological and psychological science with practical, compassionate clinical care.
Managing medical comorbidities in psychiatry – what every psychiatrist should know about the heart
This interactive workshop will start with an exploration of the heart-brain interface in the growing field of psycho-cardiology. This presentation will include an update on the cardio-pathological effects of stress, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and borderline personality traits; the relationship between serious mental illness and cardiovascular risk; and psychiatric treatments as psycho-cardiological interventions.
The integrated relationship between cardiovascular disease and mental health will be further explored in a presentation on the critical nature of this interaction including psychiatric illness as a complication of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular disease. We will explore the multifaceted roles of incretins, highlighting their emerging relevance, not just in cardiometabolic disease, but also their brain protective, anti-inflammatory, and potential therapeutic effects in the treatment of disorders like dementia, concluding and advocating for a holistic multidisciplinary patient management strategy.
Finally, a presentation on psychopharmacology and the heart, what to do and what to avoid, will focus on what psychiatrists should know about prescribing and monitoring of psychotropics in patients with heart disease and the elderly. Various psychotropic medications carry significant cardiac risks, including arrhythmias, QT prolongation, orthostatic hypotension, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and sudden cardiac death. This impact of psychotropic medications on cardiovascular health will be covered.)
Facilitator: Prof Dana Niehaus
More information coming soon.
Dr Editruda Gamassa
Dr Editruda Gamassa is a dedicated psychiatrist specializing in geriatric psychiatry at Stellenbosch University. She completed her undergraduate medical training and Master of Medicine in Psychiatry (MMed) in Tanzania, establishing a strong foundation in clinical practice in resource-limited settings. She is passionate about geriatric care and improving mental health services for older adults.
Dr Kerry-Ann Louw
Dr Kerry-Ann Louw is a Consultation Liaison Psychiatrist and senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University. She is the Head of Clinical Unit of adult psychiatry services and runs consultation-liaison psychiatry services at Tygerberg Hospital. Kerry completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate training at the University of Cape Town obtaining her MPhil in Liaison Mental Health in 2015. Her special interests include the complex interactions between psychiatric and medical illnesses, chronic pain, clinician wellness, women’s mental health and bioethics.
Dr Rust Theron
Biographical Sketch to Follow.
Women’s mental health – the challenges of the perimenopausal period
The biological changes associated with the perimenopausal period, a practical approach to the management of perimenopausal mental and physical health.
Facilitator: Dr Elsa du Toit
Dr Erine Brocker
Biographical Sketch to Follow.
Dr Elsa du Toit
Dr Elsa du Toit is a maternal mental health specialist at Panorama Healthcare Psychiatry Practice with over 25 years of clinical experience, including more than 15 years dedicated to perinatal psychiatry. She began her medical career as a general practitioner in 2000, completed a psychology honours degree cum laude at Stellenbosch University, and qualified as a general psychiatrist in 2010. For over a decade, she has worked across both public and private healthcare sectors, providing specialised perinatal psychiatric care. Her doctoral research (PhD, 2020) examined the intersection between mental illness and unplanned pregnancy, with a focus on maternal and neonatal outcomes and population vulnerability. Dr du Toit is a member of the 2026 Harvard Collective Psychiatry Group, led by Professors Freeman and Cohen, and serves on the SASOP Women’s Mental Health Executive Committee. She is also the founder of drelsadutoit.com, an online learning hub offering up-to-date education and training in perinatal mental health.
Dr Sheana Jones
Dr Sheana Jones was born in Libya, educated in Scotland, and completed her specialist training in South Africa. She practises as a gynaecologist and made a deliberate transition away from obstetrics to focus on gynaecological care and achieving a balanced quality of life. Her clinical interests include menopause management, an area she approaches with both professional expertise and personal insight. She is actively involved in teaching and values the opportunity to mentor students, while continuing to enjoy operative gynaecology. Outside her professional role, she is committed to her Christian faith and enjoys healthy living, wine tasting, travel and jigsaw puzzles.
More information coming soon.
How what you eat affects your mind
Nutritional psychiatry is a rapidly advancing field that explores how diet and metabolic health shape brain function and mental illness. As a metabolically demanding, nutrient‑dependent organ, the brain relies on a balanced intake of macronutrients and micronutrients to sustain mood, cognition, and resilience-meaning that even small, practical dietary choices may yield meaningful improvements in mental well‑being. Growing evidence demonstrates that dietary patterns influence not only physical health but also cognition, emotional regulation, and vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. Increasingly, patients and their families are seeking alternatives or adjuncts to pharmacological approaches, prompting mental health practitioners to consider broader, integrative treatment strategies.
This workshop situates nutritional psychiatry within the unique South African context, highlighting both systemic challenges and opportunities for innovation in local mental health care. Participants will gain practical, evidence‑informed tools that can be immediately applied in clinical settings. The workshop will examine the role of “food as medicine” in both the prevention and management of psychiatric conditions. Presenters will discuss nutrition‑based interventions relevant to neurocognitive disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, focusing on dietary strategies shown to improve outcomes in these populations. A critical review of current evidence for Western, Mediterranean, ketogenic, and anti‑inflammatory dietary patterns will be provided, identifying key gaps in the literature and prompting discussion on future research and clinical innovation. In addition, the workshop will address the profound impact of nutritional disruption, such as that seen in disordered eating on brain function and behaviour. Given the increasing recognition of eating disorders as disorders of brain circuitry, we will emphasize the central role of nutritional rehabilitation in restoring brain health and enabling psychological recovery. We will further explore how dietary patterns shape the gut microbiome, influence neuroinflammatory and metabolic pathways, and ultimately impact brain function and behaviour. The workshop will consider how diet and microbiome alterations may contribute to the development, progression, and treatment of serious mental illnesses.
Facilitator: Dr Thupana Seshoka
Dr Lihle Mgweba-Bewana
Dr Lihle Mgweba-Bewana is a Neuropsychiatrist, currently based at Weskoppies Hospital Pretoria. Her qualifications include a Batchelor of Medicine and Surgery degree (UCT); Diploma in Mental Health (CMSA - Colleges of Medicine South Africa); Fellowship in Psychiatry (CMSA); Master of Medicine (UCT), with a distinction in the dissertation component and a Master of Philosophy (UCT) degree. She has also obtained a Subspeciality Certificate in Neuropsychiatry from the CMSA. This is a field within Psychiatry, that bridges the specialities of Psychiatry and Neurology. Her interests within the mental health space are diverse. Some of these interests include Neuropsychiatry; Cultural Psychiatry; Nutritional Psychiatry and Sports Psychiatry. She also has a growing interest on the interface between mental health and technological advancements, which include AI. This interest extends to how these technologies can be used for good and also the inherent ethical, governance and safety considerations involved in the increasing use of such technologies. She is also involved in mental health advocacy through media interviews, and selective social media engagements.
Ms Kalle Pillay
Kalle Pillay is a clinical dietitian at Groote Schuur Hospital, specializing in the nutritional management of complex neurological and psychiatric conditions. She holds a BSc in Dietetics (UWC) and a Master’s in Food and Nutrition Security (SU). She supports patients across Neurology including those with Genetic conditions and Motor Neuron Disease, Dermatology and the Psychiatric wards. However, her primary passion lies within Psychiatry, guiding those with eating disorders toward physical nourishment and a healed relationship with food.
Dr Anthea Maziena
Dr Anthea Maziena is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University and consultant psychiatrist in the male acute service at Stikland hospital. She obtained a BSc in chemical, molecular and cellular sciences at UCT with majors in Biochemistry and Physiology. She then completed her MBBCh at the University of the Witwatersrand, followed by specialist psychiatric training at Stellenbosch University, where she obtained both the MMed (Psychiatry) and FCPsych(SA). Her academic and clinical interests focus on Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder, with particular attention to advancing evidence-based, patient-centered care. In addition to her clinical and academic work, she is committed to strengthening mental health systems. She is actively engaged in the development and implementation of strategies aimed at improving service delivery, especially within resource-limited settings.
More information coming soon.
Applying mindfulness in your practice
Will focus on the scientific basis for mindfulness interventions, a practical approach to mindfulness interventions that psychiatrists could implement with their patients in their routine practice.
Facilitator: Dr Erine Brocker
Mr Clayton Arendse
Biographical Sketch to Follow.
Dr Tshepiso Palweni-Zwane
Biographical Sketch to Follow.
Dr Tessa Roos
Biographical Sketch to Follow.
More information coming soon.