De Villiers D A

General information

PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES
MindScience Worx offer the following services from our practice in Springs and Brakpan:

INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY
Individual psychotherapy aims to address the main psychological concerns of clients as they experience them in day-to-day living.
These concerns may be experienced at a personal or interpersonal level. Focus areas include:
Exploring a client’s past experience and developing an understanding of how that impacts their present state of mind. (Past Psychology)
Discovering the potential inherent in the client to address the current issues at hand. (Present Psychology)
To apply the clients inherent potential to successfully overcome difficulties and direct their lives in a meaningful way. (Future Psychology)
Developing meaningful interpersonal relationships

ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY/TEEN THERAPY
Adolescent psychology or teen therapy aims to help a teenager understand their experiences as they move through adolescence. Once they have developed a better understanding of what they are experiencing they can develop effective ways of coping with these experiences. The challenge is to develop a sense of identity and focus in life amidst the chaos often experienced during adolescence.
Therapy includes:
Addiction
Adoption
Anxiety/panic
Art Therapy
Behaviour disorders

Bereavement and death
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Crisis Management
Depression
Divorce
Eating disorders
Emotional difficulties
Encouragement Therapy
Energy Psychology
Ericksonian Therapy
Gestalt Therapy
Hypnotherapy
Learning difficulties
Life Skills Training
Metaphor therapy
Multiple Family Therapy
Narrative Therapy
Neurodevelopmental delays
Nondirective Psychoanalysis
Occupation/Career
Parental guidance
Play Therapy
Problem Solving Group Therapy
Psychotherapy
Sandplay Therapy
Self esteem
Self mutilation
Solution Focused Therapy
Social skills
Stress Management
Study Methods
Trauma Therapy
Verbal Behaviour Therapy

ASSESSMENTS
Psychoeducational assessments
The 4 following categories are focused on in a Psychoeducational Assessment:
o Emotional functioning


• This is done using a range of projective techniques
• A child’s feelings about himself
• How a child feels in relation to his family
• A child’s emotional experience of school
• How the child feels in his relationships with his friends
• How all the above influence the child’s functioning both emotionally and cognitively.

• Cognitive functioning

• Cognitive assessment can be used as a measure of intellectual
functioning, incorporating both verbal and performance tests
• This will give an indication of a child’s academic strengths and weaknesses
• Recommendations can be made based on the results of the
assessment. These will be given to both the teachers (if the parents give permission) and the
parents so that collaborative efforts can be made to meet the
child’s specific needs.

o Neurodevelopmental functioning
• Neurodevelopment refers to the hierarchical, qualitative changes in ability from the moment of conception until maturity.
• Understanding learning and behavioural problems is helped by
an understanding of these hierarchical changes and the functioning of sensory-motor systems.
• A child’s learning and behaviour may be affected when
natural development stages are “missed.”
• If one of the sensory-motor systems is not functioning optimally,
it will place more strain on the other systems.
• This can sometimes be the basis for learning difficulties, attention problems and behavioural problems.
• Recommendations will focus on simple activities that parents
can incorporate into their daily lives to bridge the
child’s neurodevelopmental gaps.

• Educational functioning

• This gives an indication of how a child is functioning with school based tasks, like mathematics, reading, writing and spelling
• This can help identify areas of weakness and how remedial techniques can be used to improve the child’s performance at school
• This can help identify any learning disorders like dyslexia, disorders of written expression etc.
• Suggestions will be made to both the parents and the teachers (if the parents agree) so that the child’s needs can be met at home and in the school environment.

School readiness assessment

• These assessments can be administered to Grade R’s who need an indication of their readiness for Grade 1.
• This assessment will use similar approaches than the explanation given above but using tests that are standardised for younger children.

Career Guidance and Subject Choice Assessment
• This takes into consideration the individual’s interests, abilities
and aptitude.
• Suggestions will be made based on the combination of the
above mentioned.

IEB and GDE Concession/Accommodation Assessments
Concessions and accommodations are applied for an can result in the learner receiving extra time, scribes, readers etc.

FEEDBACK AND PARENTAL SUPPORT
Arranged with parents monthly or more frequently if needed.