Public Administration News

South Africa: Lifeline Pietermaritzburg Assists in Empowering Communities

Source:	SA - the Good News
Source Date:	Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Country:	South Africa
Created:	Nov 28, 2012

Counselling can be facilitated via email as well as the core talk system where clients can submit their stories and a trained LifeLine counsellor responds. While the core talk system mainly gives relevant and necessary information, more and more users are opting for e-mail counselling as it saves time; money and information is treated with confidentiality. Many of the counsellors are community members who have shown interest in helping others. Each counsellor goes through selection criteria and undergoes a 20 week long training programme which covers: personal growth; basic counselling skills, LifeLine counselling model, information which covers HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, depression and suicide. They also go through an assessment process which includes mock calls and role plays. The counsellors are assisted and mentored by a qualified counselling psychologist and experienced counsellors throughout the process. They also receive debriefings from their core group leaders to deal with emotional issues they might have picked up during their sessions. "It’s great to see that LifeLine Pietermaritzburg is an active supporter of community development and looks at ways of empowering and helping people," concludes Arrand. LifeLine respond to all sorts of issues including: gender based violence, HIV, relationships and marital problems, depression, suicide, loneliness, employment and financial issues, drug and alcohol abuse or any other health related issues.