Mental Health Policy in South Africa: Exploring Problem Representation

This book investigates how mental health in South Africa is conceptualised and constructed in public policy. Critiquing embedded assumptions within existing policy documentation, the book advocates for policy solutions centred on poverty alleviation and economic development. Mental health in South Africa has historically been neglected within the health-care system, a stark reality underscored by the Life Esidimeni tragedy, which exposed widespread mismanagement, negligence, and insufficient resources in mental health-care services. While South Africa has enacted progressive mental health policies, their effective implementation remains hindered by systemic challenges. This book investigates the dominant problems represented in mental health policies, including the segregation of mental health from general health services, inadequate intersectoral collaboration in mental health care, community disconnection from mental health services, the association between poverty and mental health issues, and infringements upon the rights of individuals with mental health problems. Overall, the book underscores mental health as a socio-economic issue, requiring new policy solutions. This book will be an essential read for mental health professionals and policy makers in South Africa, as well as for researchers working on the good governance of mental health, both within the country and at global and multilateral levels.

• Publication date: 16 October 2026
• Page count: 100
• Dimensions: Height 214 mm; Width 139 mm; Thickness 9 mm
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN-13: 9781032992921