The Friendship Bench to Improve Quality and Access to Counseling in South Africa

The influence of Apartheid is still present in South Africa through segregated townships based on skin color and socioeconomic status. Counseling services in South Africa are based on Western modalities, which reduces effectiveness of mental health services for those in marginalized communities and distinct cultural norms. There is a dearth of literature that speaks to the experiences of counselors in providing counseling in South Africa post-Apartheid. This study used a hermeneutic phenomenological method to understand the lived experiences of eight counselors in South Africa post-Apartheid. Findings included two main themes and seven categories within the themes as follows: (1) Post-Apartheid: Access , with five categories of (a) resources , (b) more counseling , (c) barriers to access , (d) stigma , and (e) changing gender roles and families ; (2) Nontraditional Counseling Approaches , with two categories of (a) spirituality and (b) lack of applicable theories and models . Implications include recommendations for counselors to be open to narrative theories, collaborations with cultural leaders, and meeting in alternative locations such as a Friendship Bench.