A new online platform designed to make mental health support and therapy accessible to as many people as possible has been launched in South Africa at the start of the country’s Mental Illness Awareness Month in July.

Called Obuntu (www.obuntu.co.za), it was developed by IT entrepreneur Pieter Oosthuizen to provide individual and group support for a wide range of conditions and experiences ranging from addiction recovery, grief and trauma counselling to eating disorders and bipolar support. Personal growth, emotional intelligence and life coaching is also provided.

Oosthuizen says the idea for the platform was inspired by the experience of his sister, Anelia, who has long waged a personal battle with depression and anxiety.

“Getting the help and support you need for any mental health condition is never easy, even in the best of times. The benefit of joining a support group has been widely recognised by mental health professionals around the world. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has made joining a support group even more difficult while the need has never been greater,” he says. 

A survey conducted by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) in April last year found that depression and anxiety reached record highs during the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown with 59% of survey participants previously diagnosed with a mental health condition reporting that the pandemic had exacerbated an existing crisis.

“Working with my sister, we started developing a platform that would enable anyone wanting to join any type of support group for a mental health condition or for life coaching generally to do so in a way that’s convenient, secure and affordable. It has also been designed to protect their privacy by allowing them to hide their identity from the host and other group members should they choose to do so,” Oosthuizen adds.

The credentials of all therapy providers and coaches – hosts – are carefully checked before being onboarded to the platform and allowed to take on group members or individual clients. This includes verifying their qualifications and/or registration with their relevant professional or statutory body such as the Health Professions Council of South Africa. “Deciding to join a therapy session isn’t always an easy decision, albeit a very important one. With our online groups, users can subscribe to a group and join as many of the available sessions as they like. The nature of each group, and the content of each session, and the cost to sign up, is clearly set out on the Obuntu site,” Oosthuizen explains.

The 60-minute sessions are conducted via Zoom or Google Hangouts, with the number of participants for each group session determined by the host and clearly indicted in the group profile.

“We have also made it easy for hosts to focus on what really matters to them – helping clients – with built-in features that enable them to remain in full control of their schedules and to communicate with their groups quickly and easily. Approved hosts simply create their groups, add sessions, and start helping their members.”At present, Obuntu is only available on PC, but apps for iOS and Android are in the process of being developed. 

“While the platform is currently only geared to supporting South African-based therapists and coaches, our goal is to roll it out to the rest of Africa and thus bring mental health support to people across the continent where the need is enormous,” Oosthuizen concludes.  

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Issued by: Obuntu.co.za
For further information, contact:
Anelia Oosthuizen
Phone: 010 448 1106
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Author: Kelsey Rod, Healthcare Ambassador, Dynamic Body Technology

If your people really are your greatest asset, why is burnout becoming so prevalent halfway through the year?  This is one of the challenges that leadership teams and HR executives are grappling with as the economy starts to open up again.

There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic is taking an enormous toll on the mental wellbeing of workforces across the globe. Depression, lack of motivation and a combination of mental and physical exhaustion are taking hold and negatively impacting productivity in businesses. Staff are too scared to take time off to re-charge or get professional help and this exacerbates these stress points.

If this sounds like something you are seeing within your own workforce, then perhaps it is worth looking at a quote from body-builder and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger who once said:

“Where the mind goes, the body will follow”

While this sounds great in principle, the trick is going to be reinvigorating a team or teams that have forgotten how to put themselves and their well-being first.

Here are a couple of thoughts that might be worth considering implementing in your business:

Insist on actual breaks for all team members:

Tools like Teams and Zoom have made our workforces far better at holding meetings (not to be confused with being productive).

It has almost become the norm to try and fill up every hour of your diary with back-to-back meetings. These creates a culture where it is perceived that if you are not meeting, you are not being productive.

Microsoft actually released research showing just how bad this is for the brain and how transitions from meetings can actually become high stress points for individuals who have to re-align and re-focus their thinking.

Integrating play into your working week

Traditional teambuilding activities have been challenging due to various COVID-19 restrictions, but this doesn’t mean you have to take the fun out of your workplace.

Whether it is an informal internal cooking or fitness challenge, setting up an action soccer team or something more structured like a Lego Serious Play or a MINECRAFT facilitated session.

There are so many creative options to introduce play into your team.These activities let your staff detach from work for a bit, improve problem-solving skills and reignite the competitive juices required for a competitive organization.

Mind and Body have to be part of your organizational culture

The idea of forming a mind-body connection is not a new one in the world of fitness. The benefits of strengthening the link between your mind and body when exercising, have proven to be substantial and an investment in this area of your staff wellness program could pay substantial dividends in the long run.

If we walk into the gym one afternoon with a lazy or negative mindset, telling ourselves how unappealing the upcoming workout seems or how we would rather be at home, chances are our workout potential will be limited. On the other hand, arriving at the gym with a mindset of eagerness and determination, our physical capabilities during that workout are automatically maximized.  

Our minds cannot reach full cognitive functioning if our bodies are not being fuelled correctly with food, exercise, play, water and sleep. We cannot expect ourselves to interact with colleagues, friends, and work projects efficiently if our bodies are hungry or tired.

Similarly if your teams are overworked or undernourished, their performances will lag.Empathetic leaders recognize the toll that the last 18 months have taken on their people and are making conscious decisions to invest in the mental and physical wellbeing of their people to ensure they remain competitive in the market.

Kelsey Rod is the Healthcare Ambassador for Dynamic Body Technology, a South African wellness business focused on building the workforce of the future. For more information, please visit www.dynamicbodytechnology.com