Masixoxisane Ndoda: Using ukuxoxisa to interrogate structural violence against black male psychotherapists in South Africa

Abstract

This research study explores the lived professional experiences of Black Male Psychotherapists (psychologists, arts therapists, social workers) living and working in South Africa, the structural barriers they have encountered in their professional practice, and the impact of these experiences upon their mental health. This research undertakes an examination of the role of Black Male Psychotherapists in the context of post-Apartheid South Africa. The research reflects upon the role of Black Male Psychotherapists within the context of structural violence, inadequate mental health care systems and budgets, and the historical framing of Black Men as dangerous and uncaring in South Africa. Through Ukuxoxisa the stories of the four selected Black Male Psychotherapists are foregrounded in conversation with the researcher. The examination and application of Drama Therapy Theory and Practice, specifically through Ukuxoxisa, serves as a critical tool in interrogating and challenging structural violence that Black Male Psychotherapists face. The findings from this research highlight professional isolation experienced by Black Male Psychotherapists who are under-represented in the professional field. It demonstrates how structural violence undermines the humanity of each individual Psychotherapist. This study suggests that Black Male Psychotherapists are entrapped by a legacy of being stereotyped as dangerous because of the extreme forms of racialisation in South Africa. It could be argued that Black Male Psychotherapists are in a constant intra and interpersonal state of conflict between the role of the carer and the social danger. In addition, the study alludes to the need for a closer examination of the role of Black Male Psychotherapist in the context of the historical role of absent fathers; a condition emanating from the structural violence of colonial and Apartheid laws and economic practices. The study concludes with the researcher making transparent his relationship to the subject-matter, advocating for the development of a space for caring for the unseen and marginalised carer, and advocates for the use of Drama Therapy as a training modality for all Psychotherapists particularly in developing a culturally responsive psychotherapy practice.