8 FACULTY OF HUMANITIES ANNUAL REPORT 2021 We are also no longer offering sport psychology on DFC which means we have managed to streamline our offering of psychology as a department to reflect the core identity of general psychology. Research Highlights We have had a number of publications (15) in the department but this is an area of growth for the department. And we have some strategic plans to assist us with growing our publication numbers. We have a visiting Professor – Prof. Xiaoming Li. Prof (Dr) Xiaoming Li is Professor and Endowed Chair of clinical translational research and the Director for the SmartState Center for Healthcare Quality at the Arnold School of Public Health in the University of South Carolina. Dr. Li’s research interests include development, delivery and evaluation of culturally appropriate best practices in areas of mental health, and HIV/AIDS behavioral prevention interventions in both domestic and international settings. His areas of research include resilience-based psychosocial interventions, HIV disclosure, stigma reduction, mental health, and HIV treatment and care. He has also participated in HIV-related research in Namibia, Vietnam, India, Mexico, Zambia, Nigeria, and the Bahamas. Since 2019, Dr. Li has distinguished himself as one of the world’s most active authors in AIDSrelated stigma and discrimination and has been elected Fellow of the Association of Psychological Science. Dr. Li is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Prof. Angela Parekh is our Emeritus Professor. A number of staff members have presented at online conferences and received special mentions and recognitions for their abstracts and papers. Internationalisation Prof Lourens has one of her research collaborators, Dr Anica Zeyen (Royal Holloway University of London) appointed as a research associate of the Department of Psychology. They are currently working on two projects: • Access to Pharmaceutical Products and Services for Visually Impaired Persons in South Africa. • Stigma and Disability, Understanding the Impact of COVID19 on Disabled People in South Africa and Uganda Dr Jackie Moodley has a collaborator from Washington University appointed as a research associate. National research projects Prof. Lourens has a project on: The lived experiences of disabled academics at Sub-Saharan Universities, in conjunction with from UJ, WITS, Stellenbosch and UCT. Prof Neo received extra grant monies in the amount of R1.8 million towards her research collaboration project. Department mentoring and research hubs This year saw us initiating a mentoring process within the department, the mentoring was for both students and staff alike. One of our staff members wrote the following their experience of the writing mentorship: “But writing mentorship from colleagues in the department (in particular Dr Tlali and Dr P Moodley) has been a positive for me; it has been really incredible to have colleagues that are invested in helping others more junior staff grow”. There are a number of research hubs which sees departmental staff members collaborating on a research topic which has allowed for connections and joint interests to flourish despite the pandemic restrictions (everything was done socially-distanced, of course). An example of work currently being done in the department is “The experience of Intern Psychologists during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Prof. Lourens and Ms Sarah Uren are the PIs. Interdisciplinary work MA in AI is being offered where psychology is contributing to this degree along with the faculty of engineering and CBE. Dr Love Odion Idahosa, and Prof. Abejide Ade-Ibijola, in the Department of Applied Information Systems and Prof. Melissa Card, in the psychology department at the University of Johannesburg are conducting research study titled Chatbot for Mental Health Support in South African Vernacular. SLP: Forensic and Correctional psychology short learning programme was approved and will be implemented from 2022. Community engagement As part of the MA Counselling Psychology programme, 7 students were involved in support groups at Abraham Kriel Children’s home. One group facilitated a support group for house mothers, while 2 groups supported children of school-leaving age. The clinical students provided psychological services as general hospitals: Rahima Moosa mother and child, Chris Hani Baragwaneth Hospital and Helen Joseph Hospital. We have managed to foster an amazingly collaborative and collegial relationship with our colleagues on the Wits circuit for placement of our MA students. This is a first of its kind in many years and I hope it continues for many years to come.
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