Treatments
Mental Health And Addiction Treatment
Life Path Health offers the following treatment programmes within the group:
UNIQUE SPECIALISED TREATMENTS
What makes it unique?
Every hospital has a team of mental health professional with experts in the field of mental health disorders. All our treatment programmes adopt a multi-disciplinary team approach in a therapeutic milieu, specialising in:
General Psychiatry:
The treatment of psychiatric conditions such as:
- Depression
- Anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Adjustment disorders
- Psychotic conditions
Available at all our hospitals
Addiction:
Approved by the Department of Health and the Department of Social Development, treatment includes:
- 3-Day detoxification
- 21-Day inpatient treatment (focusing on the physical and emotional aspects of addiction, as well as life skills implementation)
- Free 12-Month aftercare group
- Free support groups for family and friends
- Reintegration in work and family life
- Outpatient treatment
- Admissions allowed by GP’s with a particular interest in addiction
Treatment available at Claro Clinic, Pines Clinic, and West Beach Clinic
#YouthZone Adolescent Programme:
A specialist adolescent service for young people aged 12-18 who require assessment and treatment for a range of complex mental health difficulties. Our professional teams work with these young people to build coping skills, confidence, and improve relationships with those who are close to them.
The #Youth Zone-programme provides:
- Special provision for homework sessions
- Free Biodanza classes
- Free parent & child support groups throughout the year
- Modified recreational activities and food menus to attend to adolescents’ needs
Available at Tijger Clinic and Helderberg Clinic
Psychiatry for the Elderly:
Assistance and care of elderly patients with age-related cognitive disorders such as memory loss and dementia. The treatment programme provides:
- Unique individual approach
- Individual orientation rather than group orientation
- A closed unit multi-disciplinary team, assisting placement, curatorship, and family support
- Modified recreational activities and food menus to attend to the elderly’s needs
- Daily GP assessment for medical and physical needs, as prescribed by the psychiatrist
Available at Tyger Valley Clinic
Postnatal Depression:
Care and treatment for mothers with postnatal depression and other mental health conditions.
Available at Tijger Clinic
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT):
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can provide fast and notable improvements in severe symptoms of various psychiatric conditions.
ECT is used to treat:
- Severe depression, particularly when accompanied by psychosis, an urge to commit suicide or unwillingness to eat.
- Treatment-resistant depression, a severe depression that doesn’t improve with medications or other treatments.
- Severe manic episodes, a state of intense euphoria, agitation, or hyperactivity that happens as part of bipolar disorder. Other symptoms of manic episodes include impaired decision-making, impulsive or risky behaviour, substance abuse, and psychosis.
- Catatonia, identified by lack of movement, fast or strange movements, loss of speech, and other symptoms. It’s linked to schizophrenia and certain other psychiatric disorders.
- Agitation and aggression in people with dementia, which can be challenging to treat and negatively affect the quality of life.
- ECT may be a good treatment option when medications aren’t permitted, or other forms of therapy haven’t worked.
In some cases ECT is used:
- During pregnancy, when medications can’t be taken because they might harm the developing foetus
- In elderly patients who can’t tolerate medication side effects
- In people who prefer ECT treatments over medication
- When ECT has previously shown to be effective for the patient
Available at Claro Clinic
MULTIDISCIPLINARY TREATMENT TEAMS
Our multidisciplinary team members are all registered with their various specialised councils. Life Path Health is also honoured to have multiple healthcare professionals who are specialised experts in their mental healthcare fields, who can assist with admissions and treatment. Our teams consist of:
Psychiatrists are licensed medical doctors who have a further four-year specialised education in the treatment of mental illness. They often prescribe medication to treat their patients.
Over the years, Life Path Health hospitals have established relationships with a variety of private psychiatrists. Each hospital can provide the contact details of the psychiatrists known to be practising privately in the vicinity. Our hospitals are, however, open to other psychiatrists who want to admit or consult patients.
Psychologists are mental health professionals who have received specialised training in the study of the mind and emotions and who treats people through assessment and counselling in an attempt to help overcome emotional or psychological reactions to injury or disease. They hold Master’s Degrees in Psychology and are registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. These practitioners are in private practice. Our psychologists are in private practice, and their services are available on both an inpatient or outpatient basis.
Mental Health Nursing Staff is available 24 hours per day at each hospital. Our Registered Nurses (RN) with their own teams of nursing staff, work alongside psychiatrists to monitor patients and support them during the entire programme. The nursing staff is also responsible for the distribution and monitoring of all prescribed medication while a patient is in the hospital.
Occupational Therapists treat people with physical or mental impairments, helping them to achieve independence in their lives. They conduct assessments to evaluate the symptoms and level of functioning of each patient. They also provide essential life skills training in group therapy. They hold Bachelor’s Degrees in Occupational Therapy and are registered with the Board for Occupational Therapists, Medical Orthotists/Prosthetists, and Art Therapists.
Social Workers work with individuals, as well as families and communities, to develop treatment plans for people with mental health problems. They may work either in private practice or in collaboration with other healthcare professions. They hold Bachelor of Arts Degrees and are registered with the South African Council for Service Professions.
TREATMENT PROGRAMMES
All our mental health programmes focus on the individual needs of our patients according to their symptoms and level of functioning. The patients’ stay will be dependent on their treatment and progress and will be based on the evaluation of the treating psychiatrist. The programme includes:
- Individual assessments and consultations
- Group therapy sessions
- Medication therapy
In daily group therapy sessions, the patients adapt life skills to enhance their level of functioning, focusing on:
- Stress management
- Self-image and personality development
- Communication and interpersonal relationships
- Relaxation
- Day programme planning and a healthy lifestyle
- Coping with negative emotions
As part of the motivation for participation in the valuable clinical group work, patients are incentivised with professional body massages and beauty treatments.
Our hospitals offer comprehensive daily programmes:
07:00 Gym session (optional)
08:00 Breakfast
08:30 Individual consultations
09:00 Group Session: Life skills/Creative Activities
10:30 Tea & Coffee
11:00 Group Session: Life skills/Creative Activities
12:30 Lunch
13:45 Relaxation Therapies/Crafts/Skills (Free time on weekends)
15:00 Tea & Coffee
15:30 Excercise group & Relaxation therapy (Visiting hour and free time on weekends)
17:00 Supper
18:00 Visiting hour
Note: Activities subject to change per hospital or doctor’s orders
Emergency helpline: 072 7900 506
*Please note that we are able to accommodate potential patients who have medical aid or hospital cover. We will be more than happy to refer you to an alternative medical practice (or medical cover solutions) if you are not covered at the moment.

Call
Emergency helpline: 072 7900 506
Claro Clinic: 021 595 8500
Helderberg Clinic: 021 841 1000
Pines Clinic: 023 342 311
Sereno Clinic: 021 872 9760
Soweto LPH Hospital: 010 534 5660
St Catherine's Life Path Hospital: 033 150 0100
Tijger Clinic: 021 913 7142
Tyger Valley Clinic: 021 974 7660
West Beach Clinic: 021 001 0560