Mental Health and Telehealth
Organizations and Professional Events
SOCR- to SOZ

The official publication of the SA ACAPAP is the Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

The official publication of SAAJA is MANTIS.

Seventeen mental health societies and numerous member organisations, actively involved in the field of intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and mental well-being, constitute the Federation. These mental health societies are community service organisations operating in the field of Intellectual Disability, Psychiatric Disability and / or the promotion of mental well-being. They are registered as separate non-profit organisations, have their own boards of management and employ their own staff. They are accountable to the Federation so far as the standard of service delivery is concerned. However, they are not financially accountable to the Federation’s Board of Management.

The Society was founded as the Cape Society for the Feeble-Minded in 1913, became the South African National Committee for Mental Hygiene and the Care of the feeble-minded, and in 2006 assumed its current name.

Objectives:

• Communicate with international, national, provincial, governmental and non-governmental structures on policy matters relating to mental well-being, emotional disturbance, psychiatric disability and intellectual disability
• Negotiate with government departments, statutory bodies as well as national and provincial organisations on any matter in the interests of mental health
• Promote the mental health of all people through collaboration and liaison with other organisations with similar aims on the international, national, provincial, regional and local level
• Establish and maintain services for the promotion of mental well-being, the prevention and treatment of psychiatric disability, emotional disturbance and intellectual disability
• Provide any therapeutic or rehabilitative service in aid of individuals with psychiatric disability, intellectual disability or anyone who is emotionally disturbed, including the provision of accommodation, food, clothing, education, training and employment
• Assist individuals and groups in the community to undertake any task mentioned above, especially to form self-help and support groups
• Endeavor to co-ordinate non-governmental voluntary services in the interests of mental well-being, and those persons living with psychiatric disability and/ or intellectual disability in South Africa
• Speak out on mental health issues and disseminates policy decisions and information relating to mental health in international, national as well as local media
• Prepare and disseminate informative and educational material concerning mental well-being, intellectual disabilities and psychiatric disabilities
• Advocate for improved facilities for the care and treatment of intellectually and / or psychiatrically disabled persons in both the government and non-government sector
• Promote and conducts research into the causes, incidence and treatment of intellectual and psychiatric disabilities as well as any aspect relevant to the promotion of mental health
• Encourage improved standards of training in all professions and occupations in the fields of mental health, intellectual disability and psychiatric disability
• Formulate rights relating to mental health issues in partnership with service users and the community and advocates for the fulfillment of such rights
• Secure, generate and sustain funds from the community and the state in order to give effect to the objectives of the Federation
• Employ, train and determine the conditions of service of staff necessary to undertake the work of the Federation
• Promote and gives effect to the mission of the Federation with a view to the creation of an improved awareness of the Federation and its goals
• Develop a proactive, responsive, and accountable leadership structure within the Federation which ensures maximum consultation and participation at all levels of decision making
• Provide a supportive working environment which encourages and recognises initiative, progress and development
• Monitor the Federation's own performance in terms of its mission

Originally, SAPMEA was founded as the Permanent Committee of the British Medical Association in South Australia in 1897. Subsequently, it became the Postgraduate Committee in Medicine of the University of Adelaide in 1928, and, in 1975, it was granted autonomy under a new constitution becoming known as SAPMEA. It has therefore been involved in arranging meetings for well over 90 years.

SAPMEA is one of the largest and most active medical postgraduate bodies in Australia, and has became the largest meetings manager in South Australia.

The goals of the SCPS are to:

• Further the study of subjects pertaining to the nature, treatment and prevention of mental disorders
• Further the interests, the maintenance and the advancement of standards of hospitals for mental disorders, or outpatient clinics, and of all other agencies concerned with the medical, social and legal aspects of these disorders
• Further psychiatric education and research
• Apply psychiatric knowledge to other branches of medicine, to other sciences and to the public welfare
• Serve the American Psychiatric Association as a District Branch, as provided in that Association's Constitution, to conform with the rules, regulations and administration procedures of that Association
• Make available and disseminate to the community, and to the people of the State of California, general information for the public welfare on matters pertaining to psychiatry and allied branches of medicine
• Maintain and advance and improve the professional standards of practice of the medical specialty of psychiatry
• Serve an advocacy function for the rights of patients
• Establish and support standards for psychiatric practice and peer review

The official publication of the SMA is the Southern Medical Journal.