How Equanimity Wellness Aims To Support Mental Health
How Equanimity Wellness Aims To Support Mental Health. The Equanimity Wellness Centre was founded with the desire to create a refuge for anyone in search of professional, trustworthy and compassionate therapeutic support. In the heart of Johannesburg, South Africa, Equanimity Wellness stands out as a facility implementing cutting-edge therapeutic practices, couched within a broader wellness framework, and delivered in an expertly curated, tranquil environment conducive to healing, recovery, and exploration.
Anthony Townsend and Brad Kallenbach, co-founders and clinical psychologists spearheading this ground-breaking venture, explain that “Our team’s mission is to alleviate unnecessary suffering, to catalyse healing and to support personal transformation through evidence-based practices.” In addition to offering services to support those wanting to optimise their habits and wellbeing, Equanimity also strives to offer new hope for often debilitating conditions like (among others) depression, anxiety and PTSD, workplace stress and burnout, as well as chronic pain.
According to a study published by the MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU) last year, South Africans appear to be suffering higher rates of depression and anxiety than other countries also evaluated. In addition, workplace stress and burnout are considered the leading causes of employee underperformance and sick leave, not to mention the toll it takes on the physical and mental health of those affected. According to a nationally representative study conducted in 2020 by Peter Kamerman and team, nearly 1 in 5 South African adults suffer with chronic pain, leading to additional physical and mental health complications and often, to socioeconomic limitations.
Despite the widespread need for healthcare support to address these concerns, South Africa faces a shortage of appropriate services, effective implementation, as well as trained mental health professionals. The Equanimity Wellness Centre team aims to address these pressing issues effectively and scalably through world-class therapeutic initiatives, as well as continuous professional development opportunities for healthcare and wellness professionals.
When discussing the Centre’s cornerstone treatment – their psychedelic-assisted therapy program – Townsend and Kallenbach explain that, “The last decade has seen a resurgence of interest in psychedelic medicine. When used in safe, controlled therapeutic settings, there is compelling scientific evidence to suggest that psychedelics have profound healing potential for a variety of mental health concerns.” Equanimity intends to harness this potential by adhering to the highest ethical and international-best practice standards in this burgeoning field and will only ever work with medicines and methodologies that have been legally approved for therapeutic use.
The Equanimity Wellness Centre is committed to staying at the forefront of the mental health and wellness industry. “We understand the importance of community education and reducing stigma around mental- and physical health struggles,” added Townsend and Kallenbach. “To that end, we have developed a first-of-its kind in South Africa, CPD-accredited psychedelic-assisted therapy workshop for healthcare professionals, we often host open-to-the-public seminars, create free mental health resources on our social media platforms, while actively seeking partnerships to advance the understanding and practice of holistic, evidence-based healthcare.”
