Sally John

Sally John qualified at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa as a Counselling Psychologist in 2000. She completed her Internship at McCord Hospital, a mission-based hospital in Durban. There she developed, with successive interns and trainee psychologists, a Department of Psychology.

Amongst trauma debriefing and general psychology work, Sally was tasked with interviewing and supporting intern medical students. She became aware of many challenges that they faced. Her student psychologists conducted support groups for new and permanent staff doctors. This was particularly needed in the early years of the HIV era.

Sally retired after 20 years in the hospital. In the last 8 years of her hospital career, Kwazulu-Natal Department of Health took over McCord Hospital so she and her team rotated around several government hospitals and rural health clinics. She completed a PhD at the University of Pretoria in Indigenous Knowledge Systems, in particular, the use of traditional stone games to heal traumatized children.