by Karabo Lesia

Choosing to study psychology in South Africa is, in many ways, a courageous decision. It’s a field filled with promise: the promise of understanding human behaviour, improving lives, and contributing to a more empathetic and equitable society. But it is also a field that demands deep reflection, resilience, and, at times, a quiet reckoning with how theory and reality don’t always align.

As a student, I entered this journey with the aim of understanding people and helping organisations become healthier environments that are conducive to working. I gravitated toward Industrial Psychology because it merged my interest in behaviour with a real-world setting. But as the years unfolded, from lectures to internships and now into professional practice, I began to notice the cracks in the wall. Not just in the curriculum, but in the system itself.

Gaps in representation. Gaps in cultural relevance. Gaps between the frameworks we were taught and the lived experiences of the people we would one day serve.

One of the deeper challenges I encountered was observing how psychological practices, both in training and in the field, are often applied with little adaptation to the South African context. Whether it’s how assessments are conducted, how counselling interventions are delivered, or how workplace behaviours are analysed, there’s often an assumption that one size fits all. But practices developed in other parts of the world don’t always translate seamlessly here.

For example, the standardised tools we use to measure things like personality, leadership potential, or mental health symptoms are often normed on populations that look nothing like the diverse communities we work with. Similarly, interventions tend to focus on the individual in isolation, rather than acknowledging the communal and relational ways in which many South Africans experience healing, stress, or support. This mismatch between practice and context can unintentionally exclude or misrepresent the very people we aim to understand and empower.

It’s not that these practices have no value. They do. But they need to be critically examined, adapted, and, at times, reimagined to truly serve a South African society still shaped by inequality, resilience, and deeply rooted cultural traditions.

Another recurring theme in my journey has been representation. Like many students, I searched for mentors, lecturers, and professionals who could relate not just to the content of our work, but to the broader lived experience of navigating academia and the workplace in this country. While progress is being made, the need for more diverse voices in both academic institutions and professional practice remains pressing. Representation is not about replacing one voice with another. It is about ensuring that the full spectrum of South African experiences is reflected, respected, and integrated into the fabric of psychology.

What is also worth highlighting is that transformation in psychology is not just about who is in the room, but how we engage. Our curricula, research priorities, and even the ways we assess “competence” or “potential” need to consider the broader South African context. For example, when we speak about psychological safety in the workplace, are we also speaking about generational financial pressure, systemic inequalities, or the legacy of labour relations in this country? These are not abstract issues. They shape people’s day-to-day work experiences and mental health.

That said, I remain hopeful. My experience has also been filled with moments of affirmation, where I have seen how psychological principles, when applied thoughtfully and with cultural sensitivity, can genuinely uplift individuals and organisations. I have had the opportunity to coach, support, and work with people from all walks of life, and I have witnessed firsthand how meaningful it is when people feel seen, heard, and understood within their workspaces.

I continue to grow in this field, not because it is perfect, but because it is necessary. Psychology in South Africa has the potential to play a transformative role in addressing trauma, building resilience, and shaping healthier organisations. But this requires a collective commitment to evolving the discipline, to making space for new voices, new ways of thinking, and new definitions of what it means to be well and to thrive.

This reflection is my contribution to a broader conversation, for critical thinking, for accountability, and most of all, for a psychology that truly speaks to the heart of South Africans.