HOPE HOUSE TOKAI

Hope House Counselling Centre was founded in 2004 by Judy Strickland — a trained lay counsellor whose vision was clear: professional-quality counselling should be freely available to anyone in Cape Town, regardless of race, religion, culture, or ability to pay. Twenty-one years later, Hope House operates five physical centres (Tokai, Kuils River, Khayelitsha, Table View, and Bergvliet) plus a network of in-school counsellors across the city, seeing clients from as young as three years old.

Their donation-based model is their defining feature: clients are asked to contribute what they can, but no one is turned away because they cannot pay. This is what makes Hope House's Khayelitsha centre — 10 Scott Road — so significant: it is professional counselling in one of Cape Town's most under-resourced communities, where the combination of violence, gangsterism, substance abuse, poverty, and loss creates a near-universal need for mental health support that the public sector cannot begin to meet.

What They Offer Survivors, Individuals, and Communities

Donation-Based Individual Counselling — From Age 3 One-on-one lay counselling for individuals of all ages, from children as young as three to adults and elderly persons. Areas addressed include trauma, GBV and abuse, grief and bereavement, depression and anxiety, addiction, family conflict, relationship difficulties, stress, and life transitions. Sessions are offered on a sliding scale — pay what you can.

Play Therapy and Creative Therapy for Children For young children who cannot verbalise their experiences, Hope House uses play therapy, narrative games, clay techniques, dollhouses, puzzles, and sand trays — creative modalities that allow children to communicate what happened to them without language. Judy Strickland has described this approach as accessing "phenomenal" levels of communication in children who would otherwise shut down.

GBV Counselling and Support Dedicated support for survivors of gender-based violence — including practical guidance on leaving an abusive situation, processing trauma, and rebuilding self-worth. Hope House's social media actively shares step-by-step guidance for those leaving abusive relationships.

In-School Counsellors — Trauma Support for Children Hope House counsellors are placed in schools across Cape Town — ensuring that children who have experienced abuse, violence, drug exposure, or loss within their communities have access to professional support in a familiar, accessible environment. The organisation has been a vocal advocate for investing in school-based mental health care.

Courses, Workshops, and Support Groups A range of structured programmes including support groups, life skills courses, relationship skills, and themed workshops available to community members.

Company Wellness Programmes Workplace counselling and workshops tailored to corporate and organisational clients — covering stress management, GBV awareness, team building, self-care, grief, and other themes. Offered for a fee, these programmes cross-subsidise community services.

Outpatient Rehabilitation Programme Outpatient rehab support for individuals dealing with substance use — recognising the close relationship between addiction and GBV, homelessness, and family breakdown.

Lay Counsellor Training Hope House trains lay counsellors — building community capacity for mental health support beyond the organisation's own walls. This is a SACAP (South African College of Applied Psychology) fieldwork partner site.

GBV Awareness Workshops Dedicated GBV awareness workshops for communities, workplaces, and schools — building the knowledge and language needed to recognise, respond to, and prevent gender-based violence.

Hope House Counselling Centre: Five centres across Cape Town — Tokai, Kuils River, Khayelitsha, Table View, and Bergvliet. Phone: 021 715 0424. Email: Judy@hopehouse.org.za. Instagram: hope_house_counselling_centre. Donation-based — no one turned away.