Home
Dr Jerrie Bezuidenhout
Dr Jerrie in a Nutshell is the private psychiatric practice of Dr Jerrie Bezuidenhout. He is a psychiatrist in Centurion working with 18 to 65 year-olds. His rooms are located at Vista Clinic, where he treats both in- and out-patients.
Dr Jerrie in a Nutshell
The term "in a Nutshell" is a play on words relating to the stigma surrounding mental health. Using the words that usually adds to the stigma in a funny way, tongue-in-cheek to help break the stigma with laughter.
Treatment
Dr Jerrie treats various psychiatric illnesses, as well as working on overall mental fitness. His treatment plan involves a holistic view of the person to create a treatment plan that works for the individual. Treatment may happen both in- and out- of hospital, after careful consideration by both doctor and patient.
Specialising in:
- Business Executives and Professionals with depression and anxiety
- Depression
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder
- Adult ADHD
- Bipolar disorder
- General Adult psychiatry
Business Consulting and Executive Coaching
For over a decade he has been consulting and coaching business executives from small, medium and large organisations. Consulting topics stretch from personal goal development, change facilitation techniques, team development and business culture integration during mergers or drastic changes in company structures. For more information, visit our Business Coaching page.
Education
Dr Jerrie has been a practising psychiatrist for more than 25 years. He received his training in South Africa (MBChB) and specialised in psychiatry in the UK (MRCPsych). Between 1996 and 2004, he worked in the community, countryside and tertiary academic hospitals, providing specialised psychiatric care to the community. In 2004 he established his private practice and joined the Vista Clinic team. He has been the part of the Vista Clinic management team as the Director of Medical Services since 2009.
Teaching and Research
Dr Jerrie has given various presentations at national and international conferences about psychiatry, including the Global Health and Wellness conferences in Los Angeles and Geneva. Since 2010, he has been an honorary lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s Medical Faculty. As a part of training and developing the next generation of multidisciplinary teams, he has been a part of Vista Academy. They work with various tertiary institutions to support and develop the next generation of doctors, psychologists, and nurses. Throughout his career, Dr Jerrie has done international research surrounding mental illnesses and the various treatments, techniques and dynamics involved in mental health. He applies these in his private practice and finds innovative ways to implement and adapt them to South African communities. He has published various articles on psychiatric practices and mental health in collaboration with a few journalists and authors.
Destigmatisation
Breaking the stigma around mental health has always been a passion for Dr Jerrie. Throughout his career, he has developed and been a part of various initiatives to break the stigma.
Campaigns
Structured and planned campaigns include developing the ongoing ‘Crazy for Walking‘ campaign, which is one of the most extensive mental health destigmatising campaigns in South Africa. As a part of the campaign, in 2017, Dr Jerrie joined his colleagues from various mental health institutions in a “crazy” walk from Pretoria to Cape Town. This kickstarted the international campaign that has continued to grow and change to help raise awareness about mental health. For more information, visit the Crazy for Walking website.
The ‘Happiness HELPS‘ campaign looks at a more holistic approach to your mental health. Dr Jerrie joined Vista Clinic Happiness HELPS ambassador, Deon Labaschagne for the 947-cycle challenge. The campaign focuses on different facets that improve your mental health and the important role that exercise plays in mental health.
For both of these campaigns, Dr Jerrie is one of the public voices by doing various radio and television interviews to help raise awareness, the likes of which include: Talk702; Jacaranda FM; Hot FM; Radio Pulpit; Groot FM; Pretoria FM; SABC Newsroom; Maroela Media and more.
Raising Awareness
Raising awareness about mental health and educating the community about mental illness is a big part of breaking the mental health stigma. To this end, he continues to do various talks, interviews and articles.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he gave talks and radio interviews surrounding mental health. These helped to explain how families and the community can support one another during these difficult times. Various medical forums and radio stations such as Jacaranda FM and Groot FM were part of these talks.
In 2018, he co-hosted the video series, ‘Tot die Punt’, which focused on various topics surrounding mental health and everyday life. These include the impact of mental health in relationships, religion, community, and specific question areas, such as suicide and depression.
Today Dr Jerrie continues to impact society by educating and raising awareness surrounding mental health.
Our Media page contains links or videos to these talks, interviews, articles or podcasts.
Reviews
