University of Cape Town

Shaheema Allie is an MPhil research fellow from South Africa funded by the African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI). She is currently studying towards a Master of Philosophy in Public Mental Health with the University of Cape Town (UCT). She has obtained a BA Honours in Psychology (UCT) and a Certificate in Motivational Interviewing (US). She is a registered counsellor with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and is also a member of the International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR).

Shaheema joined the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health in 2012, working in the Addictions Division at UCT. She started off working as a research assistant doing interviews with patients and assisting with the PgDip, as well as using MI with dual diagnoses patients and focusing on behaviour change. She is currently working as the Training and Curriculum Coordinator for the Postgraduate Diploma in Addictions Care as well as for the South Africa HIV Addiction Technology Transfer Centre (SA HIV ATTC). She is a trainer, lecturer and curriculum developer.

Shaheema has experience in working with individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) and other mental health issues and her main research interest is capacitating health care workers in the field of SUDs. Her current research is: A mixed methods evaluation of evidence-based practice approaches within the Postgraduate Diploma in Addictions Care at the University of Cape Town.