Mental Wellness Initiative

19/12/2025

Nandi Atteridge - Educational Psychologist looked back on Different Minds, Shared Stories, Understanding Neurodivergence episode, where one conversation turned into several realisations and challenged a few assumptions.

Gender Links
Tracey-Lee Kotzen
Solid Gold Podcasts

19/12/2025

Emile Gouws looking back on Different Minds, Shared Stories, Understanding Neurodivergence episode, where one conversation turned into several realisations and challenged a few assumptions.

Gender Links

Tracey-Lee Kotzen

Solid Gold Podcasts

13/12/2025

🎙️ New Podcast Episode Out Now!

Different Minds, Shared Stories: Understanding Neurodivergence

🔗 Listen here: https://iono.fm/e/1559314

🎧 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gWqwPY_f

📚 Audible: https://lnkd.in/gzvjkGYp

Join the conversation as we explore the diverse landscape of neurodivergence, centering the voices, insights, and stories of neurodivergent people to foster deeper understanding and humanize their everyday experiences.

In this episode, we explore how stigma, misunderstanding, and limited awareness shape the everyday experiences of neurodivergent people. We aim to centre neurodivergent voices by sharing their stories, insights, challenges, and perspectives.

This episode seeks to humanise neurodivergence, highlight the impact of social and structural barriers, and deepen public understanding of the unique strengths and needs of neurodivergent individuals.

This episode invites reflection, dialogue, and collective learning. As a platform committed to demystifying, destigmatising, and prioritising mental health and wellness, we value your voice.

💬 We would love to hear your thoughts:

What resonated with you?
What questions or insights did it spark?

Please send your feedback to media@mwi.org.za and become part of the conversation.

Let’s continue to:

Mental Health and Wellness


Tracey-Lee Kotzen
Hazel Namponya
Solid Gold Podcasts

Guests: Dr. Emile Gouws Gouws, Rayhana Erasmus, Nandi Atteridge - Educational Psychologist

12/12/2025

Dear Stakeholder,

We wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude.
We truly couldn’t have advanced the Mental Wellness Initiative this year without your dedication and support. Thank you for being an integral part of our shared mission to demystify, destigmatise, and prioritise mental health and wellness.

We deeply appreciate your energy, insights, and the important work you do every day.
If we don't get a chance to connect again before the year wraps up, please have a restful holiday season. Take care of yourself and your loved ones your mental health matters.

Wishing you all the best for the year ahead!

Regards
Tracey Kotzen
CEO

12/12/2025

We hosted a workshop, Train the Trainer, on the 11th December 2025, facilitated by Tracey-Lee Kotzen, for the three organisations that took part in our Wellness Workshop Program. The organisations are Ambassadors4Change, Vuka Enough and Grassroots Soccer. We offered them a manual that provided all the tools and knowledge to help others in their organisations, going through all the notes that were spoken about during the workshop program. They have the knowledge and skills to use what they have learnt on not only their team and their participants, but also themselves. We did a yoga and mediation session with Ristha Sanei, doing stretches and mediations. This workshop was quite an informative and success one✨

12/12/2025

We were pleased to have the Rekopane Drop-In Centre for a Wellness Day on the 10th December 2025, at our MWI Office. We spoke about Trauma Healing and Self-Care Tools, facilitated by Tracey-Lee Kotzen, diving into topics like the types of trauma, how trauma shows up, how we can understand and process it, different somatic tools like grounding, trembling, butterfly hugs, and more. In the afternoon, we hosted a TRE session, facilitated by Nomatter Mthethwa. This workshop was not a success, but the participants walked away with knowing how to address, process and understand trauma and the importance of self-care✨

11/12/2025

08/12/2025

Day 2 of 16 Days of Activism: Time to ! 💜

SILENCE BREEDS VIOLENCE. Bystanderism is not neutral, your silence enables Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to persist. Today, we focus on breaking that silence. Raise your voice, intervene safely, and become part of the solution.

Violence stops with us. Follow us for 16 DAYS OF ACTIONABLE VIDEOS on how to become an active ally!

05/12/2025

✨What a fantastic week for workshops.✨ We went to Virginia, Free State, presenting tools to heal from trauma and gave breathwork and yoga tips and stretches for our participants
Days 4 to 5 , we did a workshop with the Hare Foleng Sechaba, in partnership with CMWL, Lekwape Consulting, The Greenlight Movement and Ford Foundation, doing yoga and breathwork with Ristha Sanei (funded by GBVF) and having a TRE (Trauma-Release Exercises) session with Nomatter Mthethwa (funded by Genderlinks), with each day having different participants attending the workshop days

Day 5 (21 November 2025): We did breathwork and yoga for the participants to use when they are healing or to feel present and calm in the morning, and had a TRE session in the afternoon

05/12/2025

✨What a fantastic week for workshops.✨ We went to Virginia, Free State, presenting tools to heal from trauma and gave breathwork and yoga tips and stretches for our participants
Days 4 to 5 , we did a workshop with the Hare Foleng Sechaba, in partnership with CMWL, Lekwape Consulting, The Greenlight Movement and Ford Foundation, doing yoga and breathwork with Ristha Sanei (funded by GBVF) and having a TRE (Trauma-Release Exercises) session with Nomatter Mthethwa (funded by Genderlinks), with each day having different participants attending the workshop days

Day 4 (20 November 2025): We did breathwork and yoga for the participants to use when they are healing or to feel present and calm in the morning, and had a TRE session in the afternoon