Brief Academic Biography

Ashraf Kagee is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Stellenbosch University, co-Director of the Alan Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, and a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

His research has focused on common mental disorders among persons living with HIV, psychological and structural factors influencing adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and public mental health.

Ashraf teaches cognitive psychotherapy and research methods in the Department of Psychology. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture in Cape Town and does capacity building work at the Gaza Community Mental Health Centre in Gaza, Palestine.

He is available to supervise honours, masters and doctoral research on various topics related public mental health, stress and trauma, common mental disorders, HIV and behaviour, psycho-oncology, and evidence-based practice in psychology.

Research

Research Topics

  • Adherence to antiretroviral therapy
  • Common mental disorders among persons living with HIV
  • Stress and trauma
  • Health behaviours; structural barriers to health promotion
  • Various topics related to health psychology and public mental health.

About my Research
My work is broadly located at the nexus of psychology and public health. My research has focused on common mental disorders among persons living with HIV and the psychological and structural factors influencing adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). I am interested in supervising masters and doctoral research projects related to mental health conditions among persons living with a chronic illness; medication adherence and health behaviours in the context of chronic illness; and stress and trauma among persons living under conditions of precarity.

Selected Publications

  1. Chibanda, D., Jack, H., Langhaug, L., Alem, A., Abas, M., Mangezi, W., Hanlon, C., Sorsdahl, K., Kagee, A., Weiss, H., Musesengwa, R., Kidia, K., Udedi, M., Nhamo, D., Fekadu, W., Demissie, M., & Lund, C. (2021). Towards racial equity in global mental health research. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8, 553-555. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00153-X.
  2. Booysen, D., & Kagee, A (2020). The feasibility of prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD in low- and middle-income countries: a review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 11, 10.1080/20008198.2020.1753941.
  3. Kagee, A., Bantjes, J., Saal, W., & Sterley, A. (2020). Predicting caseness of major depressive disorder using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-R) among patients receiving HIV care. General Hospital Psychiatry, 67, 70-76.
  4. Andersen, L., Witten, J., Magidson, J., Joska, J., Lee, J., Kagee, A., O’Cleirigh, C., Safren, S. (2020). Detecting depression among people living with HIV in South Africa: The factor structure and convergent validity of the South African Depression Scale (SADS). AIDS and Behavior, 24, 2282-2289. doi: 10.1007/s10461-020-02787-4.
  5. Jones, A., Coetzee, B., Kagee, A., Fernandez, J., Cleveland, E., Thomas, M., Petrie, K. (2019). The use of a brief, active visualisation intervention to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy in non-adherent patients in South Africa. AIDS and Behavior, 23, 2121-2129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2292-1.
  6. Kagee, A. (2019). Integrating chronic traumatic stress and chronic pain: Some concerns. Critical Public Health, 29, 129-133. DOI:10.1080/09581596.2017.1413235.
  7. Kagee, A. (2019). Postcolonial theory and international relations. African Journal of Democracy and Governance, 6, 1, 145-161.
  8. Maercker, A., Brewin, CR., Bryant, RA., Cloitre, M., van Ommeren, M., Jones, LM., Humayan, A., Kagee, A., Llosa, AE., Rousseau, C., Somasundaram, DJ., Souza, R., Suzuki, Y., Weissbecker, I., Wessely, SC., First, MB., Reed, GM. (2013). Diagnosis and classification of disorders specifically associated with stress: new proposals for ICD-11. World Psychiatry, 12, 198-206.
  9. Maercker, A., Brewin, CR, Bryant, RA, Cloitre, M., Reed, GM. van Ommeren, M., Humayun, A. Jones, L. Kagee, A. Llosa, AE, Rousseau, C., Somasundaram, D., Souza, R., Suzuki, Y., Weissbecker, I., Wessely, S., First, MB, & Saxena, S. Proposals for mental disorders specifically associated with stress in the ICD-11.(2013). The Lancet, 381, 1683-1685.
  10. Kagee, A., Remien, R. H., Berkman, A., Hoffman, S., Campos, L., & Swartz, L. (2010). Structural barriers to ART adherence: Challenges and potential ways forward. Global Public Health, 6, 83-97.
  11. Remien RH, Berkman A, Myer L, Bastos FI, Kagee A, El-Sadr W. (2008). Integrating HIV care and HIV prevention: Legal, policy and programmatic recommendations. AIDS, 22: suppl. 2, S57-S65.

My CV and full list of publications are available at: https://sun.academia.edu/AshrafKagee/CurriculumVitae

Teaching

Coordination of Programmes and Modules
Honours:

  • Research Methodology

Teaching Areas
Postgraduate:

  • Cognitive psychotherapy
  • Quantitative and qualitative research methods

Websites and other relevant links

https://sun.academia.edu/AshrafKagee/CurriculumVitae

News

HIGHER EDUCATION TODAY – Trauma and Resilience

July 31st, 2023|

Guests: Ashraf Kagee, Professor of Psychology, Stellenbosch University; Bonang Libuke, Industrial Psychology Student, University of the Western Cape; and Pumla Ndaba, Psychology Student, University of Cape Town. This segment of HIGHER EDUCATION TODAY thanks to [...]

Mental health services are not a luxury

October 11th, 2021|

Between 75% and 95% of people with mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries cannot obtain mental health services. The level of suffering and distress and their social consequences can be considerable, writes Ashraf Kagee and [...]

By the Fading Light – Bringing to life the texture of the time

August 3rd, 2021|

Ashraf Kagee's book deals with the underlying issues of apartheid, class divisions and sexual violence; but it also has cadences of ‘lightness’ in that so much of it is told with astute humour. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-08-03-by-the-fading-light-bringing-to-life-the-texture-of-the-time/

By the Fading Light

April 14th, 2021|

Award-winning author Ashraf Kagee’s second novel, By the Fading Light tells a dazzling tale of the loss of innocence. Set in Salt River, Cape Town in 1960 this exquisitely told novel follows four friends on [...]

eNCA – Author Ashraf Kagee unpacks new book

March 27th, 2021|

A tale about the end of boyhood, and the burning away of innocence while a country is set alight. That’s how Ashraf Kagee’s coming novel is described by one writer and broadcaster. Kagee has written [...]