Bachelor of Social Work

Bachelor of Social Science (Hons)
Masters in Advanced Development in Social Work

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending” – C.S. Lewis

At First Step, Tessa’s role includes individual and group therapy, and psycho-educational lectures.

Tessa has completed her Honours degree in Clinical Social Work, specialising in Substance Abuse, through the Social Work Department at the University of Cape Town.  Prior to joining Houghton House inpatient facility in 2015, Tessa worked as a counsellor at two rehabilitation center’s based in Cape Town.  She also completed volunteer work at Pollsmoor Prison for an NGO, which included developing a substance abuse programme for a number of prisons in the Western Cape. Tessa left Houghton House in 2017 in order to pursue an Erasmus Mundus Masters in Social Work across five countries in Europe. She has returned to South Africa and completed her Masters thesis in the substance abuse field and now works with the First Step Outpatient programme.

At First Step, Tessa’s role includes individual and group therapy, and psycho-educational lectures.

Having been introduced to the addiction field as a undergraduate student, the 18 months working at this facility opened up a new world to Tessa, one filled with challenges and trying times, yet a constant sense of hope, love and spirituality and so she chose to specialise in the field.

Don’t feel disillusioned by where you are now
your progress is good enough
it’s meaningful
it’s on time
though everything may go unacknowledged
every silent step is movement
in the right direction

when it feels as though
everyone is going forward
and you’re being pulled back by
 your own demons or your past
remember that every moment in this journey
will play its part in the greater narrative –
what a beautiful story to share one day
written just by living your life

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