SAFMH and The Masiviwe Project launch a free photo library to promote positive, stigma-free images of mental health in South Africa.
South Africa (28 July 2025) – There’s a new way to picture mental health in South Africa, and it’s bursting with hope, dignity, and empowerment.
The South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH), in partnership with The Masiviwe Project, has launched a groundbreaking initiative: the Positive Mental Health Photo Library. This open-access collection offers the media and mental health advocates a vibrant alternative to the outdated and often stigmatising visuals commonly used to depict mental health conditions.
Gone are the shadows, isolation, and greyscale clichés. In their place: real people, real smiles, and real strength. This comes in the wake of South African organisations wanting local resources which depict local life and often break the stigma of public perception.
The photo library features individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions, captured in empowering and everyday contexts, laughing with friends, working with focus, enjoying nature, or simply being themselves. It’s a quiet but powerful shift in how we talk about mental health, and how we see it.
SAFMH and The Masiviwe Project are inviting journalists, content creators, educators, and anyone in the mental health space to use these free images when telling stories that uplift, inform, and reflect the reality of living with and managing mental health conditions.
It’s more than just a stock photo site; it’s a step toward reshaping the national narrative, one image at a time.
Sources: Supplied
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