A challenge facing many deinstitutionalized psychiatric patients is finding suitable employment. At Fountain House, run by the Cape Mental Health Society, patients receive training and temporary work assignments to give them a second chance.

It should be a time of joy, peace and goodwill '€“ yet all too often Christmas can be a time of loneliness, strained family relations and financial hardship. Psychologists warn that society has imposed all kinds of expectations around this time of year '€“ some of which are unrealistic and most of which are guaranteed to heighten stress levels. However, there are ways of coping.