Mandy Rodrigues - Clinical Psychologist

17/12/2025

05/12/2025

I wrote a post a few years back about my son, Dylan Ross Wolff, who was studying Medicine at WITS. I had discouraged him ever since he was four years old. He never faltered. He remained committed. He worked throughout Covid, volunteering at a Clinic in Hillbrow. He first contracted Covid in May 2020. I never saw him during hard lockdown, and he had to isolate in an apartment in Parktown- with no access to medicine or care. Fortunately I was also allowed to work during Covid; and once he was able to walk to the basement, I would drop his groceries off, and watch from the entrance as he walked to collect the bags.

He has made the Dean's list every year. He got his results yesterday- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with Distinction 🌟 And tomorrow he marries his long term girlfriend Imogen. I am so proud of who you are. You passionately fight for causes, but in a quiet way. You don't like attention. You are a man of few words. But when you talk, we listen. And you make all your patients feel heard and seen. Congratulations Dr DR Wolff!

15/11/2025

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02/10/2025

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢…
𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚." 🐘

A short fable about avoidance, strength, and the courage to face what we fear.

30/09/2025

The ways we respond to each other aren’t 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑚 — they’re 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯s. We can use other manners of connecting with others transiently or with deliberate thought, but we are likely to return to our innate way of communicating.

Knowing this 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱. It is not an anomaly. It is not a failure. It is how life is.

🐭 Sometimes we pull away. We might feel unseen or unheard. We anticipate traps. We feel afraid.
🐘 Sometimes we try to fix.
🦔 Sometimes we lash out.
🐕 Sometimes we simply stay beside.
🐢 Sometimes we stonewall. Not out of malice. But coping.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙨 prompted me to write a fable. A universal, relatable, simple story.

After I wrote the initial fable, I realised there is always a lion 🦁 . A leader. A driver. Someone who roars. Not out of malice or arrogance. But born out of necessity. Lions are necessary for societies, ecosystems, companies, and relationships to work. We all have a role. They are all meant to work together.

🌳 Discover more at www.empathy-toolkit.com

hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag hashtag

23/09/2025

This is just the start 🌳The original Cards that I have used for years in therapy.

I found it worked in couple therapy where I would give each person the same cards. Each card would have a description of a reaction to infertility. I would get them to put down their personal reactions - on the table - and then create discussions about the differences in reactions.

As the years passed, I started using animal pictures. It was less threatening to use animals. I have expanded the game and written a fable around the Empathy Animals. The website is almost complete at

The Empathy Toolkit: a story-based guide with simple tools that help you understand, practice, and grow empathy in every relationship, including compassion for yourself

03/09/2025

🌱 We all hope to be the empath… at home, with our children, our partners. Even to
ourselves.
But sometimes we slip into being the stonewaller or the fixer.

💡 The key isn’t perfection — it’s humility when we misstep, and forgiveness when others do.

23/06/2025

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 👣
🏔️ Some scale steep cliffs
⛺ Others pause at base camp
🔁 Many take detours, change direction, or stop to catch their breath
But whether it’s through IVF, surrogacy, adoption, egg or s***m donation—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 🚩 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭

🧗 The mountain is not about how you climb
💪 It’s about the courage to keep going

Let’s shift the conversation. Let’s honour 𝑎𝑙𝑙 the paths to parenthood. There is no second best when the goal is to parent 💞

13/05/2025

There are so many definitions of happiness. Many people say "money can't buy happiness." Others say money at least allows for less stress and more resources, translating into happier lives. Introducing the book The Algebra of Happiness. I definitely resonate with the equation that happiness is a combination of relationships, money and resilience. I think it explains why some that seem to have it all, might be unhappy. Resilience is a component that we often overlook