Dedri Hamman Educational Psychologist

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South Africa
Cape Town
Dedri Hamman Educational Psychologist

Assessments: Psychoeducational, Career/Subject Choice, School Readiness, Adult ADHD, Assessment Accommodations (All Curriculums). Website: www.edpsych.education

Therapy for all ages, Parent Guidance, Infant Mental Health Support

17/06/2026

When teens feel pressured, it often comes out sideways. You may see irritability, withdrawal, avoidance, sudden “I don’t care”, or a teen who is constantly tired and easily triggered. In many cases, the pressure is already loud inside, so the support that helps most is calm and specific.

Here is a simple way for parents, caregivers, and teachers to respond without turning it into a lecture:

🌿 Connect first
One sentence that signals safety: “I can see this is a lot.”
Not fixing, not correcting, just steady connection.

🌿 Make it smaller
Pressure drops when the next step is clear: “What is one thing you can do in the next 15 minutes?”
Small starts build momentum, and momentum builds confidence.

🌿 Choose the right support
Ask: “Do you want me to listen, help you plan, or give you space and check in later?”
This keeps dignity intact, which matters a lot in adolescence.

Support that works is not more pressure. It is a steadier path through it.

16/06/2026

Today we commemorate Youth Day 🇿🇦

We honour young people, their courage, their voice, and their right to be safe, respected, and supported, at home, at school, and in their communities.

May young people be met with adults who listen properly, guide with dignity, and show up with steady support, especially when life feels demanding. 🌿

15/06/2026

Teen years are often misunderstood as “dramatic”, when many teens are simply carrying more than they can explain. School pressure, friendships, social media, body changes, expectations at home, and the quiet fear of not measuring up can all sit on one set of shoulders.

Courage in adolescence is rarely loud. It looks like showing up after a rough day. It looks like trying again after a setback. It looks like setting a boundary, walking away from pressure, or asking for help instead of pretending everything is fine. 🌿

For parents, caregivers, and teachers, support that helps is not constant correcting. It is steadiness. Clear limits, calm check-ins, and language that separates behaviour from worth. Teens do better when they feel safe enough to be honest.

12/06/2026

Parent guidance is for the moments where you are doing your best, but the same patterns keep repeating. You may feel unsure how to respond without escalating things, or you may feel like you are constantly switching between being too soft and too strict, with no real middle ground that works.

These sessions are practical and tailored. We look at what is happening at home and, when needed, how it connects with school and social life. This can include routines that keep slipping, ongoing power struggles, emotional outbursts, anxiety, shutdown, friendship stress, bullying concerns, or the changes that come with adolescence.

The goal is not to give you a generic checklist. The goal is to help you leave with clearer language, steadier boundaries, and a plan you can actually use, even when you are tired. 🤍🌿

📞 Book a consultation at https://edpsych.education or call 079 541 1621.

11/06/2026

When a child or teen is struggling, many parents and teachers either avoid the conversation (because it feels uncomfortable), or they only speak when things have already escalated. A calmer option is a short, structured check-in that keeps everyone focused on support, not blame.

Use this three part check-in:

🌿 What we are noticing
Keep it factual and specific.
At home: “Homework is taking much longer than expected and we are seeing more tears or avoidance.”
At school: “In class, I am noticing slower work completion and a drop in confidence during written tasks.”

🌿 When it goes better
Ask: “When do you see them cope better?”
This is where the best clues are. Time of day, subject type, seating, group work vs independent work, instructions, transitions, social pressure.

🌿 One change to try first
Choose one realistic step for the next 7 days.
Examples: a smaller homework finish line, a predictable start routine, one agreed signal for help in class, a short break before tasks, a different way of giving instructions, a calmer communication plan for friendship stress.

Good support is often one sensible change, done consistently, then reviewed. That is how confidence returns, and that is how pressure reduces for everyone involved.

10/06/2026

If you are supporting a child or teen, it can sometimes feel like you are carrying the whole thing on your own, the routines, the emotions, the school expectations, the homework pressure, the social worries, the behaviour shifts.

The most effective support is usually not “more pressure”, it is better teamwork. When home and school share the same understanding of what is happening, children and teens often settle faster. They feel safer, because the adults around them are consistent, calm, and clear. 🌿

For teachers, teamwork looks like noticing patterns and sharing them without judgement. For parents and caregivers, it looks like asking the right questions, staying curious, and focusing on one helpful next step rather than trying to fix everything at once.

Support works best when it is shared, steady, and realistic.

09/06/2026

Many adults consider an ADHD assessment because they are tired of feeling stuck in the same patterns. You might be functioning on the outside, but daily life still feels like a constant effort to stay organised, stay on time, start tasks, finish tasks, and keep up with responsibilities.

An Adult ADHD assessment is a structured way to understand what is happening, and why certain areas keep feeling harder than expected. The goal is not simply a “yes or no”, the goal is clarity you can use.

A good assessment helps you:
• understand your patterns around focus, planning, time, and follow-through
• identify what supports your best functioning (and what drains it)
• get practical recommendations that fit real life, work, home, parenting, or study demands
• move forward with a clearer plan and the right type of support

If you have been wondering for a while, getting clarity can be an important step.

📞 Book a consultation at https://edpsych.education or call 079 541 1621.

08/06/2026

A lot of adults describe ADHD as “I cannot focus”, but one of the biggest day-to-day challenges is often working memory.

Working memory is like a mental sticky note. It holds information long enough to use it, then lets it go. When working memory is easily overloaded, life can feel like this: you walk into a room and forget why, you start a task and get derailed, you remember something important at the worst moment, you lose track mid-sentence, or you do the thing… except the final step (send the email, submit the form, pack the lunch).

This is not about intelligence or effort. It is about how much your brain can hold at once, especially when there are distractions, stress, noise, or too many steps.

A few practical supports that help many adults:
✅ One capture place for everything you need to remember (one notebook, one notes app, one whiteboard). If it is in five places, it disappears.
✅ Make the reminder visible where you need it (keys by the door, document on the keyboard, bag in front of the door). Out of sight often means out of mind.
✅ Reduce steps (write the next step only, not the whole plan). The brain handles “next” better than “everything”.
✅ Close the loop quickly when you can (send the message, book the appointment, pay the bill), or schedule it immediately so it stops living in your head.

If any of this feels familiar, it can be a relief to know there are ways to work with your brain, not against it.

01/06/2026

When school becomes stressful, many families carry the same questions for months. Why is homework taking so long? Why is your child anxious about tasks that seem simple? Why does your teen work so hard but still feel behind? For adults, it can sound like: why do I keep battling focus, time, and overwhelm even when I am trying my best?

Clarity is not about finding fault. It is about understanding what is happening so the right kind of support can be put in place, at home, at school, and in daily life. When people feel understood, confidence often shifts quickly, because the struggle is no longer personal, it is something we can work with. 🌿

29/05/2026

A lot of adult stress is not caused by what is happening, it is caused by what is still hanging. Unsent messages. Unmade decisions. Admin you keep postponing. Conversations you are avoiding. These “open loops” sit in the background and quietly drain energy all day. ✅

A simple "care that counts" approach is to close one loop at a time, not everything.

Try this:
🟢 Write down the open loops you keep thinking about (no sorting yet).
🟢 Choose one that can be closed in 10 minutes or less.
🟢 Close it, send the message, make the booking, file the form, pay the bill, write the first draft.
🟢 If it needs more time, write the next step and schedule it.

Closing one loop often brings more relief than trying to “rest” while your brain is still carrying ten unfinished things.

Address

5 Abington Avenue
Cape Town
7441

Website

https://edpsych.education/

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