Chrisma Pretorius

Associate Professor,
Stellenbosch University

Chrisma Pretorius is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Stellenbosch University. Prof Pretorius received a C1 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) in April 2022. She holds dual registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, recognized as both a counselling psychologist and a neuropsychologist. Prof. Pretorius’s undergraduate and postgraduate teaching focuses predominately on neuropsychology and assessment. She integrates her research, teaching and community involvement, aligning these aspects for maximum impact. She supervises psychometric and neuropsychological assessment cases for clinical students at the Welgevallen Community Clinic, delivering valuable services to the broader Stellenbosch community. Furthermore, Prof Pretorius coordinates the Departmental Ethics Screening Committee and the Research Masters’ Degree Programme. Serving as an academic mentor on the Early Career Academic Development (ECAD) program at Stellenbosch University has allowed her to extend her mentorship beyond her immediate academic sphere.
Prof Pretorius’ research primarily revolves around clinical neuropsychology, with a special emphasis on brain-behaviour relationships in the context of neurological, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. Her work aims to understand the psychological and social burden imposed by chronic illnesses on individuals, their families and society at large. She is particularly interested in researching chronic conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Dementia and Epilepsy, with a specific focus on Functional Seizures (FS). Her international recognition in this field led to her appointment as the African collaborator for the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), specifically as a member of the Functional Seizures Taskforce in 2013. She has been actively involved as the African ambassador of this Taskforce for the past 10 years. Prof Pretorius also actively contributes to the scientific community and professional organizations, both nationally and globally. This includes her involvement with the South African Clinical Neuropsychological Association, the South African Academy for Science and Arts, and her role as a founding member of the International Functional Neurological Disorder Society (FNDS). Her participation on the Website / Social Media committee of the FNDS as the African social media ambassador reflects her commitment to advancing awareness and collaboration in her field. In 2021, she was invited to join a new initiative, the IR-Epil Consortium (International Research in Epilepsy), based on her ongoing collaboration with this global research group.