Rene is a Fellow of the South African College of Psychiatrists and a registered child and adolescent psychiatrist. Up to the end of March 2026, she was the clinical head of the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) at Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital, in Cape Town,  South Africa. She was also the provincial coordinator for CAMHS and led a project to strengthen infant child and adolescent mental health services (iCAMHS).
 

She was a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, at Stellenbosch University.