Reflective Seeds by Counsellor Seyram

As an evolving profession whose practice gained legislative act as late as 2013 in Ghana, the field of counselling seems fairly new to a large number of the Ghanaian population as compared to nationals of advanced countries where the discipline has taken root. Indeed, in a research conducted by Dzokoto et al. (2022) on cultural adaptations and Ghanaian response to psychotherapy practice, their participants who included counsellors reported some cultural barriers they had to navigate before offering therapy in Ghana. The barriers include clients seeing therapy as an unfamiliar resource, resistance due to mental illness stigma, linguistic barriers, hierarchical and age norms associated with help-seeking in providing therapeutic services, Charismatic Christian and African Cosmological Worldviews, cultural expectations of helping and family sit-ins. This is the second write-up on the three-part awareness creation series about the field of counselling. The current text highlights the releva...

Counselling is an allied health profession and support service which involves a helping relationship facilitated by a trained professional known as Counsellor and a person in need who is known as Client . The term “counsellor” is one that has diverse definitions. However, for one to be considered as a counsellor, he or she must meet certain criteria and be certified by the relevant authority for such practice. Some studies have shown that counselling and allied fields such as psychotherapy and guidance are still evolving in the Ghanaian context. Thus, many people still lack the requisite knowledge and information about the service offering. In fact, there is evidence pointing to the fact that quite often, what most people subscribe to is seeking advice which they loosely term as counselling. In this three-part series, we first offer some insight into the various definitions of counselling and its related fields. We will then discuss the role of a counsellor and the need to seek prof...

Have you ever persistently felt low energy where you lacked motivation in life? Have you ever felt detached from yourself and everything around you? Well, you might have experienced a condition known as emotional numbness. According to Kerig et al. (2016), “Emotional numbness is a state of being in which you are not feeling or expressing emotions”. It is a usually a sign of an environmental or mental health issue. Emotional numbness which is also known as emotional blunting, anhedonia, alexithymia, emotional detachment or disassociation may seem strenuous to understand or describe if one has not experienced it before. However, some people often describe it as a feeling of isolation while others experience emptiness and feel discouraged. This may cause them to become unfocused and disoriented. Mayra Mendez, a licensed psychotherapist and program coordinator at Providence Saint John's Child and Family Development Center describes it as “the mental and emotional process of shutting ou...

Aging is the process of growing older, a process that includes physical changes and, sometimes, mental changes. “The aged” refers to elderly people, those who have reached an advanced age (Encyclodpedia.com, 2024). The term has different conceptions in different contexts; while in Africa and China it refers generally to people aged 50 and above, it begins from 65 and 70 years in Europe and America respectively (Aged Care Guide, 2024). In most cases, old age is tied to retirement age in each country (Aged Care Guide, 2024). According to the United Nations (2009), the world population over the age of 60 is expected to reach two billion by 2050. Aging in the African context particularly in Ghana is often considered as a remarkable achievement. It connotes goodwill and prosperity for the family and an evidence of a life worthy of emulation by the community at large. However, research indicates that “one of the possible negative consequences of the rapid ageing of the global population is ...

Substance use disorders, depression, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, and suicidal behaviour have been reported in the broader literature as the typical and most prevalent mental health problems among the youth population in Ghana and within the Sub-Saharan Africa region (Nyundo et al., 2020; Ohene & Ofori-Atta, 2014). This is a source of grave concern to many stakeholders especially in the educational sector. It worthy to note that educational pursuits are essential for the individual for many reasons; to gain knowledge and information, build capacity, develop goals, and influence employment opportunities. It also enables the individual to learn social skills and soft skills, address social inequality and be responsible contributors to society.  Despite its numerous benefits, the pursuit of education may also be daunting for students irrespective of their age. However, for students who are recovering from any form of mental health conditions (MHC), educational pursuit c...

I recently watched a video online of toddlers between age 3 and 5 years who were in a school dress-up competition. Their task was to dress up by themselves with their underwear, singlet, pair of shoes and socks as well as a P. E. kit. I suppose there were prices to be won along the sentimental feedback from the crowd that was present to cheer them on. As the competition was ongoing, some made steady progress while others were struggling. Of particular interest was one of the girls. She had worn her underwear, shoes and socks in good time. Her pace was fast and it seemed as though she was going to be part of the first batch of winners. However, she faced a setback when she missed wearing her singlet properly. She wore her P. E. shirt over the singlet before realising that her left arm had not fit in properly so she quickly put her arm into the singlet and wore it over the P.E. shirt. She almost immediately realized that she was missing something. She looked around her and saw some of he...

This post is a continuation and concluding part of the two-part series on health check-up. If you haven’t read the first part yet, please access it via https://reflectiveseedsbycounsellorseyram.blogspot.com/2024/04/in-ring-of-life-need-for-health-check.html The first part discusses six reasons why one needs to undergo regular health check-ups. These include the fact that it  is cost effective;  exposes health conditions which are then managed to help alleviate negative effects;  helps to detect most life threatening conditions which happen progressively;  helps to safeguard oneself against risk factors;  helps one to put one’s mind at rest about one’s state of health; and  helps one to appreciate the fact that health is one’s wealth. The present text will present some important tests one can request for at the hospital as part of health screening. 1. Mental Health Screening: This comprises the use of assessment tests or tools, questionnaire, interview and/o...