Onwuzuruike Stanley has completed his M.Ed Guidance and Counselling from University of Lagos Nigeria and Bsc Ed Guidance and Counselling from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Nigeria. He holds a Certificate in Psycho Trauma Healing from Lux Terra Institute Nigeria, Certificate in Mediation USA and a Certificate in Human Resource Management Brentwood College UK. He is the director of Padrez Counselling Services, a professional and duly registered service provider in Nigeria. He was recently rated as 2nd amongst top 5 Counsellors in Nigeria and has also dedicated the last 4 years to providing counselling intervention to Soldiers affected at the war torn areas of North East Nigeria and is renowned for his Mental Health Advocacy Programs. He is also a Human Resource Consultant to a few companies in Nigeria. Amongst others bodies, he is a member of The Association Of Professional Counsellors in Nigeria.
Abstract
The scarcity of research, mirrors the weakness of Mental Health services on the continent and the blind eye turned to the problem by many Africans and their governments. Nigeria, like most African countries is short of personnel trained in Mental Healthcare and efforts to tackle the problem have often focused on increasing the numbers of Counsellors, psychiatrists and nurses in the field. As per Nigeria’s increasing population, One in Four Nigerians, some 50 million people are suffering from some sort of Mental Illness and our research finds that the country is no where near equipped to tackle the problem.