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From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The federal government has been advised to establish more trauma therapy centers, open up listening clinics and recruit more therapists and counsellors to enable Nigerians have access to care and support.
Trauma expert, Maji Peterx gave the advice at a one day Trauma Consciousnesses and Resilience Workshop organized by Carefronting Nigeria and Links Global in conjunction with Strides and Frontiers Nigeria Limited in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
He said the advice became necessary as a result of the prevailing spate of insecurity, socio-political and economic challenges that have plagued the country occasioned by the activities of bandits, kidnappers among many others which have perpetually put citizens in a state of fear.
Peterx, who is the lead facilitator at the workshop, state that the country is currently traumagenic, hence the need for all Nigerians to be trauma aware and truama conscious.
He further urged Nigerians to prioritise self care as a guide even as he advised people to show concern and be conscious of other persons’ mental state and conditions more than ever before.
“Truama is real. The environment where we are is riddled with so much stress and a lot of people are truamatized without knowing it.
Citizens must learn to speak with therapist, counsellors or people around them and above all, create support structure with friends and families.
“The whole country is truamagenic. There is no safety, there are issues of insecurity, fear factor, the siege mentality, everything that needs to make somebody feel traumatized is present. So, we need to be aware of people’s mental awareness and mental illness.
“You see people manifesting symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, PTSD, anxiety disorder, depression and we think they are okay. To help them, let us prioritize self care. Let us talk to people when we have to; therapists, counsellors and people around us. Let us create support structure for ourselves. It’s very important.
“On the part of government, they should realize we need more therapists, more counsellors. They should open up listening clinical and trauma therapy centers. Its very important for us to have access to such places in our schools and work places.
“We shouldn’t think that people are just normal or just numbing. We should be able to create a space where people feel supported and helped,” Peterx advised.
Earlier in a welcome address, representative of Strides and Frontiers Nigeria Limited, Abel Augustine stated that the workshop was organized to create awareness on Trauma and raise the consciousness of the people on its impact and how to get and give help to sufferers.
“We often see Trauma boldly inscribed on the walls of hospitals and hear medics, therapists and counsellors say that individuals families, communities, accident victims, or in some extreme situations like what the world is confronted with in Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan and Palestine, are traumatized,” he said.
