Why you might not have needed counseling in Africa, but you need it in the U.S.

I often hear African immigrants say that they have never had a reason to seek professional counseling. (Read this post for common reasons they give).

I believe counseling is even more important for African immigrants because traditional practices geared toward mental health in many parts of Africa are no longer common and are definitely not available in the U.S.

African history lesson

First off, I am not saying that psychotherapy or counseling is not necessary in Africa, it is. In fact, historically, African societies were set up in such a way where people naturally leaned on each other for support. It was especially common for the elders or older people in the community to provide counsel to others. My dad who is a Cameroonian man tells me of a time when a couple was going through some challenges. The elders in the community were called upon for help, they had a meeting (or meetings) in which they were able to help this couple. Similarly, a Kenyan man reported this about him growing up in Kenya:

I remember we used to have a lot of family time around the table. We had a kitchen that was separate from the main house. Especially in the rural areas, there’s an outhouse and then any teenage boys live in their own separate houses with their own kitchen there. This is maybe their grandparents house. We had dining tables in the kitchen and so at meal times, we all came to that table or on a nice day we all went outside and sat under a tree. And we’re all eating from two containers and maybe a bunch of plates, but most of the time, we just hang out and talk and have fun with each other and guff off, make peace, and all that. I think when things were good, it’s a good thing, and then if things were really tough and then we still had those moments when we will sit around the table and just talk about what was happening and try to find solutions and give each other support and talk about how we can get through this together.

This sense of community sharing acts as a buffer against mental issues. You can even say that one’s family and community played the role of therapists. However, things are changing everywhere including on the African continent. With the increase of urbanization and Westernization, this togetherness is slowly reducing and there is an increased need for psychotherapists.

There are some cases that are beyond the family and community’s capacities such as when there is severe mental illness. These are the cases in which people have been termed with things such as being possessed, having witchcraft, etc. Read this post to learn more.

Traditional healing in Africa

Africans had various forms of healing including traditional and herbal healers/native doctors for physical and mental concerns. Traditional healing was sometimes a family secret passed on from older generations to younger relatives. Healers treated psychosocial problems such as sexual issues, chronic or terminal diseases, psychotic disorders, psychosomatic disorders, social disorders, cannabis and alcohol related disorders. Traditional healers went through ceremonies and training to attain healing powers and to understand essential medicinal plants used for healing different illnesses. When new herbs were discovered, people believed this was an inspiration or direction by higher powers. Hence, traditional healers were viewed with respect and honor. African native doctors utilize different treatment methods, including sacrificial offerings to higher powers, using medicines made from herbs and roots, and psycho-social spiritual methods (beating drums, dancing, incantations, rituals, proverbs). These sort of training for traditional healers can be compared to the years of training for Western psychotherapists to obtain a masters or doctoral degree in Counseling.

Currently in Africa, there has been a decline in traditional healing practices and an upsurge of religious faith healing practices specifically Christian faith, many that still include cultural elements. Part of the reasons for the change is that traditional healers were unable to read and write, thus, did not have documentation of their healing processes. Moreover, the rise of westernization and Christianity around the 1960s in Africa contributed to less interest of the new generation in learning traditional healing. Nevertheless, both traditional and faith-healing practices are still used for about 80% of psychiatric-related issues in Sub-Saharan Africa.

(If you want to read more about the last two paragraphs, check the references at the bottom)

There’s your African history lesson! As you can see, what was practiced in many parts of Africa is not as common any longer and are definitely not available in the U.S. This is the main reason why you may need psychotherapy being in the U.S.

Here are some other reasons…

Limited sense of community in the U.S. As you have probably experienced, the community life back home is not the same as in the U.S. If you are not intentional about creating a community, it won’t happen. You have left a collectivistic society to an individualistic society. That sense of coming together or visiting neighbors or supporting one another is possible through social, religious, or organizational groups. But you have to make a lot more effort than you did back home. Thus, many people being unaware of how this new culture works can feel isolated, lonely, and extremely stressed especially when dealing with life’s challenges.
Adjusting to a new culture and a different system. Apart from the loss of social ties from back home, there are multiple layers of adjustments that take place when moving to a new society. It can be difficult to navigate this. To quote one of my interviewees,

“…you go from a system that deals with things through family and community to a system that throws you to the courts and it’s all legal, it’s all lawyers, it’s all paperwork… that stresses people out like crazy cuz suddenly what you know and what you fall back on is not there.”

Many people get into legal trouble out of ignorance. It is helpful to have someone who understands the system to help you navigate life in the U.S. There are different gender roles, norms in raising children, and governing guidelines. Even though psychotherapists might not be able to provide some of these services, they can direct you to the right people and help you deal with the emotional and psychological aspects of transitioning.

Life is hard and it is good to have support. If you have been in the U.S. for some time now, you are probably thinking, “I’ve passed these stages so I’m fine.” Are you really? As I interviewed African immigrants, many of them said what I mentioned earlier, “I haven’t had any reason to see someone.” But these are some of the challenges they were dealing with… social isolation, loneliness, depression, loss of family members, miscarriages, distress from divorce leading to alcohol abuse, sleep deprivation, distress from being unemployed, marital stress, anxiety, trust issues… I can go on but I’ll stop there. These are the reasons why people seek counseling. You don’t need to be severely mentally ill to see a mental health professional. If you are having a hard time recognizing these issues in yourself and in others, view what I wrote about how to identify mental issues.

One of my interviewees said something poignant about his experience seeing various therapists. He said, “I consider it to be like having a larger family, having many people to talk to… ‘this is me this is what I’ve been through, let’s talk.’” Think about your therapist as such and it will make it easier.

References

Ebigbo, P. O., Oluka, J., Ezenwa, M., Obidigbo, G., & Okwaraji, F. (1997). Harmony restoration therapy: An African contribution to psychotherapy. Ife Psychologia: An International Journal, 5(2), 51-70.

Madu, S. N., Baguma, P. K., & Pritz, A. (Eds.). (1996). Psychotherapy in Africa: first investigations (Vol. 1). Vienna, Austria: World Council for Psychotherapy.

Madu, S. N. (2015). Psychotherapeutic values for modern Africa. World Journal Psychotherapy, 1(8), 8-15.