Therapeutic intervention

THABA-BOSIU-A long history of political, social and economic turmoil has left many Basotho severely traumatised and in need of healing, participants at a seminar on the trauma said this week.
The seminar was held in Thaba-Bosiu on Tuesday.

A clinical psychologist, Bosao Monyamane-Moyo, said the levels of trauma in the country call for healing.
“People are deeply wounded hence the need to heal,” she said.
She said the behavioural change of a person reeling from hurt could affect people around them.

“A healed person is in the right space of mind to act, think and make better choices,” she said.
Monyamane-Moyo said the state of the country called for therapeutic intervention.
“Rehabilitation and counselling are already offered but some of those offering it bring more damage due to lack of training,” she said.
“We don’t give advice but rather explore one’s situation so that they decide on broader choices,” she said.

Issues that workshop participants said people need to heal from include harassment at the workplace, politics, orphanhood, cultural practices and traditions, daily hassles and absentee parents.
Healing Lesotho Project Manager, Advocate Mothepa Ndumo, said the motive behind the project “is to bring healing to Basotho through the helping professions to promote healing, social cohesion and unity.”

This would be achieved through professionals in the fields of psychology, social work, counselling, meditation and professional coaching.
She said the initiative is non-partisan and is privately funded by a “concerned” Mosotho living abroad.
“Things are bad between Basotho and the funder thought we needed to talk more and see where we lost it,” she said, adding that unity is key for the process to succeed.

After Tuesday’s dialogue, stakeholders will be reaching out to areas such as Leribe, Mafeteng, Mokhotlong, Matsieng and Thaba-Bosiu.
There is something special about Lesotho, said Ndumo, adding, “and I wish we can find, unlock it and through dialogue such as this. I hope we will find it.”
“We found it necessary to engage stakeholders and get their views on what needs to be healed and how to go about it and eventually their collaboration as a way forward,” she said.

She said the project will run from October to January 2021.
Advocate Ndumo said more dialogue is needed and that politicians cannot always be blamed for the situation in the country.
“I feel strongly about legacy. We are beneficiaries of a toxic legacy.”
Healing Lesotho Advising Team Member Mathe Ntšekhe said the country can only develop if Basotho change their mindset.

“We need mechanisms in place to ensure that people can productively participate in the economy. It’s through healing that they become productive,” she said.
She said although forgiveness and peace weren’t achieved this year “the vision remains that we want Lesotho to be at peace with herself.”
She said forgiveness was not guaranteed but “it’s for one’s emotional, mental and psychological health.”
“Eventually there has to be something that allows one to let go of the anger, be forgiving and move on.”

National University of Lesotho (NUL) Counselling and Psychology Lecturer, Paballo Mokenela, said she was concerned about psychology and its potential benefits.
“The concept is misunderstood and since I see how helpful it can be, I think people need to be educated about it and understand it,” she said.
In April 2017, a Berea Hospital Psychiatric nurse, Kopo Manamolela, wrote on a global mental health website called Globally Minded, that factors contributing to depression included poor socio-economic conditions in Lesotho

Manamolela blamed high unemployment among young people, as some people found themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.
“This is due to traditional family structure of the Basotho, where one member of the family may be a breadwinner for the whole extended family and the effects of unpredictable climate changes which have made it almost impossible for farming,” Manamolela said.

“Most people are factory workers and domestic workers with minimum income either in the country or in neighbouring South Africa, thereby having to leave their families, resulting in a stressful situation,” he said.
Manamolela said psychosocial issues also play a major role in depression.
He mentioned divorce, loss of jobs, the current unstable political situation, chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and bereavement as other contributing factors.

“Adolescent depression and childhood depression are also being diagnosed in health settings,” he said.
“Health care workers are also high-risk groups because of having to work under stressful conditions with lack of staff and facilities and approaching retirement.”
Measures to diagnose and manage depression early remain a challenge due to fear of stigma, understaffed hospitals, lack of mental health specialised workers and the negative attitude often displayed by health workers towards mental health patients.

Mental health personnel are trying to integrate mental health into other health services, but the process has been slowed by resistance and fear from other disciplines. Lack of resources such as transport, fuel and audio-visual materials hinders awareness and training campaigns, experts said.
One-fifth of Lesotho’s 2.2 million people suffer from mental illness, according to a 2016 study led by Dr Daniel Vigo of the Harvard School of Public Health, in work supported by Partners-in-Health (PIH).

“That’s the highest rate of mental illness of any country in which Partners-in-Health works,” reads a passage in the PIH website.
The PIH says the only mental health professionals in Lesotho are psychiatric nurses; usually just one or two for every 200 000 people.
Many communities are in remote areas far from the nearest health facility.

’Mapule Motsopa