Pervasive and unrelenting violence threatens the safety and security of women and
children, present day survival and collective future of the people in various communities
and nations, across the globe. This tragic crisis has become one of the most serious
issues compelling the increasing attention of governments, at all levels, scholars in
traumatic stress studies, psychology, psychiatry, contemporary medicine, human
development, military and police administrators. Countries and communities are being
destroyed by violence. Images and accounts of violence pervade the media; it is on the
streets, homes, schools, workplaces and institutions. It has become a universal scourge
that tears at the fabric of society. In a world desperate to comprehend, address and
arrest the seemingly ever-enlarging explosion of violence and its psychological
aftermath, the Three-Dimensional Psychological Intervention Strategy (3-DPIS) Model
has been developed to explain the underlying factors that perpetuate violence in society
and the 3-DPIS Model to holistically address these factors and break the vicious circle
(Igboegwu, 2016).
Although Sigmund Freud, reputed to be the father of psychoanalysis was not favourably disposed to religion, recent developments indicate that interest in religion and mental health and psychotherapy has grown. Most clients that come to psychotherapy are likely to have a religious orientation and will benefit from integrating spirituality into therapy. Psychotherapists need to learn the techniques and skills of how this integration can best be achieved especially in Nigeria where religion is a very sensitive issue.
The study examined alleviating violence, traumatic experience and illicit drugs use using psychotherapeutic model: a case study of youth in Awka urban. A total number of two hundred and forty-one (241) youth in Awka urban; served as participant for the study. The study utilized non-probability (convenient sampling technique). Their age ranged from 18-32 years and their mean age was 23.20 with standard deviation of 4.07. Substance Craving Scale developed by Mazza (2004), Dating Violence Questionnaire-Reverse (DVQ-R) by Rodríguez-Franco et al., (2010) and Impact of Event Scale by Horowitz, Wilner and Ilvarez (1979) were employed for data generation. The study adopted correlational design and Pearson Product Moment Correction Coefficient as appropriate statistics for analyses of the data. Two hypotheses were tested. Thus, hypothesis one which states that violence will significantly correlate with illicit drug among youth in Awka Urban were partly accepted, because sexual and physical violence correlate with illicit drugs, while detachment, humiliation and coercion violence did not correlate with illicit drugs. Hypothesis two which states that trauma will significantly correlate with illicit drug among youth in Awka Urban was accepted. Based on the findings, study concludes by detailing recommendations and psychotherapeutic intervention model for the study.
In rural African communities, traditional healers hold an esteemed and powerful position in the diagnosis and treatment of various illnesses. They assume a significant role in addressing the mental health care needs of individuals by offering cultural appropriate treatment and they are easily accessible. This was a qualitative study, and specifically, the case study method was utilised. Ten traditional healers were chosen through purposive and snowball sampling to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using the thematic analysis method. The findings revealed that several procedures (like throwing of bones and direct observation of patient’s behaviours) are used to diagnose mental illness. The findings also revealed that mental illness can be treated through the use of traditional remedies and practices (like rituals). From the findings of the study, it can be suggested that both traditional medical interventions and some culturally relevant psychological procedures are used to treat mental illness. Increased cooperation between western oriented psychotherapists and African traditional healers is therefore highly recommended.
This paper examines gender differences in attitude to the skin disease-atopic dermatitis among adolescents: The role of Cognitive- Behavioural Therapy. 83 adolescents aged between 13 and 15 and diagnosed with moderate (43) to grave (40) atopic dermatitis took part in the study. The groups were divided according to gender; group 1 was made up of 38 adolescent boys, and group 2 was made up of 45 adolescent girls. The control group included 80 adolescents (40 girls and 40 boys) matched for age. The psychodiagnostic complex used in the study were: Method for establishing the disease attitude type (DAT) and Male and Female Painting projective test. Data were analyzed using correlation and student’s t-test. The comparison of data yielded results that indicate gender-specific types of attitude to the disease among adolescents diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. A statistically significant difference between the groups was found in the anosognosic disease attitude type that is more typical of adolescent boys. This disease attitude type is characterized by active rejection of thoughts about the disease and its consequences which is explained by boy’s bravado, by their wish to demonstrate invulnerability and confidence, which is in effect an attempt to compensate for low self-appraisal.
