Brain Fag: A Case Study Showing the Diagnosis and Therapy in Nigeria

The co-occurrence of somatic complaints along with other forms of mental illness such as depression, anxiety and brain fag is well documented in mental health literature. In Africa, the notion that somatic complaints are a variant of depression is popular. However objective empirical efforts to prove this notion are inconclusive. The common co-occurrence of somatic complaints along with depression, anxiety and brain fag complaints in Nigeria may put clinicians in a dilemma in making diagnostic and therapeutic decisions for their clients. In this paper the authors applied the Harmony Restoration Therapy (HRT) in the management of somatic, depressive, anxiety and brain fag symptoms of a client. The HRT is a psychotherapeutic framework based on the Africa world view of health and illness where health is harmony and illness is disharmony in one’s world of relationships. The case was used to illustrate the co-morbidity of depression, anxiety, somatization and Brain Fag and tries to contribute to how Brain Fag can be treated.     

Cross Cutting Issues in the Practice of Psychotherapy in Nigeria

The need to bridge the gap between western based psychotherapeutic intervention and African psychotherapeutic interventions is the main objective of this paper. In order to do this, cross cutting issues in psychotherapy in Nigeria were reviewed. This review covered socio cultural, economic conditions and other contemporary issues such as child maltreatment, HIV/AIDS, chronic illness, terrorism and the impact of western civilization on Nigerian culture and how it has produced a heterogeneous Nigerian society described as westernized, traditional and transitional types of Nigerians. Also salient peculiarities that must be taken into consideration in bridging the gap between western and African based psychotherapy were identified. Some of these salient peculiarities were adumbrated and they include frequent somatic complaints of psychological origin, beliefs in spirits including ancestral spirits, independent spirits and the supreme spirit God to whom duties are owed to keep the moral order. Given this situation the authors expressed uncertainty in the use of western diagnostic illness categories. Also an attempt was made to describe traditional methods of treatment such as the popular prayer houses and traditional healers. From lessons learnt based on these cross cutting issues the authors reported the development of Harmony Restoration Therapy and Meseron treatment frameworks as attempts at indigenizing western psychotherapeutic methods. From these they proposed the way forward as a cultural blend through using culture based psychotherapeutic framework. This they suggest can be applied in other societies.     

Relative Effectiveness of Values Clarification and Symbolic Modeling in Enhancing the Moral Values of Adolescents in Selected Nigerian Schools

Using quasi-experiment, this study explored the effects of values clarification and symbolic modeling on moral intent to act in a sample of 120 high school students from Ogun State, Nigeria. Despite widespread disapproval and outright condemnation by the public, moral offences by the adolescent population have become increasingly frequent and grave in both the urban and rural areas of Nigeria. Believing that programs set by the government could impact the level of moral behavior among the youths of Nigeria, various leaders in Nigeria have attempted to make a difference in the moral life of the nation, such as “Ethical Revolution” by President Shehu Shagari in 1982; “War Against Indiscipline” by General Mohammed Buhari in 1985. In this study, both values clarification and symbolic modeling options demonstrated significant impacts on moral behavior as measured by the Moral Behavioral Inventory (MBI) and the Adolescent Personal Development Inventory (APDI).