Ghanaians Lack Knowledge in Mental Health – Practitioner
Mental health practitioner and founder of the Willing Ways Foundation Ghana, an NGO known for treating the mentally ill, alcoholics and drug addicts, madam Lydia Abena Manu has said that Ghanaians lack knowledge about mental health.
Speaking in an interview with Otec FM‘s Evans Agyei Sikapa, madam Lydia bemoaned the way mentally ill persons are sexually assaulted, beaten, injured and left to die by abusive and neglectful society and called for an immediate change.
According to her, most Ghanaians consider mental illness as spiritual and demonic, and as a result take such people to prayer camps and spiritual homes for treatment.
“Why must a mentally ill person be chained at a prayer camp or any other place for treatment?, She fumed.
She explains that mental illness is just like any other sickness and must be treated same.
The willing ways foundation Boss however noted that the Ghanaian way of treatment and attitude towards mentally ill persons especially drug addicts sometimes worsens the problem.
She however pleaded that such acts be stopped, as she believes treating mentally ill persons with love and care makes them recover fast.
She revealed that the Willing Ways Foundation has began an exercise in schools, churches and other civil society groups to educate Ghanaians on how to treat such people and also the effects of hard drugs and alcohol.
Source: otecfmghana.com/Evans Agyei Sikapa
