Add spiritual factors to mental health treatment - Mental health nurse advises

Student nurse Sarah Kpeli has encouraged mental health clinics in Ghana to look at the spiritual factors and add that to the medical treatment prescribed.

In a chat on SVTV Africa with DJ Nyaami, Sarah mentioned that as spiritual as Ghanaians and Africans are, they must not discard the traditions and adopt Western medical treatment only.

She added that mental disorders that are spiritually based can never be medically treated. Some even require rituals besides the medical treatment prescribed at the mental facilities.

“One thing about health professionals in Ghana is that we tend to leave out the spirituality and focus only on the medication. I believe we should include the spiritual aspect,” she suggested.

As a native of Nogokpo, Miss Kpeli revealed that Anlos are forbidden from cheating in marriages. She mentioned that any spouse who engages in sexual relations with another person will go mad.

“For someone who comes from my hometown, where cheating can cause madness, no amount of medication will bring them back unless they do some rituals. I’ve seen it happen. Not all mental disorders are physical.

Some mental health professionals who are spiritualists include the spiritual aspects, and we must consider them too. If they are Muslims, engage their Imams and if they are traditionalists, engage their leaders so that it will be a combined effort,” she added.

Sarah encouraged Ghanaians to make mental health a priority because it is not a personal problem. Miss Kpeli is a final year student of Pantang Psychiatric Nurses College.