We caught up with last week Austin while he was conducting a psychosocial support training for teachers under the Save the Children “I Am Learning” project that he is in charge of coordinating.
What do you enjoy about being a Counselor?
As a counselor, it is inspiring and makes me feel good when I help to restore hope to the hopeless. I feel amazed and humbled when a client says: “I’ve never told anyone this before.” This shows the level of trust and confidence that the client has in me that together we can reach a solution to their problems.
The beauty of being a counselor is that it strengthens me; I am better equipped to practice my own self-care and to get over emotional and psychological life stressors that affect me. This puts me in a better position to help others.
I love being a counselor because I have found no better way to do work that is meaningful and transformative for others while simultaneously transforming, supporting and facilitating my own personal growth and transformation. Despite having studied Administration during my first degree, I found I am more passionate about building my capacity and career around counseling / mental health.
What do you think is special and important about counseling services at THRIVEGulu?
The THRIVEGulu counseling program is unique in that it’s the heart of all its other programming; the economic empowerment and basic education interventions are built around the therapeutic support, and they all work together in a holistic way. Once our beneficiaries’ functionality is increased then we expect that they will be able to be more productive.
The current group therapy model being initiated by our volunteer consultant Dr. Marie is absolutely beautiful; it’s a better way of helping the emotionally and psychologically broken down people of northern Uganda. We don’t have the capacity to offer individual counseling to all those in need, and the group therapy model allows us to expand our reach while still maintaining a good quality of care.
THRIVEGulu is the only local NGO carrying out the mental health mobile clinic with support of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. Our counseling program has strong referral pathways for clients who might need a combination of therapy, medication and other social services.
Furthermore, THRIVEGulu counselors have great experience, knowledge and skills in counseling. I had my training in counseling in 2006 and immediately began practicing at a night commuters’ shelter during times of the insurgency. We have continually built our capacities through various trainings, case conferences and clinical supervision. This has been possible with the Support of Centre for the Victims of Torture (CVT) under the trust funds for Victims from the International Criminal Court (ICC). This also shows the partnership strengths we have built around Gulu with CVT, VIVO, mental health unit of Gulu regional referral Hospital, and Comboni Samaritans who are also engaged in counseling and mental health programming.
What are your expectations and plans for the world mental health day?
I’m very excited for our event on the 14th. THRIVEGulu has been working with with the District Local Government structures of both Nwoya and Gulu Districts to bring local leaders, health teams, and community members together to advance mental health awareness and treatment.
I think World Mental Health Day is a great way to celebrate our significant achievements in the area of mental health. For example, under the Save the Children project “I am Learning”, we had 28 people accessing medication during our mobile clinic; we have so far trained 227 teachers in guidance and counseling, as well as 44 Community Lay Counselors; and so far this year we have held psychoeducation sessions with 1,049 school pupils and 389 parents. We have made great progress, but there is still a long way to go.
