Mental health: How 'climate setting' and fun games are helping survivors to open up

A Spark Camp training session on mental health. [Courtesy] Negative peer pressure on social media, broken families and the hustle culture, drugs and unemployment remain some of the major issues exacerbating mental health among the youth. Teresa Gathoni Muchiri, a mental health trainer and coach, says a majority of these youth are under pressure to seek validation from their peers on social media, some are bogged down by failing relationships, unemployment and daunting career challenges, drugs and broken families. Ms Gathoni, who is the director of Spark Camps, is passionate about matters of mental health and wellness and has particularly devoted much of her 31 years in the mental health space to helping youths drop suicidal thoughts and focus on building their lives. "What's more, the mentorship by family and society that helped people navigate hard patches of life has almost collapsed," she says. According to her, although she has seen and heard it all in her training, in her three-decade-long career, she has been able to change the minds of tens of youths on the verge of taking their own lives. Suicide According to a 2023 World Health Organisation (WHO) policy brief, every day, 4 people die by suicide in Kenya; globally, 1 person dies every 40 seconds. The document further says 75 per cent of Kenyans do not have access to mental health services. READ: Why mental health deserves more of our collective attention What's more, it projects that the integration of mental health services in primary care in Kenya will save 190 lives every year. Ms Gathoni says the rising cases of suicide among the 17- to 25-year-olds can be thwarted with the right and timely interventions. She recounts an incident where a teenage girl nearly took her life after her parents insisted on her enrolling in a science-based course instead of her preferred degree in arts. "The girl disclosed to me that she had attempted suicide by overdosing on prescription drugs. She even wondered how she had woken up despite the attempts. "I spoke to her, and luckily, I was able to bring her and her parents to the table for a negotiation. The parents eventually agreed to allow the girl to pursue her preferred course and promised to support her every step of the way." "She recently graduated with her preferred degree in arts," Muchiri says, underscoring the incident as one of her most gratifying moments. In one of her trainings, a high school girl confessed to having suicidal thoughts as she felt her parents favoured her sister more. In yet another case, a teenager in high school said he felt hopeless after being bullied over his supposed ugly facial features. In both cases, she managed to steer the kids from suicidal ideation. But shortly after, she steels herself as she narrates an incident where an A student called to study a STEM course at university deteriorated academically after suddenly becoming an alcohol and drug addict. ALSO READ: Mental health policy key to productivity "The boy became withdrawn and deteriorated academically, and one may not rule out stigma from siblings who were themselves accomplished scholars," she said. The boy eventually committed suicide. Spark Camp Director and mental health coach Teresa Gathoni Muchiri. [Courtesy] "Though my team and I did not quite get a chance to assist the boy get out of the rut, I somehow felt I and the boy's family should have done better at alleviating the boy's predicament," she says, highlighting it as her lowest moment. She urges parents to watch out for social withdrawal, moodiness, overeating or undereating and lack of interest in academics in hitherto lively teenagers. "These are signs that a child could be into alcohol and drugs or even radicalisation. They could also be dealing with unresolved trauma issues. In such scenarios, parents are advised to understand in depth the issues disturbing their children instead of going for quick fixes," says Muchiri. Muchiri notes that, unlike in the past, where family and society provided some mentorship safety net, such structures don't exist, and when they do, they are normally weak. She further says some parents never healed from childhood traumas and abuse or may themselves suffer from depression and other mental health issues. "It is sometimes easy to notice that a good number of the parents and guardians expected to offer mentorship to the kids are themselves candidates for mentorship." She says unemployment, coupled with hard economic times, has made parents relinquish the duty of closely monitoring their children's behaviour. "It follows that a lack of psychosocial support at the family and society level has seen those struggling with mental health challenges unable to find the necessary tools to climb out of the dungeon." She says that while most people can overcome situations like a failed relationship, some may find it difficult to manoeuvre without guidance and support. "The person engulfed by the challenge, say, rape by a close relative, may fear to open up for fear of retribution and shame. Such negative feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness are what drive people to total mental health breakdown or even suicide," says Muchiri. In a thoughtful moment, Muchiri notes it's important for every person to mind their thoughts or what they permit into their minds, as it can make or break them. "There's a relationship between how people feel and act. Our thought processes affect our thinking patterns, feelings and ultimately how we act," she says. As such, she cautions against indiscriminate consumption of negative and graphic content online and on social media that could ruin moods and thinking patterns. Typical training day Ms Gathoni attributes her success in getting participants to open up and eventually get help to typical training sessions that involve 'climate setting', by creating a safe place for the participants to vent without fear. "All participants subscribe to an agreement that whatever is shared in the setting will not be disclosed outside," she says. She notes that the participants fill out a form before the training to pick the challenges they are facing. She says her team emphasises experiential learning and therefore incorporates exercises and fun games to make the learning memorable. There's an evaluation at the end of every training to gauge the level of knowledge imbibed by the participants. "I sometimes share anecdotes from previous trainings to create a safe and conducive environment for everyone to vent out at ease," says Muchiri, who has conducted trainings in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. She says she lets her participants open up during the trainings as a way of 'letting it out'. She then guides them to finding solutions or, in rare cases, refers them to other specialists like counselling psychologists. She admits most of the groups she trains are referred to her by word of mouth. The participating groups range from church groups to couples, children and parents. ALSO READ: World Mental Health Month: Turning talk into treatment Ms Gathoni admits working in the mental health space can be both daunting and draining. She, however, says she deploys a professional frame in tackling the cases she comes across. "I sympathise and empathise, but it's never lost that my team is supposed to help the participant identify and ultimately solve the challenge(s) wreaking havoc on their mental faculties," she says. "Self-awareness is an understated concept in tackling mental health challenges. I have seen hitherto suicidal participants get better after learning to identify their triggers and identifying what they can control and letting go of what they cannot control," she says. Muchiri considers the late Mwai Kibaki and Wangari Maathai as her role models. She is particularly awed by Wangari Maathai's hummingbird analogy of how small actions can lead to positive change. The mother of three has a master's degree in science in entrepreneurship in addition to being a certified mental health coach.

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