Street psychiatrists

By Peter Ndoria

In everyday life, we encounter situations that at times put us in a quagmire. Since the famous quote says that a problem shared is a problem halved, it is not uncommon to open up to a friend — preferably a close one.

Not all people are good at listening, though. Some imagine that they are experts in psychology. These are the ones who ‘skilfully’ chip in with an analysis even before you are halfway through your lamentations.

Keen students of soap operas and mushy talk shows, the listener will turn themselves into an analyst. A problem at work, perhaps with a boss who is a slave driver will be ‘analysed’ into a psychological dilemma to do with your upbringing. You will be reminded how your rural background and absent father — although you know he was busy at work in Nairobi on weekdays — mean that you may never adapt to an office environment.

Often, these psychoanalysts end up doing most of the talking, thereby making it about their analysis and not your vent, which merely need a concerned ear.

Worse, they are not averse to inviting anyone who cares to intrude your personal life for a ‘second opinion’, leaving you feeling more hopeless than before.

If they are so good at deciphering emotional problems, why aren’t they graduates of counselling Psychology?