A Growing Voice in West Africa’s Mental-Health Movement: The Work of Wasilat Adeoluwa

By: Kolawole Abe

In Nigeria and across West Africa, mental-health care is undergoing a gradual but meaningful shift, from decades of stigma and silence to increasing awareness, accessibility, and community-based support. Within this evolving landscape, counselor and mental-health advocate Wasilat Adeoluwa has emerged as one of the rising voices expanding trauma-informed care and culturally responsive counselling in underserved communities.

Through her work in clinical counselling, trauma recovery, and program development, Adeoluwa has helped reshape how communities understand and access mental-health services. Her efforts focus on creating safe, empathetic spaces where individuals can seek support without fear of judgment, an important step in societies where mental-health conversations have historically been taboo.

In 2022, she launched her flagship initiative, MindConnect Africa, a mobile counselling and emotional-support program designed to “meet people where they are”, both geographically and emotionally. The initiative has facilitated mobile counselling sessions, trauma-recovery workshops, and culturally tailored mental-health education reaching women, youth, and families affected by grief, trauma, and post-crisis stress. By partnering with local clinics, schools, and faith-based organizations, the program connects modern therapeutic approaches with traditional community structures.

Adeoluwa’s model draws on years of hands-on clinical experience at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), beginning in 2016. Her focus on accessible, preventive, and culturally aligned care reflects best practices increasingly encouraged by mental-health bodies across the region.

Organizations such as the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists (NACP) and Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) have referenced community-driven, low-cost interventions like hers as examples of models capable of closing treatment gaps in underserved populations. While the sector continues to face significant resource challenges, programs such as MindConnect illustrate how decentralized services can complement formal healthcare structures.

When asked about her philosophy, Adeoluwa noted that “Mental health care must be rooted in understanding, both of culture and of people. When communities feel seen and supported, healing becomes possible.”

Adeoluwa’s advocacy extends far beyond counselling sessions. She has collaborated with leading mental-health advocates and policy influencers, including Hauwa Ojeifo, founder of She Writes Woman, and Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri, psychiatrist and mental-health educator, to help develop training programs for first responders, educators, and caregivers. These programs equip frontline community members with the skills to recognize early signs of distress and provide timely intervention or referral.

Such capacity-building efforts are crucial in a country where mental-health professionals remain vastly outnumbered by public need. Through these partnerships, Adeoluwa contributes to expanding a network of trained individuals capable of supporting early detection and intervention.

As mental-health advocacy gains momentum across Africa, Adeoluwa’s work positions her among a new generation of practitioners championing dignity, empathy, inclusion, and community-driven healing. Her contributions reflect both professional competence and a deep commitment to building supportive systems in places where mental-health care has long been inaccessible.

Her story is ultimately one of transformation, of individuals, communities, and the broader landscape of mental-health care. Adeoluwa represents a movement toward an Africa where mental-health care is not a privilege but a shared right, where healing begins with understanding, and where every life is recognized as worth restoring.