Rebecca Ejifoma
With the increasing rate of mental health breakdown globally, GreyHub Therapeutic Centre is out to address workplace mental health issues among others to avert stigma and help people live better lives in Nigeria.
Addressing the media at the unveiling in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State, the Consultant Psychiatrist and CEO of Greyhub, Dr Sola Olowookere, underscored the lack of awareness and intervention as a barrier to curbing mental health in the workplace.
“There is a lot of pressure in the workplace — especially the workload. There are issues around traffic and job security, bullying in the workplace and many targets to meet coupled with toxic bosses and at home, too,” he lamented.
Olowookere emphasised: “If you look at the ratio of psychiatrists to the population, they are very few. We want to increase awareness and eradicate the stigma around mental and emotional health for people to feel comfortable talking about their problems.”
According to Olowookere, awareness aids early assessment and intervention. “Thus, people can get the help they need and live a better life,” he expressed.
To avert this scourge, Greyhub Therapeutic Centre provides an employee assistance programme — a solution to workplace stress tailored to the organisation.
The clinic also discusses stress, bullying, and toxic relationships while training managers to manage people better.
He, therefore, called on the government to implement policies that will aid awareness and treatment of mental health diseases.
“Efforts should be made to ensure the information on mental health gets to rural areas and every sphere.
“The government has done well in passing the Mental Act Bill. Even if it took a very long time, we hope subsequent ones wouldn’t take that long,” he added.
While outlining a top-to-bottom approach to address the health challenge, the Manager of the Ikoyi Centre, Esther Akiola, said their quest is solution-oriented.
In the words of the Clinical Psychologist at GreyHub, Dr Oluwakemi Akintoyese, creating more mental health awareness is their chief goal.
“It will help people feel less stigmatised and be able to talk so much about their issues and find help.
“We are also providing an enabling environment for people to come to or speak to us,” says Akintoyese.
