Mental health challenges and prospects in Kenya

Abstract

Today Kenya has 77 psychiatrists, 418 mental health nurses and 30 clinical psychologists and a much bigger number of counseling psychologists for a population of just below 40 million. Kenya has been lucky in that for more than 20 years there has hardly been any external immigration of psychiatrists but internal migration has led to inequitable distribution of the psychiatrists, with the majority in urban areas. Nearly all of these psychiatrists except 7 have been trained at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, the only institution that trains psychiatrists in Kenya. The number of psychiatrists currently being trained is just under 20 and a similar number of clinical psychologists; also postgraduate diploma in substance use, psychiatric social work and Psychotrauma, all at the same Department. The same Department has trained and continues to train psychiatrists and mental health personnel for Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, Southern Sudan and Somalia. There are several institutions, both public and private that are training on Counseling Psychology at undergraduate and Masters Level.