Accra, Nov. 13, GNA – The Mental Health Authority (MHA), in collaboration with the Psychiatry Association of Ghana, has launched a book on the history of mental health care in Ghana.
The 378-page book entitled “The history of mental health care in Ghana” was authored by Dr Akwasi Osei, Dr Joseph B. Asare and Dr Mark A Roberts.
Dr Akwasi Osei, Executive Director, MHA, said the authors independently conceived the idea many years ago, and in 2012 the first concrete steps began, which led to the final publication and launch of the book.
He said mental health care in Ghana was gaining global prominence and people would soon be looking everywhere for its beginnings.
However, there was very little documented historical information and the few materials available tended to contradict hence the need to come out with the book.
He noted that the book was also written to honour the heroes and heroines of mental health care in Ghana and to get to the roots for a harmonized and true picture of the history.
Dr Osei said the book would benefit historians and medical historians, researchers on mental health, mental health professionals — psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, mental health students, medical students, trainee psychiatrists, trainee psychologists, student nurses, community mental health trainees, health tutors and the general public.
He noted that the book contained a review of world and African history of psychiatry, a review of the beginnings of the three psychiatric hospitals, origins of psychiatric nursing and community psychiatry, psychiatric nursing education and the Nursing Training colleges (NTCs)and psychiatry in medical school.
“It also contains origins of Psychology services and education in Ghana, post-graduate training in psychiatry in Ghana, mental health legislation and some big names in the history of mental health care in Ghana,” he added.
Mr Osei said the cover of the book has the Sankofa bird curled around a brain and taking an egg in the map of Ghana against a mauve colour.
He explained that “the brain represents the seat of the mind for mental health, the Sankofa bird represents the history, the egg also represents something precious, while the Mauve colour represents wisdom and the map of Ghana represents the scope of the information. Thus in effect, the importance of the history of mental health care in Ghana.”
The Executive Director said the sources of information for the book included British Archives, courtesy of Mark Roberts, a few published articles and booklets, interviews of some active players and memory and knowledge of the authors.
Dr Joyce Aryee, Founder of Salt and Light Ministries, said there was the need to take mental health seriously.
She said Ghana’s development depended on a sound mind hence the need to understand mental health to know whether someone needed help at a particular point in time or not.
“None of us will be totally whole unless we understand that part of our life that the medications we know cannot take care of,” she said.
Dr Aryee said the launch of the book would fill the long-awaited gap in mental health and would also outline the chronological journey of mental health history in Ghana.
“We have a lot of things we have lost because we have been so engrossed in charting new paths and refused to trace the paths we have followed. We need to understand where we have come from and where we are going to in every aspect of our lives.”
GNA