An Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr Charles Umeh, has warned that Nigeria’s failure to recognise and support clinical psychologists is worsening the country’s growing mental health crisis, leaving millions without early intervention or proper care.
Despite a population of more than 200 million, Dr. Umeh, who is also a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at LUTH said Nigeria has fewer than 500 clinical psychologists, an alarming shortage that threatens national mental health stability.
“Clinical psychologists are the gateway to mental health intervention. They handle the early signs of emotional or behavioral problems before they become severe. But government policies and public awareness continue to overlook their importance,” he said.
He lamented that while psychiatrists often attend to advanced mental disorders, clinical psychologists are meant to intervene at the foundation level, identifying and addressing the minor conditions that could otherwise grow into chronic mental illness.
“The system has ignored prevention. When we fail to strengthen the role of psychologists, we end up with more people requiring psychiatric care, and by then, it’s often too late,” he said.
The mental health expert linked the growing wave of substance abuse among young people to the absence of structured psychological support and poor family supervision. Findings from recent studies, he revealed, show that drug use is now common among secondary and even primary school students.
“What’s even more disturbing, is that parents and communities are looking away. These children come from homes, and character building starts there.
We are raising a generation exposed to drugs and emotional neglect,” he added.
He described the trend as a “silent epidemic” spreading from cities to rural areas, with cannabis and alcohol use becoming normalised in many communities.
“Substance use is no longer an urban issue, it’s everywhere now. If urgent steps are not taken to empower psychologists and integrate mental health care into schools and primary health centers, we risk a nationwide crisis,” he warned.
He called on government and policymakers to prioritise the recruitment of clinical psychologists, create structured mental health programmes in schools, and promote family-based interventions to curb the escalating trend.
