Summary
Counselling Associations
All Professional Bodies, National Associations (e.g. Mental Health, School, Guidance, Addiction, Faith-based etc.) and Accrediting Organisations.
Eritrean Psychologist’s Association (EPA)
- There is no official website for this Association.
Universities and Other Education and Training Institutes
There is no available information on any universities that provide counselling programs in Eritrea.
Counselling Agencies, Services, Group Practices, Counselling Centres
Currently there is no available information on any counselling agencies in Eritrea.
Background & Context
The number of mental health professionals in Eritrea is extremely limited. At the time of the data collection in 2004 there were only two psychiatrists including one attached to an international NGO, temporarily assisting the MoH and the St. Mary’s hospital.
Despite in Eritrean secondary schools, counselling services were commenced to cater for students with social, personal, psychological, educational and vocational problems. Guidance and counselling in the administration and management of students discipline in Eritrea has been accepted by the various government policy documents since the country’s independence in 1991. The Macro-Policy (1994) underscores the overall importance of human capital development to national development by providing lifelong and wide educational strategies which will bring about widespread learning in the Eritrean society at large (Andegiorgis, 2019).
Current Regulatory Status / Level of Recognition:
Despite counselling services being part of education policy and the curriculum, the use of counselling services is still in its initial stages in many schools in Eritrea.
Practice Settings
Currently there are no counselling practises available in the region however it has mainly been focused in school curriculum. Hence there is one mental hospital (ONLY 1 mental hospital in the country). Six zonal referral hospitals that offer integrated outpatient services including mental health consultation. There is one community residential facility in the country and it is in Mai-Temenay, Asmara and primary health care clinics with the help of mental health workers are present in all 30 primary health care facilities (WHO, 2006).
Challenges & Trends
It came out clearly that counselling services though present in the national curriculum it is not practiced by the majority of the schools and the little that is available is also practiced by unqualified and untrained teachers who head other offices as their prime responsibility. The ministry of education should ensure that counselling services are provided by qualified and trained counsellors so that it assists in managing students’ discipline.
Additional Information & References
For a deeper exploration of the counselling profession in the country, interested readers are recommended to read the following journal articles:
Andegiorgis, G. E. (2019). Counseling Services on Management of Students’ Discipline in Secondary Schools in Keren Sub-Zone, Anseba Region, Eritrea. Journal of Education and Practice, 10(22), 9-17. doi:10.7176/jep/10-22-02
https://www.who.int/mental_health/eritrea_who_aims_report2.pdf?ua=1
Eritrea