Breaking Stigma: How Beauticians in West Africa Are Tackling Mental Health Issues

In the vibrant neighborhood of this area, famous for its entrepreneurial spirit and lively nightlife, a quiet revolution is unfolding. In this place, beauticians are embracing roles as mental health counselors, offering supportive conversations alongside grooming.

A Pioneer in Local Assistance

The stylist, 49 years old, has invested twenty years not just cutting and styling locks but furthermore providing psychological support to her customers. Someone who left school early, the hairdresser once tried being a bank cashier before finding her calling in the beauty industry.

“Don’t think negatively,” she advised a worried teenager stressed about academic failure. “Even if you fail, how can you think that everything is lost in life?”

Psychological Care in Africa: A Taboo Issue

According to the WHO, over 116 million individuals in the continent suffer from psychological issues. However, therapy is scarce, with merely 1.4 mental health workers on hand per each many individuals.

Across African-descendant populations, hairdressing salons have become trusted environments, especially in localities with little or no options for psychological support.

Heal by Hair: A Program Creating Impact

A nonprofit organization, active in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Togo, started the Heal by Hair initiative. According to its founder, the founder, in excess of many professionals underwent coaching over the past couple of years to serve as initial support providers, reaching more than 100,000 women.

Within this decade, the goal is to educate over a thousand stylists across 20 countries.

‘The Confidence Is Already In Place’

The program began due to a deeply personal heartbreak. In 2012, the founder became a widow while visiting her home country her homeland. The event remains unsolved.

“I spent that difficult time in grief with my hairdresser,” de Putter shared. “She was the individual I felt safe with completely as you are simply encircled by individuals and you don’t know who could have done this.”

Motivated by her story, the organization carried out a 2021 study across several French-speaking nations. The findings indicated that 77% of responders revealed talking to their beauticians, and over the vast majority of professionals stated that customers had asked for advice.

Training and Support

The project involves a complimentary, intensive three-day course with specialists and advisors who educate participants about supportive dialogue, violence against women, symptoms of mental strain, and basic psychological concepts. After completion, they are evaluated before being awarded a diploma.

“The training went very well … I earned my qualification and this knowledge,” shared another hairdresser, showing a educational material in her shop in a working-class area.

During six months, hairdressers obtain follow-up help through peer groups and access to a mental health service network. If a client shares deeper troubles, hairdressers can refer them to professional psychologists, or when there is domestic violence, to the law enforcement.

Challenges and Triumphs

Initially, financial support for the project came mostly from de Putter’s savings, but currently, private donors and organizations like a support agency are providing assistance. Nevertheless, support is insufficient for the volume of demand facing the foundation’s small team of 17 paid staff and about supporters.

Despite these difficulties, there are stories of joy and recovery. Locally, a participant employed an individual who had been in a psychiatric hospital, giving a fresh start.

“Often after an illness and you were in the hospital, society labels you are unstable,” noted she. “But if you find work and someone who accepts to train you, you break free from the misconception.”

One more hairdresser escaped her situation due to she was a survivor of abuse, but currently aids individuals. Locally, stylists say that a few men have also sought for guidance.

Pride and Purpose

Among the professionals, is present a widespread feeling of accomplishment over their new role as a type of comfort in their local areas.

“As people come to discuss their challenges to me, it’s a pride for me too since I know that I am a listener for another person,” said the hairdresser. “I believe that everyone requires support.”

“For a lot of participants, this is the premier recognition as a figurehead in their community and a supporter,” said the founder. “The participants are saying to us: ‘In the past I only doing hair, currently I do healing.’”