A Word from The Counselor: Who needs counseling at Kabale University?

Counseling or therapy is for ANYONE dealing with any issue in their life that is making life difficult to enjoy. It can be a short-term or temporary tough phase in one’s life, it can also be a chronic, long-standing challenge that’s taking a toll on someone’s life. Counselling & guidance or therapy is to enhance an individual’s coping skills, to facilitate behavior change which goes a long way in improving a person’s quality of life.
Talking therapy can benefit people struggling with emotional difficulties, life challenges, and mental health concerns. In our therapy sessions, people learn skills that enable them to cope with everyday challenges which they may continue using after therapy has ended to improve their quality of life.
At KAB, our therapy offers a safe place to talk through life challenges that include but are not limited to relationships, financial difficulties, grief, parenting difficulties, family struggles, etc.
We support mental health patients because untreated mental health issues often get worse and may have serious negative effects on a person’s life. They could also lead to:

• Inability to work or study
• Difficulty in relationships or taking care of children
• Increased risk of health issues
• Hospitalization in a mental hospital
• Suicide, etc

If you experience any of the following emotions or feelings, please get in touch with us so that we may walk together. It’s especially important to consider getting help if you feel controlled by symptoms or if they could cause harm to yourself or others. There are other challenges that you may experience unknowingly such as those enumerated below.

•  Do you feel overwhelmed? This is a situation when one feels like they have too many things to do or too many issues to cope with at the same time. This stressful situation if not handled it can lead to serious physical health concerns.
• Explosive anger, rage, or resentment. Everyone feels angry from time to time. But if your anger outbursts become common and begin to interfere with your relationships it’s time to seek our help. We shall support you to deal with these feelings. It is not an act of cowardice it’s the best option instead of waiting for your emotions to lead you to violence or other potentially harmful actions.
• Are you anxious or do you struggle with intrusive thoughts? While it’s normal to worry about things from time to time, but when worry takes up a significant part of your day or interferes with your daily activities it’s time to seek our help.
• Have you lost interest in usual activities, the world around you, or life in general? This can indicate that you are struggling with a mental health issue like depression or anxiety which needs immediate attention to avoid a serious mental breakdown.
• Hopelessness. Losing hope or motivation, or feeling as if you have no future and life is worthless, can indicate depression or another mental health condition. While feeling hopeless from time to time, especially after a period of difficulty can be a normal reaction, when it persists, it may lead to thoughts of suicide. Therapy can help a person deal with these feelings better.
• Social withdrawal Introverted people always need more time alone than with others. But if you feel distressed around others or fear being with other people, we can help you to understand yourself and deal with these feelings better.

Confidence Nkurunungi Asiimwe is the University Counselor
Send her an email if you have any questions and schedule an appointment with her
(cnasiimwe@kab.ac.ug/ 0755923844)