Counselling needs of internally displaced women as perceived by Counselling Psychologists in Kwara state

Abstract

Internally Displaced Women (IDW) in Nigeria have been grappling with a plethora of challenges which often affect their mental and social  development. As a consequence, the role of Counselling Psychologists in ameliorating problems of IDWs cannot be overemphasized particularly when the counselling needs have been identified. This study therefore investigated the counselling needs of Internally Displaced Women (IDW) as
perceived by Counselling Psychologists in Kwara State. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 130 respondents that participated in the research exercise. A self-designed instrument titled “Counselling Needs of Internally Displaced Women Questionnaire (CNIDWQ)” was used to collect required information. The instrument possessed a reliability coefficient of 0.67 after being subjected to the test retest and Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical method. The results showed that the Counselling Psychologists perceived counselling need on how to deal with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder as the most prominent counselling need of Internally Displaced Women. Respondents were not different in their  perception on counselling needs of internally displaced women on the basis of gender, length of years in profession and educational qualification. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that while addressing problems of internally displaced women in Nigeria, counseling psychologists should place emphasis on how to deal with post traumatic stress, assist  IDW on how to develop high self esteem, enhance social integration, deal with depression and prevent sexual exploitation.

Keywords: Internally Displaced Women, Counselling Psychologists, Counselling Needs, Perception