The Nairobi skyline from my apartment in Westlands
Nairobi, Kenya
I am back in London after living in, and commuting to, Zurich for some years. I feel a lot happier to be back home but as some of you might know, as a self-confessed nomad, I am still looking for the ultimate home to settle in, work as a Jungian Analyst and continue my work as an organizational effectiveness consultant. Pondering this dilemma, a friend said to me, 'London is home, for now', and indeed it is.
The list of cities on my shortlist are Nairobi in Kenya, Washington DC in the US or London. I am still a Jungian Analyst-in-training therefore Zurich remains a transitory place for educational purposes but my ultimate destination remains unclear to me. A friend of mine told me that perhaps I will integrate ALL three locations into my life, NBO DC and LDN but how on earth would that even happen? In true Jungian style, I am leaving the decision to my 'unconscious' and do my best to not let my 'ego' drive my decision-making or expectations with regards to where I eventually settle. This means letting things happen, taking cues from my dreams and fantasies, looking out for synchronicities and actively listen to the advice from my more 'intuitive' friends.
The Nairobi skyline from my apartment in Westlands
Nairobi is a wonderful city. I spent five glorious weeks there in April/May reconnecting with my East African roots, reconnecting with friends, reconnecting with nature and reconnecting with myself. Returning to the UK, I feel energised and excited to open my Jungian Analysis practice in London, and starting a new director role to lead the transformation of a service for a client-organisation.
Part of my reason for going to Nairobi was to find a psychiatric clinic to complete my training requirement to work in a psychiatric clinic or hospital for a period of at least three months. With two months already under my belt, I am keen to complete the final month in Nairobi. There was also plenty of time to enjoy everything Kenya has to offer in terms of game safari. Here are some photos from my safari to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Nanyuki.
Entrance to Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, and home to two of the world’s last remaining northern white rhinos. It is the only place in Kenya to see chimpanzees, in a sanctuary established to rehabilitate animals rescued from the black market. It was such an incredible experience guided by Sam from Samafrika Safaris. If you are ever in Kenya look him up as a possible guide to your safari in Kenya. Here are some pics and a wonderful video from the trip! The biggest highlight was an up close and personal meet with Baraka, a rare black rhino known for their aggression, whose old age has mellowed his personality!
Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Giraffes at Nairobi National Park
Finding a psychiatric clinical placement
I love this photo of me looking out to the vast plains of the Serengeti hoping to see lions. It was taken very early in the morning. The weather was atrocious. The heavy rain had just stopped and it was cold. Not ideal conditions to see wild animals. At the back of my mind, I was thinking of which psychiatric hospitals and clinics to visit as part of my search to secure a future placement. Perhaps one of the toughest challenges of training as a Jungian Analyst is to find a psychiatric placement. The responsibility lies completely with the analyst-in-training. Creativity, resilience, tenacity, even hope and optimism, are just some of the skills and qualities needed to get through this mandatory part of the training programme.
There is no other way to say this other than it is hard to find a psychiatric placement. It is even harder in Switzerland where my training takes place. My Swiss-German language skills are simply not good enough so that rules out working in Switzerland. Therefore, the next best option is the UK. However, psychiatric placements in the UK are mostly geared towards psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and other non-psychoanalytic roles such as counsellors or psychotherapists. It is mostly a game of who you know which secures a placement. Despite reaching out to many psychiatric hospitals and clinics in the UK, the response was silence.
The experience of working in a psychiatric clinic is pivotal to training as a Jungian Analyst. I have learnt so much from my work in a psychiatric hospital in Uganda. The placement helps Jungian Analysts-in-training to better understand psychopathological symptoms and treatment. It is useful for a Jungian Analyst-in-training to know when a patient or client is showing psychopathological symptoms, how to treat it and when to refer the patient or client to a psychiatrist.
My training institution, ISAPZURICH (International School for Analytical Psychology Zurich), offers a postgraduate training in Analytical Psychology of C.G. Jung including its application in the context of psychotherapy, which concludes with a Diploma in Analytical Psychology. During the minimum of four years of training ISAP requires that Jungian Analysts-in-training have at least three months’ experience in a psychiatric or psychosomatic clinic.
Jungian Analysts-in-training typically hold a Master’s or Doctoral degree as one of the prerequisites for admission. They come from a variety of backgrounds and have had professional experience in their field. Very important is their personal maturity and aptitude for psychotherapy and analysis. Each Jungian Analyst-in-training has undergone a careful admissions process and a committee of three Jungian Analysts follows the Jungian Analyst-in-training throughout their training.
The core of the training is the Jungian Analyst-in-training's own personal analysis, which must be conducted with an ISAP analyst for a minimum of 300 hours. The analysis serves the development of the personality and the conscious orientation toward the reality of the psyche.
Each semester ISAP offers about 500 hours of lectures, seminars and case colloquia. The curriculum includes “Developmental and Child Psychology”, “Comparison of Psychodynamic Concepts”, and “Psychopathology and Psychiatry” among a wide- ranging field of subjects.
All Jungian Analysts-in-training are required to complete a clinical internship of at least three months in a psychiatric or psychosomatic institution. This can be undertaken working full-time, if possible, either in an inpatient or outpatient facility. The Jungian Analyst-in-training can fulfil any meaningful role as long as there is continuous contact with patients and exposure to a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders.
During a clinical internship, Jungian Analysts-in-training need to become familiar with the major psychiatric disorders and the psychiatric vocabulary regarding symptoms and treatment. The analysts-in-training also need to become aware of the way psychotherapy and psychiatry can cooperate and be complementary, as well as the advantages and limitations of both disciplines.
I have been lucky. I was able to secure a placement in Uganda, my country of birth where I have many professional connections who helped me to find a placement at the country's only psychiatric mental referral hospital. The hospital administration agreed to the full three months so if I cannot find a placement in Kenya in due course, I plan to complete the mandatory placement in Uganda by 2025.
Mental support services in Kenya
Kenya has some of the best mental health services on the African continent. There is a wide range of support services to choose from. Uganda on the other hand has far less in quantity and choice. I visited several hospitals and clinics and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism, mental health services, customer focus and helpfulness of the staff working there. I printed off several copies of my profile and rocked up to each venue determined to get some named contacts and hopefully illicit interest in my profile. The visits also gave me a feel for what it could be like to work in Nairobi as a Jungian Analyst.
There are of course lots of psychiatrists and psychotherapists working in Nairobi, but hardly any psychoanalysts, well, as far as I could tell. I left each clinic or hospital with email addresses of key people, some interest and some discouragement. It quickly became apparent to me that I would need to develop my own client or patient referral system rather than rely on referrals from hospitals or clinics. This means advertising my services through public channels like schools, universities, workplaces, gyms, shopping malls etc. I also think recommendations would work quite well in a city like Nairobi where who you know and what you know often reigns supreme.
I thought my visits were productive. I will continue to nurture the contacts that I made and see how things go. The hospital that has the greatest potential for a placement, Muthari Hospital, a national psychiatric hospital, was experiencing a workers strike which included psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, which unfortunately meant their offices were closed.
I did not manage to secure a placement, however, I have some contacts which I hope will develop into useful contacts for a placement and/or client referrals. Nairobi is an exciting city with lots of potential. Kenyans value their mental health compared to other African nations and this is evident from the wide range of support services available. You simply do not see the wide range of services in Uganda.
I have compiled a list of the mental health service providers that I visited and which you might find helpful if you are looking for mental health support in the Nairobi area.
Hospital or Clinic | Services | Website |
MP Shah Hospital | Psychotherapy, Psychosocial Support | |
Mathari Hospital | Psychiatry Services | |
Lifebridge Hospital | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
Doctor's Plaza Aga Khan | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
Chiromo Hospital Group | Mental Health Services | |
Oasis Psychiatric Hospital | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
The Nairobi West Hospital | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
Nairobi Mental Health Services | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
The Nairobi Hospital | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
The Karen Hospital | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
Serene Hospital | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
Nairobi Place Addiction Treatment Centre | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
Mater Misericordiae Hospital | Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy | |
Gertrude Hospital | Paediatric Psychiatry Services, Psychotherapy |
So, what next?
I am back in London for now. My training as a Jungian Analyst continues in Zurich. I will commute to Zurich during the autumn and spring semesters. My psychoanalytic practice is now available and based in London's King Cross area and the City of London. There is more information on my webpage 'Jungian Analysis'. 300 hours of patient and client work as a Jungian Analyst-in-training beckons which will lead to my graduation and finally the title of Jungian Analyst, a long time dream and vision for myself, helping others, helping my community and bringing back something of my East African heritage to my work as a psychoanalyst.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! Until next time...
Nicholas
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