Majority of Nigerians haven’t ever really thought about the idea of counselling, and even those who do, sadly see it as some form of weakness, something you do when you have lost the capacity to stand on your own two feet; that couldn't be further from the truth. I think therapy is very necessary, and we already unwittingly seek it out whenever we are found facing something too big for us to handle alone; whenever we seek out a shoulder to cry on after the death of a loved one or whenever we go to our spiritual leaders for advice about problems we are facing at home we are just fulfilling our basic human need for silent, steadfast emotional support.
Since we now seem to spend more time online than we do asleep; we store our music online, download and read books on our tablets and chat with our friends on Skype. Why not try and see if therapy could really thrive in our virtual world? Well, that’s where Seek “a” Counsel comes in.
Seek “a” Counsel is an online counselling platform in Nigeria, that has launched its web and mobile page today for different counselling services which will be free and available to all visitors and users.
The Launch of Seek “a” Counsel, the first online counselling platform in Nigeria has demonstrated the commitment of some young Nigerians in meeting the socialpreneurial needs of several youth and adults, who require a neutral yet effective platform to vent, discuss and receive good advice from experienced professionals that have gained expertise in specific areas of several counselling fields.
“This launch shows Seek “a” Counsel’s commitment to finding novel and innovative ways to meet people’s needs across a wide range of counselling areas,” said a pioneer counsellor and listener for Seek “a” Counsel and who immensely believes that the society could become less hostile and a more enabling environment when people have existing avenues and platforms to legally share their fears, pains, issues while seeking quality and lasting advice/solutions without any fear of being stigmatized. She further added “With a fast growing number of followers already on Facebook just within few days of its social webpage launch, one can say an e-Counselling platform such as this has been long overdue particularly with the current state of the nation.”
On whether the service will be free, she responded firmly, “All counselling services are free on the platform and no login is required to connect with other listeners, coaches and counsellors. The counselling’s public forum will however require a very easy sign-in process as we intend to build a large community of users who may not necessarily want to have direct counselling sessions with counsellors but from other users like themselves. Users can simply choose to post less sensitive questions and issues in the forum while other users can also give advice either based on expertise on the subject or their own personal experiences. What we are trying to do is build a community where people can look out for fellow mates like themselves. Love is what makes the world go round and Seek “a” Counsel aims to make that happen.”
Photocredit: WhenWeightMatters
