By
John Michael Ojo

The President of Jars Group and Jars Therapeutics, Professor Akindotun Merino has disclosed that childhood trauma can become a foundation for complex trauma in the life of an individual if not properly treated

Merino said this during the trauma care awareness walk to mark this year’s mental health week on Wednesday

Jars Education Group and Jars Therapeutics,  bodies which seek to provide mental health care services to individuals in Lagos State and its environs embarked on a trauma  awareness walk to  sensitise Lagos residents to the impact of trauma among individuals and the nation at large.

The exercise led by the US-trained professor of psychology began with a procession from Allen Junction in Ikeja axis of the state to the governor’s office in Alausa where they had intended to register their presence and mission.

The awareness walk which had participants carrying placards such as “trauma kills”, “if it is hysterical, it is historical,” “stand against domestic violence”,  “end childhood trauma”,  “emotional trauma is real in Nigeria”,  “domestic abuse is a human rights violation” amongst others had other groups such as Sickle Cell Management Initiative in attendance.

While responding to questions from our correspondent,  Prof. Merino who is in the country to contribute her quota to addressing mental health issues such as trauma, stated that there was a great need for government to collaborate with other professionals in the country to provide effective and affordable trauma care services to individuals at all levels in order to address the menace’s long-term consequences such as under-productivity.

According to her, there are different types of trauma which are type one and type two. While type one trauma is well known and can be easily identified by people, the type two trauma is often not psychosocial in nature, she said.

“This is a trauma awareness walk, this is mental health week and we are addressing trauma because trauma is a mental health issue. There are different types of trauma.

“There is type one and type two trauma, type one trauma are the ones you all know such as an accident, an abuse of all kinds but type two trauma are not well known. There is a neglect of a child, abusing a child probably verbally, some types of domestic violence that includes financial violence, emotional abuse.

“They are not usually taken into consideration but these things have a way of impacting your life, Childhood trauma is the foundation for complex trauma”, she said.

According to her, if one is not strong enough “once you have a childhood trauma,  you are set up to have different types of trauma all the years of your life if you are not treated.

“We are drawing attention to Nigerians and Lagos State especially to say this is something we have to care about,  not just mental health but trauma care. That people in homes are suffering,  little kids don’t need to be told that they are not good enough, abuse them and things like that, parents working several jobs without dedicating time for their kids, when you  are hitting your wife or husband all these could become traumatic,” she said.

While commending the Lagos State government for its support towards providing its residents with comprehensive health care services,  Merino urged the government and other nongovernmental  organisations to support her course through collaborative effort in order to reach a greater number of people as the government cannot do it alone.

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“The government cannot do it all alone,  we need other people. I also want International bodies to know that this is something they all need to gather around to fix up”, she said.

She also disclosed that an individual could be dealing with trauma if he/she lacks  concentration, unable  to complete a common task, constantly yelling, having insomnia (the inability to sleep) etc.

She added that the group has two facilities located in Ijaiye and another in Ikorodu area of the state. She said the facilities are very accessible and provide services to the public almost at a no cost and anyone who is dealing with any trauma-related challenges can walk in to receive appropriate support from professionals who are ever-ready to lend their services.

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