Cambridge Prisms: Global
Mental Health
www.cambridge.org/gmh
Psychotherapy training in postgraduate
psychiatry training in Nigeria – Are we doing
enough?
Frances Nkechi Adiukwu1,2
Research Article
Cite this article: Adiukwu FN, Adedapo OO,
Ojeahere MI, Musami UB, Mahmood MY, Saidu
Kakangi A, Salihu MO and Pinto da Costa M
(2024) Psychotherapy training in postgraduate
psychiatry training in Nigeria – Are we doing
enough? Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental
Health, 11, e41, 1–5
https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.32.
Received: 25 March 2023
Revised: 19 February 2024
Accepted: 27 February 2024
Keywords:
early career psychiatrists; psychotherapy
training; psychiatry trainees; psychotherapy;
Nigeria
Corresponding author:
Oluwadolapo Olujinmi Adedapo;
Email: dradedapodolapo@gmail.com
Margaret Isioma Ojeahere
, Oluwadolapo Olujinmi Adedapo3
4
, Umar Baba Musami
Mohammed Yusuf Mahmood
Mumeen Olaitan Salihu
8
6
5,6
, Amina Saidu Kakangi
,
,
7
and Mariana Pinto da Costa
,
9,10,11
1
Department of Mental Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria; 2Department
of Neuropsychiatry, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State, Nigeria; 3Assessment/Psychiatric
Intensive Care Unit, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Nigeria; 4Department of Psychiatry, Jos University Teaching
Hospital, Jos, Nigeria; 5Mental Health Department, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria; 6Federal
Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria; 7Mental Health Department, Federal Medical Centre Abuja, Nigeria;
8
Department of Behavioural Sciences, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria; 9South London and Maudsley
NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 10Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London,
London, UK and 11Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Abstract
Introduction: Nigeria, with an estimated 40 million people living with mental disorders, faces a
critical shortage of psychiatrists to address the significant burden. Despite psychotherapy being
integral to psychiatric training, it lacks structure, consistency and adequate supervision. This is
alarming, particularly given the substantial demand for specialized psychotherapeutic support
among those with mental illness.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study utilised an online survey targeting early career psychiatrists recruited from the Early Career Psychiatrists section of the Association of Psychiatrists in
Nigeria.
Results: The questionnaire was distributed to 252 early career psychiatrists across Nigeria, with a
42.9% response rate, of which 50% were male, with 73.2% trainees and 26.8% early career
psychiatrists. While 52.8% had received some psychotherapy training, only 2.8% were qualified
psychotherapists. Notably, only 27.6% of those with psychotherapy training had over 100 hours
of training. Factors such as receiving psychotherapy training during postgraduate training and
having supervised psychotherapy training were found significant for having independent
psychotherapy training.
Conclusions: There is little emphasis on psychotherapy training in the postgraduate training in
Nigeria. Those who had full training in psychotherapy were self-sponsored. Structured, supervised and mandatory psychotherapy within psychiatry training curriculum is recommended.
Impact statement
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge
University Press. This is an Open Access article,
distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution licence (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which
permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and
reproduction, provided the original article is
properly cited.
Global best practices promote the training of psychiatry trainees in various techniques of
psychotherapy and its incorporation into the training curriculum, hence the need to assess
the extent and factors associated with the completion of psychotherapy training among early
career psychiatrists (ECPs). Almost half of the ECPs in Nigeria had some form of psychotherapy
training, however, only a few had full psychotherapy training. This study reveals the need for the
inclusion of mandatory psychotherapy in the current psychiatry training curriculum, which will
consequently improve psychiatric practice and decrease the treatment gap in mental healthcare.
This inclusion will go a long way in improving the quality of holistic care delivered to mental
health patients by ECPs.
Introduction
Nigeria is a low and middle-income country in West Africa with an estimated population of
40 million people living with mental disorders, which span across mild to severe forms (Lansana,
2017). Interventions to support people with mental disorders may require psychotherapy alone
or in combination with other biomedical therapies (Madu, 2016). Despite the high prevalence of
mental disorders, Nigeria has only about 250 Nigerian-trained and qualified psychiatrists,
https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.32 Published online by Cambridge University Press
2
200 psychiatry trainees, and 319 licensed clinical psychologists
(Bakare, 2021; Coker, 2022). As part of their clinical education,
psychiatric trainees should be well-equipped with psychotherapeutic techniques. Psychotherapy is a useful therapeutic resource
that, over time, has evolved and expanded, and is currently considered a mainstay of treatment for mental disorders (Locher et al.,
2019). Although recent advances in biological psychiatry and
neuroscience have put pharmacotherapy at the forefront giving it
more clinical consideration, psychotherapy remains a widely
accepted and evidence-based form of treatment for mental disorders (Tavakoli, 2014). Psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees have a
critical role in the management of individuals with mental disorders, as they represent a significant part of mental healthcare
providers capable of providing integrative pharmacotherapy and
psychotherapy (Locher et al., 2019). Despite this proviso, a considerable number of psychiatrists seem to lack skills in specialized
psychotherapeutic techniques and seem to shy away from conducting this form of intervention (Madu, 2016).
According to the Specialist Training General Psychiatry curriculum of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria,
the minimum duration of psychiatry training is 4 years. Successfully passing the primary examination qualifies a doctor to commence residency training. The junior residency training is expected
to last a minimum of 24 months, and after passing the part
1 examination, trainees proceed to senior residency training for
another 24 months, at the minimum. At the end of the senior
residency training, the part 2 examinations are written, and successful trainees are awarded the College Fellowship in Psychiatry
(FMCPsych).
To qualify for the part 1 examination, a minimum of 6 months
rotation in adult psychiatry, 3 months rotation in neurology, and
3 months in each of any 5 out of the 7 following core rotation areas
is required: child psychiatry, psychiatry of later life, forensic psychiatry, community psychiatry, substance use psychiatry, emergency
psychiatry and consultation-liaison psychiatry. During the senior
residency training, the two outstanding core rotations are completed in 6 months, 3 months rotation in a subspecialty area apart
from intended subspecialization, 3 months elective rotation and the
remaining 12 months is expected to be in the area of intended
subspecialization. Although the curriculum incorporates psychotherapy training during the postgraduate training, it does not
include psychotherapy as one of the mandatory rotations and it is
unclear how well this is supervised, considering the limited number
of psychotherapists and psychologists within the country
(NPMCN, 2018). Psychotherapy is mostly conducted by psychologists. Previously, concerns have been raised that psychiatrists who
lack psychotherapeutic skills will be unable to offer appropriate care
to the burgeoning number of individuals with mental disorders if all
they continue to offer is pharmacotherapy (Holmes et al., 2007).
In Nigeria, the National Postgraduate Medical College of
Nigeria and the West Africa College of Physicians are the two
recognized institutions that coordinate and superintend postgraduate medical education programs (Okonofua, 2018). Postgraduate
psychiatry training has existed in Nigeria for over four decades.
Nigeria has over 20 postgraduate psychiatry training centers with
variations in the exposure to clinical psychotherapy training due to
the absence of a consistent psychotherapy evaluation program
beyond course modules. Psychotherapy was incorporated into the
junior postgraduate psychiatry training in Nigeria, but the program
does not address the exact duration of psychotherapy training
within the first 24 months period for junior residency (NPMCN,
2018).
https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.32 Published online by Cambridge University Press
Frances Adiukwu et al.
Little is known about psychotherapy training in Nigeria, leading
to the dire need to assess the views and experiences of ECPs in
Nigeria on their psychotherapy curriculum and training.
To address this, this study aimed to investigate the access to, and
experiences with, psychotherapy in the various training centers
across Nigeria, namely:
i) To determine the extent to which psychotherapy training is
included in psychiatry training programs in Nigeria;
ii) To determine the factors associated with the completion of
psychotherapy training by psychiatric trainees in Nigeria.
Methods
This has been a cross-sectional study, part of a larger international
study, the World Psychotherapy Survey. Study participants were
ECPs recruited from the database (containing the names and
contact details) of the ECP section of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN). In Nigeria, ECP is defined as psychiatry
trainees (those currently undertaking residency training) and psychiatrists within 5 years post qualification from both postgraduate
training colleges (National Postgraduate Medical College of
Nigeria, Faculty of Psychiatry; West African College of Physicians,
Faculty of Psychiatry). There is no age criteria in this definition.
The questionnaire was distributed via email to ECPs between
November 2021 and February 2022 through a google form. The
questionnaire was developed for the World Psychotherapy Survey
conducted by the Early Career Psychiatrists Section of the World
Psychiatric Association (Eissazade et al., 2021; Rai et al., 2021;
Belinati Loureiro et al., 2023; Kaya et al., 2023). The selfadministered questionnaire has 16 items covering three areas: i)
socio-demographics, ii) psychotherapy training (types and modalities) and iii) satisfaction with psychotherapy training.
Participation in the survey was voluntary, and all information
was kept confidential.
Data was transferred to the statistical package for social sciences
version 20 (SPSS 20) for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were
used to report the socio-demographics of the study participants,
types and modalities of psychotherapy training received and training satisfaction. Non-parametric tests (chi-square and Fisher’s
exact) were used to determine factors associated with the modalities
of psychotherapy training.
Results
The survey was distributed to 252 members of the ECP section of
the APN. One hundred and eight participants submitted the completed survey form, giving a response rate of 42.9%. Fifty percent of
the participants were males and 50% were females. The majority,
56.7% (n = 59) of participants, were within the 36–45 years of age
bracket. Among the professionals, psychiatry trainees accounted
for 73.2% (n = 79), and the psychiatrists within their first 5 years
after training for 26.8% (n = 29). Of the study participants, most
(n = 86, 79.6%) reported awareness of the inclusion of psychotherapy training during the residency training program in Nigeria and
most (n = 60, 71.4%) reported psychotherapy training as mandatory. More than half (n = 57, 52.8%) of participants had psychotherapy training, whether completed or partial (which is the case in
the majority of the cases), during their residency training period
(during junior residency training where it is included in their
3
Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health
training curriculum), and only three (2.8%) completed psychotherapy training during residency (Table 1).
Where psychotherapy training was available during the junior
residency training program, it was fully funded by the participants
in more than half (n = 61, 56.5%) of the cases. Psychotherapy
training was given in theory in the majority of the cases, with
Table 2. Details on the format of training
n
%
58
68.24
16
18.82
Practical psychotherapy
7
8.24
Theoretical teaching on psychotherapy and 1other
2
2.35
Practical psychotherapy training and 1 other
1
1.18
Theoretical teaching on psychotherapy and 2 others
1
1.18
Total
85
100
Cognitive behavioral therapy and 2 other types of
techniques
26
31.33
Cognitive behavioral therapy and 3 other types of
techniques
23
27.71
Cognitive behavioral therapy
10
12.05
Cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy
9
10.84
5
6.02
How training was provided
Theoretical teaching on psychotherapy
Theoretical teaching on psychotherapy and practical
psychotherapy training
Table 1. Participants socio-demographics and psychotherapy training
experience
n
%
Gender
Female
54
50
Male
54
50
Total
108
100
Age
29–35
41
39.4
36–45
59
56.7
46–54
4
3.9
Total
104
100
Types of psychotherapy techniques trained in
Cognitive behavioral therapy and 4 other types of
techniques
Type of professional
Psychiatry trainee
79
73.2
Family therapy
5
6.02
Adult psychiatrist
23
21.3
Cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic
2
2.41
Child and adolescent psychiatrist
4
3.7
Family therapy, Interpersonal therapy
2
2.41
Community/consultation liaison psychiatry
1
0.9
Interpersonal therapy
1
1.2
NR
1
0.9
Total
83
100
108
100
Very satisfied
6
10.53
Satisfied
20
35.09
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
19
33.33
Dissatisfied
9
15.79
Total
Awareness of the inclusion of psychotherapy training during postgraduate
training
No
22
20.4
Yes
86
79.6
Total
108
100
If yes
Satisfaction with training
Very dissatisfied
3
5.26
Total
57
100
Mandatory
60
71.4
Optional
24
28.6
Total
84
100
Fully by the trainee
61
56.5
Fully by the hospital/training institution
21
19.5
Psychotherapy supervision
Fully by the government
15
13.9
Part by the trainee and part from other sources
10
9.3
Of the participants who received psychotherapy training, about
one-third received supervision for their training. To these, training
supervision was mandatory for only 48% (n = 14) of the participants. Training was mostly given in groups and lasted less than
50 hours in total (Table 3).
Who funds psychotherapy training?
NR
Total
1
0.9
108
100
cognitive behavioral therapy being the most taught form of psychotherapy (Table 2).
Have you had any psychotherapy training?
No
51
47.2
Yes, currently training
54
50
Yes, completed training
3
2.8
108
100
Total
NR: Not responded.
https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.32 Published online by Cambridge University Press
Factors associated with mandatory psychotherapy training
Where psychotherapy training was mandatory, it also tended to
have optional supervision (p = 0.027), which was funded by the
participants (p = 0.002). Other factors such as the psychiatry
specialty, type of psychotherapy training available, and whether
4
Frances Adiukwu et al.
Table 3. Psychotherapy supervision
Table 4. Factors associated with mandatory psychotherapy training
n
Mandatory
psychotherapy
training
Optional
psychotherapy
training
Theoretical
42 (70.0)
18 (30.0)
Practical
7 (100.0)
0
Personal
0
0
12 (75.0)
4 (25.0)
%
Variables
Psychotherapy training supervision available
No
79
73.15
Yes
29
26.85
Total
108
100
Mandatory supervision
14
48.28
Theoretical/practical
No
15
51.72
Personal/practical
Total
29
100
In groups
11
37.93
Types of Psychotherapy available
Individual
7
24.14
6 (66.7)
3 (33.3)
Individual and in groups
11
37.93
Cognitive behavioral
therapy (CBT)
Total
29
100
Family therapy (FT)
4 (80.0)
1 (20.0)
1 (100.)
0
All three
Total
Interpersonal
therapy (IT)
Duration of training
50–100 h
7
24.14
<50 h
14
48.28
>100 h
8
27.59
Total
29
100
training was theoretical or practical did not have any association
with the training being either mandatory or optional (Table 4).
p
Types of training
Yes
Format of supervision
F
0
1(100.0)
2 (100.0)
0
63
23
CBT and FT
8 (61.5)
5 (38.5)
3 or more types
44 (75.9)
14 (24.1)
63
23
Total
6.715 0.243F
2.105 0.777F
Nature of psychotherapy supervision
Mandatory
Optional
Total
14 (51.9)
13 (48.1)
0 (0.0)
6 (100.0)
14
19
27 (57.4)
20 (42.6)
16 (100.0)
0(0.0)
5.40 0.027F*
Nature of sponsorship
Discussion
Main findings
Despite over half of the participants stating that psychotherapy
training was included in their psychiatry postgraduate training and
as a mandatory requirement, just about half received some form of
psychotherapy training, and only 3% of the participants in Nigeria
had full psychotherapy training. This might be a result of this
mandatory training being self-funded as well as being theoretical
in nature in the majority of the cases.
Despite the relatively low number, all qualified psychotherapists
undertook self-sponsored psychotherapy training. Mandatory psychotherapy training was associated with it being self-funded and
mandatory supervision of the training. Despite this, the completion
rate was poor, indicating that priority was not being given to
psychotherapy training in Nigerian psychiatry postgraduate training. These findings also show a general dissatisfaction with the
psychotherapy training received during the training period.
Comparison with other literature
There is generally less emphasis on psychotherapy training during
postgraduate training in Nigeria than in other countries, as it is not
mandatory in the curriculum (Jain et al., 2012).
The findings from this study in Nigeria are consistent with the
results from this survey in Nepal, where one-third of ECPs received
psychotherapy training (Rai et al., 2021). The present study also
observed that psychotherapy training varies in different training
institutions and was not made mandatory, with low supervision
https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.32 Published online by Cambridge University Press
Fully self–sponsored
Fully by training
institution
Fully by government
10(90.9)
1 (9.1)
Partly by trainee and
partly by other sources
6 (66.7)
3 (33.3)
1 (100.0)
0
60
24
Others
Total
13.45 0.002F*
F, Fisher’s exact test.
rates. However, findings from this survey in Iran reported that
almost all participants had mandatory psychotherapy training
(Eissazade et al., 2021). While there are a lot of constraints in
psychotherapy training during psychiatry training, which includes
poor funding and supervision, over half of the respondents in
Nigeria sponsored their own psychotherapy training. This is similar
to the results from a psychotherapy survey conducted across Europe, where trainees reported self-funding for psychotherapy training (Giacco et al., 2012). Nonetheless, many participants in Nigeria
considered that the payment for the psychotherapy training should
not be done by the participants themselves and wished the current
training be improved upon through full incorporation and implementation of a uniform, mandatory, well-supervised accredited
psychotherapy curriculum during postgraduate training in line
with global best practices. Evidence suggests that online psychotherapy training provides equal knowledge, competency and
5
Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health
confidence in psychotherapy when compared with supervised
training. This, therefore, may create an option for a cheaper form
of training that can be undertaken by psychiatry trainees and ECPs
in low- and middle-income countries (Bennett-Levy et al., 2020).
Financial support. This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Implications of the findings for practice, policies and research
Ethical approval. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Review
Committee of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Kwara State, Nigeria.
While there are different psychotherapy modalities, psychotherapy
training should focus on common models such as cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy and interpersonal therapy as well as
group and individual therapy techniques. In Nigeria, psychiatry
trainees and ECPs undergoing psychotherapy training are exposed
to the common models listed above where such training exists.
There is a need for the current psychiatry postgraduate training
curriculum to make psychotherapy training mandatory and ensure
adequate supervision as a requirement for qualification as a psychiatrist. Increased attention should be given to psychotherapy training in the postgraduate psychiatry training program curriculum.
This will improve psychiatric practice and decrease the treatment
gap that exists in mental health care.
Strengths and limitations
This is the first study to investigate psychotherapy training in
Nigeria; however, its limitations are the relatively low response rate
and small sample size. This affects the power of the study and the
reliability of the measures of associations used to determine factors
affecting psychotherapy training.
Conclusions
Psychotherapy training offered during psychiatry postgraduate
training, though present in the postgraduate curriculum, lacks
structure and mandatory supervision and is not mandatory for
qualification as a psychiatrist in Nigeria. ECPs are largely unsatisfied with the training and tend to seek further training outside of the
postgraduate training. Despite this, very few are qualified psychotherapists. This highlights the need to improve the delivery of the
training curriculum as it pertains to psychotherapy training so as to
decrease the treatment gap in psychiatry present in Nigeria.
Data availability statement. The data used to support the findings of this
study are included within the article.
Acknowledgements. The authors acknowledge the Early Career Psychiatrists
Section of the World Psychiatric Association for the development of the survey
instrument.
Author contribution. All authors contributed to different aspects of this
manuscript. M.P.d.C. conceived this study and its design and all authors were
involved in data collection. Analysis and interpretation of data were performed
and written by F.N.A., O.O.A., U.B.M. and M.Y.M. while the rest of the literature
was written by F.N.A., M.I.O., A.S.K. and M.O.S. F.N.A., O.O.A., A.S.K. and
M.P.d.C. edited the final manuscript. All authors agree to be accountable for all
aspects of this manuscript.
https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2024.32 Published online by Cambridge University Press
Competing interest. The authors declare none.
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