25 Apr 2024 Enrique González, volunteer psychologist: “Daily living with patients, staff and sisters has been very enriching”.

Recently we introduced you to Cris, a volunteer nurse who was helping us during January and February in the Mental Health Unit of the Benedict Menni Health Center in Monrovia. During the month of February, Cris coincided with another volunteer, Enrique Gonzalez, a psychologist who accompanied us until the end of March.

Enrique, who lives in Murcia (Spain), has a degree in Psychology, diplomas in Economics and in Philosophy and Theology, a master’s degree in Risk Prevention with a specialization in psychosociology and is a professional coach. He has worked as a teacher in Community Services for the Murcia Regional Ministry of Education, as director of human resources and as a clinical-health psychologist. He has also been the director of a center specialized in addictions in Castellon (Spain).

Why did you want to volunteer?

I am in a personal situation of availability that has allowed me to do this volunteer work. In addition, the practice of psychological intervention in mental health has not only been a profession for me but also a vocation. When I knew about the mental health work of Sisters Hospitallers in different parts of Africa, I thought that my place was there.

What made you interested in going to Liberia and our center? Had you visited the country before? Had you been to a country in the area before?

Actually the decision to go to Liberia was not mine: it was the Benito Menni Foundation that, after a period of training and local volunteering, indicated to me that the destination was Monrovia. I had never previously visited the country nor did I know it. I had previously been in Senegal in 2017 for a short period getting to know the presence of Spanish cooperation through AECID (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation).

What were your feelings when you first arrived in Monrovia and downtown?

They were very special. I was struck by the bustle of its streets and markets, the joy of the people, the welcome and hospitality with which I was received. I was struck by the contrast of the local culture with Western culture and the situation of deprivation and basic needs of the population.

What have been your tasks at the center?

The main thing has been to accompany and listen to the patients and the professional staff.

The activities and tasks have been the following:

• Participation in all group therapeutic activities: prayer, psychoeducation, social skills, relaxation, music therapy, walking, sports activities.
• Individual psychotherapeutic intervention with some patients because there is no psychologist at the center.
• Participation as an observer in the consultations of Dr. Harris, the center’s psychiatrist.
• Participation in the weekly patient evaluation meetings held by the therapeutic team of nurses and social workers.
• Accompaniment to home visits to follow up on patients who are already discharged.
• Elaboration of materials and activities and development of several workshops on social skills and psychoeducation with patients.
• Resource bank.
• Training of social workers and nurses.
• Accompanying a mental health awareness day in a school center.

What similarities and differences would you establish between the approach to mental health in our center and in the places where you have worked?

The intervention model in the We Are Like You program is based on a biopsychosocial approach adapted to the cultural reality of Liberia and conditioned by the means that exist here. This model of mental health approach is the same as that of the programs I have worked on in Spain. The only significant difference is the absence of individualized psychological intervention.

What do you think of the center, its professionals and its activities?

The center’s facilities are excellent, offering very adequate spaces both to meet the basic needs of the patients and for the development of all the activities. They are very well cared for and give great importance to hygiene and cleanliness. They also offer adequate spaces for the work of the professionals.

The conditions of this center stand out from those of other public mental health centers I have visited. Likewise, the difference in the conditions offered by the center with those of the majority of the Liberian population, which does not have running water, sanitation, electricity, toilets, meals three times a day or comprehensive health care, is also notorious.

The center’s professionals, both its coordinators and the entire team of nurses, social workers, kitchen and cleaning staff, have shown a high level of professionalism in the performance of their technical duties and in attending to the needs of the patients. Likewise, their caring and welcoming attitude towards me has been exquisite at all times.

It should be emphasized that this project exists and is sustainable thanks to the initiative of the presence of Sisters Hospitallers who perform the necessary and important function of administrative and economic support that provides coverage to the mission and to the We Are Like You project and to this Mental Health Unit, as well as to the health center that completes the mission of the sisters in Monrovia. The sisters have also been attentive to my needs at all times and I have been able to share with them moments of prayer and celebration.

What skills, knowledge or experiences have you been able to add to your background?

The way of “enculturation” of the techniques and therapeutic activities carried out in the program has been very interesting for me.

The experience of volunteering as a clinical psychologist has helped me to develop my skills in teamwork and interrelation with other professionals, efficient use of resources, collaboration with the continuity of care with patients who are referred from other centers or have to be referred, carrying out educational activities for the prevention of mental health diseases, improving communication skills in the context of the therapeutic interview, etc.

It has also been special for me the experience of daily coexistence with patients, with whom I have been able to share my professional knowledge and carry out accompaniment and therapy.

The experience of creating very intense personal bonds with all the staff and with the sisters of the community has been very enriching, and I have also been able to develop my level of linguistic competence in English.

What difficulties have you encountered in your work?

The most important difficulty was the language barrier, since my English language skills limited in part the possibilities of communication and professional collaboration with the patients. However, this limitation has been relative because I have been able to collaborate in many activities and create links and relationships with the whole community of the center.

Otherwise, other small difficulties have been the normal ones of adapting to the tropical climate and to other types of food. A small difficulty not related to the direct performance of the volunteer work has been related to the organization of mobility in the weekend time, since the center is located in a suburb of Monrovia, it is not advisable to use the public transport that exists and the means of transport of the center are limited. This small handicap has never been an obstacle for weekend activities outside the center.

Was there anything that stood out for you during your stay?

For me, the experience of volunteering in Liberia in this mental health project has been extraordinary from every point of view. I was impressed by the living conditions in which the population lives and the difficulties in accessing, in our case, to health services. More specifically, I was able to see the stigma of mental illness in Liberia by getting to know the concrete life stories of many of the patients.

Would you recommend other professionals to volunteer at our center? Would you like to do it again?

Of course I would recommend any interested person and professional to do this volunteering. The project meets the ideal conditions to get to know the reality of mental health in Africa.

The Benito Menni Foundation and the Sisters Hospitallers offer an effective response to women suffering from these diseases and their families, while at the same time working to change the paradigm both with the Liberian health administration and with the population, through work with families and by raising awareness among the population and the new generations with the implementation of campaigns in educational centers.

In addition, the volunteer time is carried out in excellent conditions of protection and care offered by the project. Both the good facilities in which the volunteers’ housing is located, the food and the good treatment received and the hospitality of the community of Hermanas Hospitalarias and the team of professionals of the center allow living this volunteering experience in a climate of safety and welfare suitable for the development of the work.