Comparative Analysis of Meseron Therapy and Harmony Restoration Therapy
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Date
2019
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Publisher
Journal of Behavioural Studies
Abstract
Psychotherapy has been proven effective for the management of psychological disturbances. Indigenous
psychotherapies, with which a client can identify, are often more effective than foreign ones. African
perspectives of psychotherapy are scanty. This is a comparative analysis of two psychotherapies of
Nigerian origin which are Awaritefe’s Meseron and Ebigbo’s Harmony Restoration Therapies.
‘Meseron,’ an Urhobo (Nigerian) word denoting “I reject it” stresses the synergy of thoughts, words and
actions. Meseron therapy (MT) is rooted in the Nigerian belief in the power of spoken words, its potency
meanings and consequences; culminating in rejecting the negatives and accepting the positives. It aims at
removing undesirable conditions, changing concept and values, exploring resources, self-growth, insight,
emotional reorganization and change of habits. Harmony Restoration Therapy (HRT) is based on the
Igbo (Nigerian) cultural belief that to be in good health, one must be in harmony with one’s environment.
HRT believes that the world is cosmocentric and tripartite consisting of the endocosmos, the mesocosmos
and the exocosmos, which represent the various relationships an individual entertains and his/her level of
harmony or disharmony. A comparative appraisal of MT and HRT shows that despite having several
similarities, major differences abound in their theories of human nature, aetiology of psychopathology,
psychotherapeutic orientation, therapeutic techniques and emphasis on the locus of control. This study
recommends that further studies on the subject matter as well as the use of these psychotherapies among
Africans should be imbibed in Clinical Psychology practice
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Keywords
Meseron Therapy, Harmony Restoration Therapy, Indigenous psychotherapies, Comparative Analysis of psychotherapies