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 therapies, Comparative analysis of therapies
Citation
Bello I. B., & Akpunne B. C. (2019). Comparative analysis of Meseron therapy and Harmony Restoration therapy. Journal of Behavioural Studies, 1(1), 72-76.