Building the Future: Nigeria’s Initiative for Cognitive Therapies and Mental Health (ICTMH)

Dr. Stephanie Okolo, founder and president of the Initiative for Cognitive Therapies and Mental Health (ICTMH), shared Nigeria’s rapid progress in strengthening its mental-health infrastructure through innovation, education, and community engagement.

Registered in 2023, ICTMH operates from Kaduna and Texas, with a mission to provide accessible, affordable, and culturally relevant mental-health care. Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country (≈ 238 million), faces a mental-health treatment gap exceeding 80 percent, with only about 300 psychiatrists serving the entire population.

ICTMH addresses these gaps through:

• Weekly online CBT trainings and webinars, reaching professionals nationwide.
• Campus mental-health hubs and student peer-support programs.
• Community projects such as Brain Minds Corner for children and Women Matters for women’s empowerment.
• A new journal (JCTMH) to amplify African voices in CBT research.

Her team also conducted door-to-door surveys revealing low mental-health literacy and strong reliance on faith-based coping. ICTMH now integrates culture-centered approaches alongside advocacy for policy reform and licensure standards.

“Our goal is to make CBT accessible to every Nigerian community,” Dr. Okolo said. “Through training, teletherapy, and advocacy, we are turning awareness into action.”

Dr. Okolo expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with the WCCBT and fellow African CBT leaders in building a regional CBT organization that will unify efforts to expand evidence-based mental health care across Africa.