Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu
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Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu (born 1974) is a professor, researcher, epidemiologist and psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University in Uganda. Her research is particularly focused on supportive group psychotherapy as a first-line treatment for depression in people with HIV. She is one of only five recipients of the Elsevier Foundation Award for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World in Biological Sciences, as well as listed at one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2020.
Quotes
[edit]- They say their patients don’t have those issues and don’t want you to screen them because they don't want it to be known that the patients they care for may have an alcohol problem or depression,”
- It’s no joke. These symptoms can become severe. If someone feels useless and hopeless, they feel they don’t need to take care of their families or their children.
- We teach them how to challenge negative thoughts. We call that unhelpful ways of thinking. We teach them to replace unhelpful ways of thinking with helpful ways of thinking.”
- They don’t need to take the medication. They have no motivation. That’s what the depression does. They couldn’t take care of themselves and could not go to work.”
- Given how few trained mental health providers there are in Uganda, one-on-one therapy just wouldn't be practical, "So I had the idea to have a group therapy intervention.
- We were surprised because we had thought maybe people wouldn't want to come, or maybe they wouldn't want to be seen with each other due to stigma,But they actually wanted something like this — so badly.
