DR. WANGO GEOFFREY MBUGUA

ental health and wellbeing requires us to look into ourselves and search a little deeper. This in turn will open our understanding to the reality of mental health – that it is an illness that requires treatment. It is estimated that one in four people suffer from mental illness. A major concern for parents and psychologists is the fact that over half of mental health problems develop in childhood and adolescence attributed to childhood unfavourable conditions, at home, school or in the general environment. The statistics are estimated to be higher and varied across countries and communities, for example, nearly one in five American adults are said to be living with a mental illness. This is a significant portion of our population. Experts argue that over a half of the people who suffer from a mental health conditions tend to have a secondary medical diagnosis, and this makes it even more important to treat the whole person. Yet millions of people with a mental health illness go untreated especially in the low income countries of the developing world.