Counselling People with Special Needs in Rural Settings

At one time or the other people have had problems that they could not on their own find solutions to, whether they were disabled or not. At such times they had gone or turned to others seeking help or assistance. In rural areas, people seek assistance mostly from traditional healers, or sometimes from friends or elders. The traditional healer has a peculiar way of consulting with the spirits or deity using various tools, such as, alcoholic drinks, kolanuts, palm wine, chicken/goats etc. They are professionals in their own field and people in their immediate communities, disabled or not disabled, have easy access to their services. However, in the recent times, there abound a lot of problems in the society due to the advancement in technology and other salient factors. The myriad of problems, currently calls for the need to have professionally trained counsellors to work especially among the rural population with various disabilities. Such professionals will certainly make use of various skills to handle the emotional, social and psychological concerns of the disabled. Keywords: Rural setting, Special Needs People, Counselling; Nigeria The Nigerian Journal Of Guidance And Counselling Vol. 12 (1) 2007 pp. 57-6