At Kenya’s largest mental health referral hospital, male patients are receiving a unique form of therapy: personal grooming services provided by visiting barbers. These sessions are intended to help restore dignity, improve self-esteem, and contribute to the recovery process.
Healthcare workers at Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital in Nairobi note that a loss of interest in personal hygiene and self-care can be a symptom of mental illness. The act of receiving a haircut or beard trim aims to counteract this by reminding patients that they are valued.
Sheila Lugaliki, founder of the community-based organization Uniquely Gifted, initiated the monthly free grooming service. Her own experience as a patient in a psychiatric ward inspired the program. "You find someone has been admitted for six months and yet no one has groomed their hair. How they look really does not reflect how they are feeling," Lugaliki said.
Francis Kabugua, a nursing officer at the hospital, highlighted that June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. He encouraged men to openly discuss their struggles rather than resorting to alcohol and substance use as coping mechanisms. Kabugua described how individuals with depressive disorders might isolate themselves from family and cease to provide for them.
According to the government’s 2015 Mental Health Policy, an estimated 25% of outpatients and 40% of inpatients in Kenyan health facilities experience mental health conditions. Depression and anxiety are identified as common conditions, with substance use disorders posing a significant challenge, particularly among men.
Psychiatric nurse Titus Enko emphasized the importance of personal grooming in conjunction with medication and psychotherapy. "More often we only think about medication, psychotherapy, and we tend to overlook the other part, which is the personal grooming," Enko said. He added that self-neglect, such as not showering or dressing well, can be an indicator of a patient's mental state.
Patients have responded positively to the grooming sessions. One man described the experience as feeling "alive" after receiving a trim.