Oriental stories serving as a

pathway to change mental

health clients in Ethiopia

Solomon Abebe, Positive Psychotherapist

 Pathways to change
If you want to bring order to land, you must first
bring order to the provinces.
If you want to bring order to the provinces, you
must bring order to the Cities.
If you want to bring order in the Cities , you must
bring order to the Families.
If you want to bring order to the Families, you
must bring order to your own Family.
If you want to bring order to your own Family,
you must bring order to your own Self.
Nossrat Peseschkian
 Background
Lack of valid and reliable psychotherapeutic approach
 Background…
Lack of
collaborative
treatment based on
the relationship
between an
individual and a
psychotherapist.
Intervention
with Positive
Psychotherapy
• The power of
oriental stories in
changing client?
• 87 stories
• Ethiopia strongly
attached with
story telling
practice
Activity tested
• designed a strategy to
understand the power and
impacts of oriental stories
among the Ethiopian clients
for addressing different
psychosocial problems.
• strictly abides with the ethics
of positive psychotherapy
and the three pillars of PPT:
hope, balance model and the
five stages of therapy and
self-help.
 Method
• Within one year, the therapist told selected
oriental stories for the total of 79 clients
• Requested them to share their feelings and
emotions.
• Then, each client’s feedback on oriental
stories was recorded by the therapist.
• content analysis to generate replicable and
valid inferences by interpreting client’s
feedback.
If you plant
tomato, tomato
comes out….Don’t
expect potato…..
Brain plays a
seeding
technique…….
Comprehend
success
Embrace
Failure
“No master fall
from the sky”
Prof. Nossrat
Peseschkian
 “A story on the
way” Prof. Nossrat
Peseschkian
 Wisdom
“Three golden
figurine” Prof.
Nossrat
Peseschkian
 windows and
mirror

“The dirty nest” Prof.

Nossrat Peseschkian
Role models
“A good model”
Prof. Nossrat
Peseschkian
 Mediation

“Believe in God and

tie your camel” Prof.
Nossrat Peseschkian
Change perspectives
How can
we bring
changes?
Change
requires
commit
ment like
an eagle
Many factors influence individual
perspectives
Environmental
Factors

Social factors

Personal factors

Human behaviour
Implications
Friendly for addressing cross cutting
factors
The perfect camel,
Miracle of ruby,
you are Omnisent,
a wise judge,
the value of a Perl
and others
clarifying
core
messages
communicate a benefit
Caters messages to the
heart and the head
Creating Trust