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Articles

CIJP: VOL. 7, NO. 1, JUNE 2022

REFLECTIVE PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COSMOSES IN THE INDIGENOUS PSYCHOTHERAPY MODEL, HARMONY RESTORATION THERAPY

  • Igbokwe, David O.
Submitted
October 24, 2022
Published
2022-07-15

Abstract

African indigenous psychotherapy methods have largely been undocumented because almost everything an African does, including greeting, attending social rites and settling disputes, is psychotherapeutic. Hence, attempting to percolate habitual practices into coherent wholes to form an organized system of treatment procedures is arduous. This article examines an indigenous psychotherapy model, Harmony Restoration Theory and its therapy, the Harmony Restoration Therapy, and some of its applications. The Harmony Restoration Therapy is a treatment method of African origin based on the existential tradition of Africans.  The Harmony Restoration Therapy hinges on the fact that health or ill-health for an African depends on the individual’s level of harmony or disharmony with the components of their cosmos (world).  In Harmony Restoration Therapy, the individual’s cosmos is compartmentalised, the endocosmos, mesocosmos, and exocosmos representing the relationship between the individual and him/herself, their significant others and the higher beings/things that they revere. The article begins with a synopsis of the concepts and why restoring harmony in African clients is necessary. Major Concepts in Harmony Restoration Therapy were highlighted. The author’s reflective perspective on the development of the Endocosmos, Mesocosmos and Exocosmos were examined. The Concept of Cosmos Incorporation and the Concept of Cosmos Information Incorporation were discussed. The article concludes with an introduction to the process of measuring an individual’s level of harmony or disharmony with the Harmony – Disharmony (H-D) Scale.