The Counsellor: A Profile of Professor Elizabeth Omotunde Egbochuku

“There are a few virtuous women who are not bored with their trade.”

        --  Francois de La Rochefoucauld

 

Prof. Omotunde Egbochuku

The American Counselling Association defines counselling as the application of mental health, psychological or human development principles through cognitive, affective, behavioural or systemic interventions, strategies that address wellness, personal growth or career development as well as pathology.

The general aim of counselling is to enable the client gain self-awareness and insight by understanding the flow of their feelings and emotions. The discovery of their inner resources informs proper decision-making to enable the client amplify a flourish of true potentials and build an empowered generation of men and women.

It is to this noble cause that Professor Elizabeth Omotunde Egbochuku has pledged her life to. She started her academic pursuit after obtaining her West African School Certificate (W.A.S.C.) in 1974. She bagged an N.C.E. in English/Physical Education from Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo State in 1979. In 1982 she obtained a B.Ed in Physical and Health Education from the University of Benin.

She obtained her Masters Degree in Guidance and Counselling in 1991 and seven years later, she got her Doctorate in Guidance and Counselling, both from the University of Benin. In 2003, she became a Fellow of the University of London in Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld was right - Professor Omotunde Egbochuku kept the fire burning furthering her professionalism further. In 2002, she attended a Proficiency Course on Knowledge and Gender Workshop and in 2003, attended a Proficiency Course on Obtaining and Managing External Research Funding Workshop, both organized by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom. Within that period, she also became a Fellow of Counselling & Psychotherapy at the University of London.

Back in Nigeria, she attended a Proficiency Course in Strengthening Treatment and Rehabilitation Services offered by Government and NGOs in 2004. It was a workshop for Local Implementing Partners (LIPs) and other care providers organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta in Ogun State.

In 2011, she attended a Proficiency Course in Training of Trainers and Supervisors on Solution-Focused Practices at Kern County Mental Health, Bakersfield, California, USA and in 2014 she participated in another course on Training of Trainers in Mental Health Facilitation at the Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida University, Minna.

Prof. Omotunde Egbochuku training trainers

Her extensive experience in the field gathered over years of training, practice and in the academia has led to the reproduction of publications of repute too numerous to mention. She has authored many books on Counselling and Guidance and other related subjects. Her invaluable professional insight has led to her being sought after by colleagues in the field to co-author and contribute to their published works. In addition to this, she has authored over 70 journals which have been published both locally and internationally.

In recognition of Professor Elizabeth Omotunde Egbochuku’s immense contributions to the field of Psychology, Counselling and Guidance, she has been appointed as an External Examiner (Undergraduate and Postgraduate) to various institutions in Nigeria and at the National University of Lesotho, Lesotho. In 2002-2003 she was recognized as a Postdoctoral Fellow under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Commission in the United Kingdom at the School of Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London. 

She was also a Visiting Professor to the University of Swaziland from 2009-2010. She has served in various prestigious capacities at her alma mater and was a Member of Council at the University of Benin; a position she held from 2013 till 2015. She also served as Rapporteur to the House of Representatives Committee on Education in Abuja in 2006. 

Prof. Omotunde at CASSON State Counselling Conference

Professor Egbochuku is the Chairperson, Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON) Edo State Chapter and has been so since 2013 till date. She is also the current National Vice President of the body and has been so since 2014.

In addition to these colossal feats in the field of Psychology, Guidance and Counselling, she is a happy wife, a doting mother of four and a grandmother of five.