PSYCHOTHERAPY AND REHABILITATION COUNSELLING FOCUS: PANACEA TO STREET BEGGING IN MAJOR CITIES IN IMO STATE

Abstract

This paper postulates psychotherapy and rehabilitation counselling focus as a cure, a magic portion to street begging in major cities of Imo state. Street begging is a social phenomenon that is prevalent in Nigeria, arguably due to economic down-turn. It involves the elderly, the young and children, male and female alike. It is of social concern that street begging which used to involve mostly those who have conspicuous physical handicaps of many forms, has today metamorphosed to involve able bodied and very young people. The public opinion indicates that street begging is a social scourge in main cities in Imo  State. Some laudable efforts have been made by some individuals, organizations, government and non-government agencies to checkmate street begging phenomenon. However, psychotherapy and rehabilitationcounselling have not been explored in the picture of responses to tackle street begging. The position taken in this paper is that psychotherapy together with  rehabilitation counselling the victims of begging  behaviours, more especially street beggars could be rescued and assisted to embrace and embark on a skill/vocational acquisition training that could be more sustainable and more dignifying as a means of livelihood rather than begging on the streets. In addition, it would go a long way to eliminating or reducing street begging nuisance and its attendant menace consequences.