Nakuru County Psychologist Dr.Peter Mucheru. [Photo/Victor Wanaswa]
A month after a police constable shot dead his wife and five-year-old daughter, distraught residents of Waseges Village of Subukia constituency are still foraging for answers to lingering questions surrounding the tragedy.
Many say the 3: 00 am murder remains a shocker especially now that it came months after what relatives say was incessant wrangling between the police officer and his wife.
Hardly 80 kilometers away in Marigat Baringo County, an administration police officer is reported to have shot himself in the chest killing himself over what his superior says is failure to raise school fees for his three children in high school.
Incidents of homicide are increasingly becoming a towering concern among clinical psychologists as they continue to attribute the rising incidents to a negative attitude among people towards counseling services.
Counselors say that most people that commit homicide premeditate it over a long period and if not assisted professionally often leads to suicide and even multiple killings.
Nakuru County psychologist Dr Peter Mucheru says there is need for sustained sensitization in society about the significance of professional counseling and guidance in a bid to enable members of society to understand their ability to cope up with stress and seek appropriate and timely assistance.
The psychologist accuses entities entrusted with the guidance of people in emotional distress of failing in their noble role and this coupled with the prevailing ignorance about counseling compounds a people`s problem leading to high incidents of homicide.
He further debunks the notion that counseling is a preserve for people already having bouts of depression, stress or other forms of mental illnesses.
Dr. Muchemi encourages even those that are clinically healthy to seek professional counseling services saying this will help them rediscover themselves and poise them to exploit their full potential in life.
He links most of the incidents of homicide that have been reported in recent months to infidelity, trauma and decay of the social fabric all of which he says have less regard for guidance and counseling.
He says that during self-evaluation, people on counseling programs appraise themselves on key virtues of life like loyalty when they feel less appreciated, devotion and conformity to the most basic of social conventions.
Dr. Muchemi says these enables beneficiaries of counseling to find value in their lives and contemplate suicide or killing others less than when they are left to their own devices by society.
The clinical psychologist says professional counseling sessions can help in effective anger management during cycles of stress among people and this is vital in helping depressed people become a lesser risk to themselves and their families.
Where institutions such as the church and elders in the family offer guidance to individuals contending with emotional stress, he advises such entities to consider referrals of victims to duly accredited councilors for timely and effective help.