James Wetu

17/08/2026

What happens when a colleague is struggling at work?

Maybe they have just received devastating news. Maybe they are grieving, overwhelmed, experiencing intense anxiety, or going through a crisis nobody else knows about.

Most of us want to help.

But wanting to help and knowing how to help are not the same thing.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) gives us a practical framework:

Notice. Listen. Support. Link.

It does not turn managers into therapists, HR teams into psychologists, or colleagues into counsellors.

It helps us learn how to respond with compassion, respect boundaries, protect dignity and connect someone with the right support when they need it.

And for organisations, this raises an important question:

If an employee experiences serious emotional distress at work tomorrow, will your team know what to do?

Our latest article explores Psychological First Aid in the workplace, what managers and colleagues should do, what they should avoid, and why PFA should form part of a wider workplace mental health strategy.

The colleague does not have to be the therapist. They can be the bridge.

Read: Psychological First Aid in the Workplace: How to Support a Colleague in Distress

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Learn Psychological First Aid: www.academy.convo.africa



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15/08/2026

Deciding to look for help is often the hardest part. After that, it's usually the practical questions that hold people back: how does this actually work, what happens in a session, is it really private, can I afford it?

Here's what to expect: a short optional screening, then you browse therapist profiles by specialisation, approach and language, and book directly, no clinic visit, no waiting room. Pricing is shown upfront, sessions are confidential, and if your first therapist isn't the right fit, you can simply try another.

Your first session isn't a test. It's a conversation, at your pace, about what you're going through.

This works the same whether you're in Nairobi or logging in from the UK, the Gulf or Australia.

🔗 e-therapy.convo.africa

Deciding to look for help with depression is often the hardest part. Once you've reached that decision, the practical questions start: how does this actually work, what happens in a session, is it really confidential, can I afford it? Here's what to expect, step by step, from booking to your first s...

14/08/2026

A teacher does not have to be a therapist.

But they can be the bridge.

Teachers are often among the first adults to notice when a young person is struggling.

A learner becomes unusually quiet.
Grades suddenly fall.
Attendance changes.
They become withdrawn, irritable or overwhelmed.

The question is: what should a teacher do next?

Psychological First Aid (PFA) provides a practical framework:

NOTICE. LISTEN. SUPPORT. LINK.

It is not about diagnosing students or turning teachers into counsellors. It is about knowing how to respond compassionately, recognise your boundaries and connect a learner with the right support.

Our latest article explores how teachers and schools can become better prepared to respond when a student is struggling.

Because sometimes, one prepared adult can become the bridge between distress and help.

Read more on below.

13/08/2026

Five minutes of silence can feel louder than a whole room.

We fill it without noticing. Music in the shower, TikTok while we eat, a chat running in the background of everything. Not because we love the noise, but because silence means meeting ourselves, and that's not always a meeting we're prepared for.

Learning to enjoy your own company isn't about needing nobody. It's not about cutting people off or romanticising loneliness. It's about knowing that when the crowd disappears, you don't disappear with it.

And if the discomfort runs deeper than that, if silence keeps surfacing something heavier, that's worth exploring too, not pushing through alone.

🔗 e-therapy.convo.africa

Maybe we don't actually love the crowd as much as we think we do. Maybe we just love what it does for us, keeps us busy, keeps the silence at bay. This is about what happens in the quiet, and what it actually means to become your own company, not your only company. Learning to enjoy your own company...

13/08/2026

Almost everyone who drinks socially has wondered, at some point, whether it still counts as "social."

Here's the thing: it's not really about how often you drink. Someone who only drinks heavily on weekends but can't stop once they start, needs more each time to feel the same effect, or spends the week looking forward to the next round, can still meet the clinical picture of alcohol dependence. The pattern matters more than the calendar.

Wherever you're based, Kenya, the UK, the Gulf, or Australia, the barriers to getting help often look the same: distance from familiar support, worry about privacy, not knowing where to start. Confidential online therapy removes most of that.

A short AUDIT screening is a good place to begin. Full breakdown on our Alcohol Use Disorder Hub.

🔗 convo.africa/alcohol-use-disorder/

Almost everyone who drinks socially has, at some point, wondered whether their relationship with alcohol still counts as "social." The line isn't about how often you drink, it's about whether you're still in control of it. Here's what actually separates the two, why weekend-only drinking can still b...

12/08/2026

Kenya cannot close its mental health treatment gap through professionals alone.

We also need families, schools, workplaces, churches and communities that know how to recognise distress, respond appropriately and connect people with help.

In our latest article, we explore why community mental health matters, where Psychological First Aid fits, and what we learnt from bringing together more than 150 community leaders in Ngaru for mental health training.

The goal is not to turn communities into therapists.

It is to help communities become better at recognising, responding and referring.

Read: The Mental Health Gap in Kenya: Why Communities Must Be Part of the Response

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Kenya's mental health treatment gap cannot be addressed by professionals alone. Explore how informed communities, Psychological First Aid, primary care, referral pathways and professional services can work together to bring support closer to people.

10/08/2026

I’ve been thinking about the way some men respond when other men disrespect women. Is silence really just silence, or does it say something about friendship, loyalty, and accountability? I wrote about some experiences that made me question this.

To the men who see it and say nothing

10/08/2026

Most grief softens with time. Not in a straight line, but gradually, enough that life starts to feel liveable again.

For some people, it doesn't. Months pass, then longer, and the loss still feels as raw as it did in the first weeks. When grief gets stuck like this, it has a name: prolonged grief disorder, recognised in the ICD-11 as its own diagnosis, separate from ordinary grief and from depression.

It's not about grieving "too long" by some calendar. It's about intensity and functioning that hasn't shifted at all, regardless of how much time or communal support has passed.

Research suggests it affects roughly one in ten bereaved young adults in Kenya, similar to global rates. It's treatable, and getting support isn't a measure of how much someone was loved.

More on the signs, on our Grief & Loss Hub.

🔗 convo.africa/grief-and-loss/

Most grief softens with time, gradually, even while resurfacing at anniversaries. For some people, though, the intensity never eases. Here's what prolonged grief disorder actually involves, why the six-month mark matters, and how culture and community context shape what counts as "normal" mourning.....

10/08/2026

Why Psychological First Aid Matters: 7 Benefits for Everyday Life

LOOK LISTEN LINK Why Psychological First Aid Matters: 7 Benefits for Everyday Life Quick answer Psychological First Aid (PFA) teaches practical, non-intrusive support for people in distress, using the Look, Listen, Link framework. You don't need to be a therapist, it's a skill for parents, colleagues, teachers, faith leaders and friends. It's not therapy or diagnosis, it's about being a better first source of support and knowing when to refer someone on....

Discover 7 benefits of Psychological First Aid and how PFA skills can help you respond to distress with empathy, practical support and confidence.

06/08/2026

Would you know what to do if someone close to you was overwhelmed, grieving or emotionally distressed?

Most of us want to help, but we often don't know how.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) equips ordinary people with practical skills to support others with compassion, confidence and dignity. It isn't therapy. It's about recognising distress, listening without judgement and connecting people with the right support.

Our latest guide explores:
✔ What Psychological First Aid is
✔ The WHO Look, Listen, Link approach
✔ How PFA differs from Mental Health First Aid
✔ Why every parent, teacher, manager and community leader should learn these skills

Read the complete guide and discover why Psychological First Aid is becoming an essential life skill.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is one of the most valuable life skills anyone can learn. Discover the WHO Look, Listen, Link approach, understand how PFA differs from therapy and Mental Health First Aid, and learn how these practical skills help families, workplaces, schools and communities respond t...