Dr. Nick Santos talked about the difficulties mental patient faces in developing countries.

Mental health is becoming an increasingly demanding medical intervention in developing countries, with the apparent switch from the domination of infectious diseases to those of non-communicable nature. Unfortunately, most health systems in African countries still lack the infrastructural and expert capacity to handle the growing number of mental cases requiring medical care. Furthermore, mental health awareness is very low, with blames being put on witchcraft. As a result, most patients end up being abandoned to themselves; an outcome which almost always precedes death. With the increasing need for intervention to remedy the situation, one US-trained Mental health Professional is taking the lead and facing the challenge to make a difference in his native Cameroon. Dr Nick Santos and his organization that goes by the acronym APPSCAM has conceived a project to provide mental health services to the Cameroonian public and thereby contribute to helping the mentally ill in the country regain their health and dignity and be re-integrated into society. Men of Tastes caught up with him and below are some excerpts of his exclusive interview.

WHO IS DR. NICK SANTOS?
I am a Clinical and Counseling Psychologist and Psych Doctor resident with a Master’s in counseling psychology from Chicago School of Professional Psychology and Capella University.

WHAT'S APPSCAM ALL ABOUT?
Appscam is a clinical foundation or association for awareness and treatment of mental Patients in Cameroon.  Appscam also helps in therapy with terminal disease patients of HIV and cancer. This is to alleviate them from their trauma and provide them healthy education. For pregnancy women we also try to help them in prenatal and postnatal Counseling. Those are still areas of human and life span development that can shape individuals mental health.

WHAT MADE YOU YOU TO COME UP WITH A WONDERFUL INITIATIVE?
That is my field of training in the United States and I can't serve people in the diaspora without thinking of the neglect and ignorance in this field in my own homeland. So I decided to give back my knowledge and training to my people. Recently, there’s an increasing number of Cameroonians going naked on the streets and many more committing suicide due to mental issues. It's time for intervention. The answer to this is Appscam.

TELL ME ABOUT A CHALLENGE OR CONFLICT YOU FACED IN LIFE AND HOW YOU DEALT WITH IT?
The greatest challenge I had was when my uncle with whom I was living went mad while I was a student in the University of Yaoundé. Everyone said he was cursed or had joined a sect. I challenged them and took him to Centre Jamot (then lone psychiatric hospital in Cameroon). He was put on some medications that calmed him down for some time and he regained his full capacity. That was when I started thinking not all the beliefs about mental illness are true.

WHERE DO YOU SEE APPSCAM IN FIVE YEARS?
In the next five years, I plan to extend appscam to four regional headquarters in Cameroon namely Douala, Bamenda, Garoua and Yaoundé. The full-fledged and equipped clinic shall be based in Kumba where I already bought a piece of Land for construction of the Clinic. The other areas will be functioning as Outpatient units with serious cases being transferred to our intensive care unit in Kumba.

ARE YOU MARRIED? IF YES HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU HAVE?
I have been married for fifteen years and have four children in all in the USA. Three were born in Cameroon and I moved them over to the USA in 2009, then we had another child.

IS THIS YOUR GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT?
I consider my greatest professional achievement to be my doctoral research in Aro Psychiatric hospital in Abeokuta Nigeria. This is the World’s health research center for mental illness as you may know. My research is on Challenges of Assertive Community Treatment in Schizophrenia Patients in Nigeria. It provided great results and paved the way for the model of treatment that Appscam will use. In simple terms, our treatment model shall be that of combination or holistic medicine treatment model of both Western psychotherapy, pharmacology and local existing approaches that have worked for the continent. Madness is not only acute madness, its anything psychological that affects body image, self esteem, self worth, feelings, emotions, physical image and mindset apart from brain neurotransmitters damage. Our war soldiers are often victims of pstd, major depression, suicide, and psychopathic behaviors form horrors in the battlefield. Appscam has to reach out to this population also.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?
Travelling, teaching and storytelling.

WHAT MECHANISMS DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION USE TO OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE?
We have a facebook page for Appscam. Our emails are nsanto100@gmail.com or nsanto@capellauniversity.edu  We have phone hotlines in Cameroon and in the USA for patients to call or future patients and clients alike. Our website is under construction. Appscam works with general disabilities including marrital and family counseling, career assessment, intellectual school and career competence, children with autism, divorce issues and premarital counseling and many other areas.

CRTV renowned journalist of the program Hello and Cameroon InOutFront named Elmer Nene Shadzeka Jimla was on mission in USA and covered famous Cameroonians in Diaspora and I was fortunate to be one.
She returns to Cameroon mid June and by end of the month my interview should be on air on CRTV.

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK THAT YOU READ RELATED TO YOUR WORK OR ORGANIZATION?
I have read countless books related to my field. The best books relevant to this field are books on psychopathology and psychopharmacology. The diagnostic and Statistical manual of the American Psychiatric Association is the bible in our field of studies. And for psychopharmacology we have the Handbook of Psychopharmacology for therapists by John D. Preston.

LASTLY, WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGH?
My Zodiac sign is Gemini