Claim: There are only three psychologists in Liberia.
Verdict: Correct, Liberia has only three psychologists.
Full Text: Dr. Fracien Chenoweth Richardson, a Spoon FM panelist, claimed on February 17, 2024, that Liberia has three psychologists.
The claim is here: one hour, sixteen minutes, and fifty-one seconds.
Liberia, as a developing country, has been plagued by two civil wars spanning almost 15 years.
Communicable and noncommunicable diseases are widespread and put a strain on Liberia’s national health system and socioeconomic infrastructure, impeding the country’s recovery.
As an example, the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak exposed Liberia’s inadequate healthcare resources, sowing doubt in the ability of Liberia’s health system to respond to the country’s many other healthcare challenges, including the significant shortage of resources for Liberia’s population suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders (SUD).
The dearth of mental health clinicians has overwhelmed and demoralized the few mental health professionals available to serve Liberia’s population and this has further exacerbated the burden on Liberia’s national health system to provide adequate mental health services for its population.
To advance mental health system reform, Liberia’s government developed a national mental health policy, most recently revised in 2009.
Verification: The Stage Media contacted Madam Chenoweth-Richardson and she denied making the claim: “I did not report this, I said, as far as I knew, there was one psychologist, Dr. Harris. The guest on the show, Dr. Sia, said there are three. Go watch the show.”
We again looked at what she said: “I am concerned about the credentialing process of nurses and the licensure process. I am a psychologist in training. I believe there are only three psychologists in Liberia and I think there is an expert that is needed in Liberia.”
It is a fact that Dr. Sia Wata Camanor, former Chief Medical Officer of John F. Kennedy, appeared on the show with Madam Chenoweth-Richardson and confirmed that Dr. Harris has retired but didn’t call the number of psychologists in Liberia.
We then contacted the Liberia Medical and Dental Association, and a former head of the secretariat, Dr. Moses Ziah, confirmed that Liberia has three psychologists.
Conclusion: Although Dr. Chenoweth-Richardson denied making the claim, her claim that there are three psychologists in Liberia is true.
