Leading With Purpose: Dr Charity Waithima Champions Mental Health, Education, And Community Service
Dr. Charity Wangui Waithima is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology and the Chair of the Psychology Department at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is also the Coordinator of the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology Program. She holds a PhD. in Clinical Psychology, a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Daystar University, and a Bachelor of Education (BEd. Science) from Kenyatta University. She is a mental health consultant and a Ministry of Health licensed practicing psychotherapist.
She is a highly motivated researcher and educator with broad teaching, research, assessment, and administration experience. She has held various senior administrative positions in various universities, such as Chair of Department, Senior Assistant Registrar, University Examinations Officer, Lecturer, and Senior Lecturer, in addition to other teaching positions in various institutions of learning for the last thirty-five years. She has attended many local and international conferences and presented papers. Her research interests are in Addiction Studies, Adolescent Psychology, and Biological Psychology.
Dr. Waithima has also been involved in curriculum development and review at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She has supervised to completion over twenty-five post-graduate theses/dissertations at both Master’s and Doctoral levels. She has published many articles in refereed journals, published a book on adolescent substance use prevention, and co-published book chapters on family conflict leading to divorce, one on mental wellness during the Covid-19 pandemic & Online Learning, Instruction, and Research in Post-Pandemic Higher Education in Africa. She has also contributed to several manuals on mental health and Counseling.
She is a mental health consultant engaged in conflict management and behavior change. She is the current Head of Department of the Counseling Ministry at the Christ is the Answer Ministries (CITAM) Church- Ngong, Kenya. Dr. Waithima is actively involved in consultancy and community service, offering psychosocial support to institutions and organizations, which intensified with the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020. She was among the consultant psychologists who were called upon to support major organizations such as Kenya Airways, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), churches, institutions of learning, county governments through the County Government Service Boards and other institutions to offer debriefing, training and psychosocial support to employees and communities during and after the covid 19 pandemic and later offer psychosocial support and education for change management. Dr. Waithima is constantly consulted and featured as a mental health expert on various local and international media outlets via TV, radio, and print media.
Dr. Waithima has also been involved in psychological training, counselor supervision, and personal therapy. She is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), World Council for Psychotherapy, Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association, the Kenya Psychological Association, and the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP). She also serves as a certified professional family mediator accredited by the Kenya judiciary. She serves on various advisory boards on matters of education and mental health. She is also involved in the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC) Faith Technical Working Committee.
