Dr. Lily N. A. Kpobi is a renowned scholar and researcher specializing in mental health, cultural psychology, and health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. With a background in clinical psychology, Dr. Kpobi has made significant contributions to understanding the intersection of mental health and cultural factors within healthcare systems, particularly in Ghana and the broader African context. Her research delves into how cultural beliefs and practices influence mental health perceptions, treatment, and access to care.
Dr. Kpobi’s work is characterized by her commitment to improving mental health services, addressing stigma, and advocating for culturally sensitive approaches within public health frameworks. She has published widely on mental health topics in journals and collaborates with governmental and non-governmental organizations to develop policies and interventions that are culturally informed and accessible to diverse populations.
Her research also includes an exploration of the role of traditional and faith-based healers in mental health care, recognizing the influence of alternative healing practices on mental health care-seeking behaviors. Dr. Kpobi’s work continues to impact mental health policy and practice, with a focus on enhancing equitable and inclusive healthcare for marginalized communities.
Lkpobi@ug.edu.gh
Mental health, community health, disability, social exclusion and social justice, gender, child and adolescent (mental) health, cultural/social drivers of health, health information systems, climate and health issues
Articles in peer-reviewed journals
Mathias, K., Bunkley, N., Pillai, P., Ae-Ngibise, K. A., *Kpobi, L., Taylor, D., ... & Read, U. M. (2024). Inverting the deficit model in global mental health: An examination of strengths and assets of community mental health care in Ghana, India, Occupied Palestinian territories, and South Africa. PLOS Global Public Health, 4(3), e0002575.
*Kpobi, L., Read, U.M., Selormey, R.K., & Colucci, E. (2024). ‘We are all working toward one goal. We want people to become well’: A visual exploration of what promotes successful collaboration between community mental health workers and healers in Ghana. Transcultural Psychiatry, 61(1), 30-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634615231197998
Sodi, T., Abas, M., Abdulaziz, M., Amos, A., Burgess, R.A., Hanlon, C., Kakunze, A., *Kpobi, L., Lund, C., Mwangi, K.J., Mutiso, V., Sunkel, C., Yaro, P., & Arseneault, L. (2024). A research agenda for mental health in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Medicine, 1-2.
Ferazzoli, M.T. & *Kpobi, L. (2024). It takes a village: lessons from rural community mental health services in Ghana. Journal of Integrated Care Special Issue, 32(1), 52-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-07-2023-0057
Kong, C., Campbell, M., *Kpobi, L., Swartz, L., & Atuire, C. (2023). The hermeneutics of recovery: Facilitating dialogue between African and Western mental health frameworks. Transcultural Psychiatry, 60(3), 428-442. doi:10.1177/13634615211000549
Rose-Clarke, K. & Women in Global Mental Health Research Group. (2023). Gender (in) equity in global mental health research: A call to action. Transcultural Psychiatry, 60(3), 400-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634615231180376
Dzokoto, V. A., Osei-Tutu, A., *Kpobi, L., Banks, K. H., & Ryder, A. G. (2023). Representations of mental illness in a Ga community in southern Ghana. Journal of Black Psychology, 49(4), 435-465. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984231192141
Sneddon, J., Thompson, W., *Kpobi, L. N., Ade, D. A., Sefah, I. A., Afriyie, D., ... & Byrne-Davis, L. (2022). Exploring the use of antibiotics for dental patients in a middle-income country: Interviews with clinicians in two Ghanaian hospitals. Antibiotics, 11(8), 1081.
Sarfo, E.A., Yendork, J.S. & *Kpobi, L. (2022). Is the church a place of solace or frustration? An examination of the impact of contemporary Christianity on congregants of selected neo-prophetic churches in Ghana. Journal of Religion in Africa, 52(1-2), 146-169. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700666-12340219
Ned, L., Ohajunwa, C. & *Kpobi, L. (2021). Thinking about mental health and spirituality from the Indigenous Knowledge Systems frame of reference. Disability Studies Quarterly Special Issue, 41(4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v41i4.8450
Yendork, J.S., Amponsah, A., Sarfo, E.A., & *Kpobi, L. (2020). “The prophet says…”: A qualitative analysis of the mechanisms for inducing compliance among congregants of neo-Pentecostal churches in Ghana. Pastoral Psychology, 69(3), 249-266. doi:10.1007/s11089-020-00908-3
Yendork, J.S., *Kpobi, L. & Sarfo, E.A. (2019). Is contemporary Christianity promoting or hindering mental health in Africa? An exploration of the impact of charismatic church activities and doctrines on the mental well-being of selected Ghanaian congregants. Journal for the Study of the Religions of African and its Diaspora, 5(1), 50-68.
*Kpobi, L., & Swartz, L. (2019). Indigenous and faith healing in Ghana: A brief examination of the formalising process and collaborative efforts with the biomedical health system. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 11(1), a2035. doi:10.4102/phcfm.v11i1.2035.
*Kpobi, L., & Swartz, L. (2019). Indigenous and faith healing for mental health in Ghana: An examination of the literature on reported beliefs, practices and use of alternative mental health care in Ghana. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 11(1), a1941. doi:10.4102/phcfm.v11i1.1941.
*Kpobi, L., & Swartz, L. (2019). Ghanaian traditional and faith healers’ explanatory models of intellectual disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities (JARID), 32(1), 43-50. doi:10.1111/jar.12500
*Kpobi, L., Swartz, L. & Omenyo, C. (2019). Traditional herbalists’ methods for treating mental disorders in Ghana. Transcultural Psychiatry, 56(1), 250-266. doi:10.1177/1363461518802981
*Kpobi, L.N.A., & Swartz, L. (2019). Muslim traditional healers in Accra, Ghana: Beliefs about and treatment of mental disorders. Journal of Religion & Health, 58(3), 833-846. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0668-1
Salifu Yendork, J., Brew, G.B., Sarfo, E.A, & *Kpobi, L. (2018). Mental illness has multiple causes: Beliefs on causes of mental illness by congregants of selected neo-prophetic churches in Ghana. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 21(7), 647-666. doi:10.1080/13674676.2018.1511694
*Kpobi, L., Swartz, L. & Keikelame, M.J. (2018). Ghanaian traditional and faith healers’ explanatory models for epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior, 84, 88–92. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2018.04.016
*Kpobi, L., & Swartz, L. (2018). Explanatory models of mental disorders among traditional and faith healers in Ghana. International Journal of Culture & Mental Health, 11(4), 605–615. doi:10.1080/17542863.2018.1468473
*Kpobi, L. N. A., & Swartz, L. (2018). “The threads in his mind have torn”: Conceptualization and treatment of mental disorders by neo-prophetic Christian healers in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 12: 40. doi:10.1186/s13033-018-0222-2
*Kpobi, L., & Swartz, L. (2018). “That is how the real mad people behave”: Beliefs about and treatment of mental disorders by traditional medicine men in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 64(4), 309–316. doi:10.1177/0020764018763705
*Kpobi, L., & Swartz, L. (2018). Implications of healing power and positioning for collaboration between formal mental health services and traditional/alternative medicine: The case of Ghana. Global Health Action, 11:1, 1445333. doi:10.1080/16549716.2018.1445333.
*Kpobi, L., Swartz, L. & Ofori-Atta, A. (2018). Challenges in the use of the mental health information system in a resource-limited setting: Lessons from Ghana. BMC Health Services Research, 18: 98. doi:10.1186/s12913-018-2887-2.
*Kpobi, L., Sarfo, E.A. & Yendork, J.S. (2017). “I am here because of Christ and worshiping God”: Factors influencing religious switching among Ghanaian charismatic Christians. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 39, 295-311. doi:10.1163/15736121-12341342
Salifu Yendork, J., *Kpobi, L., & Sarfo, E. A. (2016). “It’s only ‘madness’ that I know”: Analysis of how mental illness is conceptualized by congregants of selected Charismatic Churches in Ghana. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 19(9), 984-999. doi:10.1080/13674676.2017.1285877
Dzokoto, V., Senft, N., *Kpobi, L. & Washington-Nortey, P.M. (2016). Their hands have lost their bones: Exploring cultural scripts in two West African affect lexica. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 45(6), 1473-1497. doi:10.1007/s10936-016-9415-5
Dzokoto, V., Opare-Henaku, A. & *Kpobi, L. (2013). Somatic referencing & psychologization in emotion narratives: A USA-Ghana comparison. Psychology & Developing Societies, 25(2), 311-331. doi:10.1177/0971333613500875
Books/Book chapters
Murray, K.E., Schweitzer, R.D, *Kpobi, L. & Kagee, A.S. (in press). Key issues, topics, and promising mental health practices. In K.E. Murray, R.D. Schweitzer, A.S. Kagee. & *L. Kpobi (Eds.). Mental health in diverse sub-Saharan African contexts: Challenges, opportunities, collaborations. Palgrave Macmillam
Murray, K.E., Schweitzer, R.D, *Kpobi, L. & Kagee, A.S. (in press). Introduction to the Handbook. In K.E. Murray, R.D. Schweitzer, A.S. Kagee. & *L. Kpobi (Eds.). Mental health in diverse sub-Saharan African contexts: Challenges, opportunities, collaborations. Palgrave Macmillam
Murray, K.E., Schweitzer, R.D, Kagee, A.S. & *Kpobi, L. (in press). Mental health in diverse sub-Saharan African contexts: Challenges, opportunities, collaborations. Palgrave Macmillam
*Kpobi, L., Peprah, J., Gyimah, L., & Attah, D.A. (2024). Culture, disability and global mental health. In L. Ned, K. Soldatic, M. Rivas, S. Singh & L. Swartz (Eds.). Routledge Handbook on Disability and Global Health. (pp. 477-492) Routledge.
*Kpobi, L., Asafo, S.M., Oti-Boadi, M., & Kpobi, D.N.A. (2023). Of personhood and being: Examining the place of spirituality in African personhood. In J. Osafo & C.S. Akotia (Eds.). Personhood, community and the human condition: Reflections and applications in the African experience. (pp. 48-64) Ayebia Clarke Publishing.
Asafo, S.M., *Kpobi, L., & Gavi, J.K. (2023). Personhood, mental health and health seeking behaviour. In J. Osafo & C.S. Akotia (Eds.). Personhood, community and the human condition: Reflections and applications in the African experience. (pp.127-146) Ayebia Clarke Publishing.
*Kpobi, L., Kwakye-Nuako, C., & Gyimah, L. (2023). Mental health law and practice in Ghana: An examination of the implementation of Act 846. In B.D. Kelly & M. Donnelly (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of Mental Health Law. Routledge
Yendork, J.S., *Kpobi, L., & Sarfo, E.A. (2020). Is contemporary Christianity promoting or hindering mental health in Africa? An exploration of the impact of charismatic church activities and doctrines on the mental well-being of selected Ghanaian congregants. In F.B. Nyamnjoh & J.A. Carpenter (Eds.). Christianity and social change in contemporary Africa: Volume One (pp. 81-112). Mankon, Bamenda: Langaa RPCIG. doi:10.2307/j.ctv12pnnq5.7
*Kpobi, L., Osei, A. & Sefa-Dedeh, A. (2014). Overview of mental healthcare in Ghana. In A. Ofori-Atta & S. Ohene (Eds.). Changing trends in mental health care & research in Ghana: A Reader of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Ghana Medical School. Accra: Sub-Saharan Press
2023 Publishing Qualitative and Visual Mental Health Research in Ghana and Indonesia. Funded by The British Academy International Writing Workshops grant (WW22\100194). Role: Co-Applicant.
2022 Developing a network for mutual learning on the potential of creative arts for mental health advocacy and activism in Ghana and Indonesia. Funded by UKRI/AHRC (AH/X009637/1). Role: Co-Investigator.
2022 Using film to engage stakeholders in Ghana and identify priority actions for mental health. Funded by AHRC Impact Fund/ ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. Role: Co-investigator
2022 Together to transform: a mutual learning platform to develop a social paradigm for Global Mental Health. Funded by King’s College London. Role: Collaborator
2019-22 Re-examining the ‘Global’ in Global Mental Health. Funded by Wellcome
Trust. Role: Co-investigator.
2021 The impact of COVID-19 on persons with psychosocial disabilities in Ghana
and Indonesia and priorities for inclusive recovery. Funded by AHRC GCRF
urgency grants scheme. Role: Co-investigator.
2020-21 Using participatory arts and community conversations to promote social inclusion for persons with mental illness in Ghana. Funded by KCL ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. Role: Co-investigator.
2020- Pan-African Mental Health Research Network. Role: Collaborator
2020 International COVID-19 Awareness & Response Evaluation Study (iCARE Study). Multi-country study with Montreal Behaviour Medicine Centre. Role: Collaborator.
2019-21 Oral histories of community mental health in Ghana. Funded by the Global
Challenges Research Fund. Role: Collaborator
2018-21 Using collaborative visual research methods to understand experiences of mental illness, coercion and restraint in Ghana and Indonesia Funded by AHRC/ESRC GCRF New Social and Cultural Insights into Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders in Developing Countries (ES/S00114X/1). Role: Postdoctoral research fellow.
2018-20 Frameworks of attitudes towards mental health disorders in contemporary Ghana. Funded by Oxford University Global Initiative for Neuropsychiatric GenEthics (NeuroGenE) Role: Collaborator
2016-17 Is Contemporary Christianity promoting or hindering mental health in Africa? The case of Ghana. Funded by Nagel Institute of Calvin College/John Templeton Foundation (2016-SS360). Role: Co-Principal Investigator
POPS604: Social Demography
POPS611: Qualitative Research Methodology
POPS614: Gender and Reproductive Health
POPS702: Advanced Qualitative Research Methods