Dr. Elizabeth Anokyewaa Sarfo Fordjour is a clinical psychologist licensed by the Ghana Psychology Council. She is the counsellor for the College of Engineering, KNUST. Dr. Fordjour holds a Doctoral degree in Psychology from Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Prior to pursuing her doctoral degree, she bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Music and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Ghana.
Dr. Fordjour is a family woman who is married with two children. She started working at KNUST after earning her doctoral degree. She was always intrigued by how human behaviour develops and loved interacting with people. She felt that she would work better in a people-oriented job.
As the College of Engineering counsellor, Dr. Fordjour provides psychological services such as psychotherapy, psychological assessment, referrals, counselling, and psychoeducation for students, staff, and the dependents of staff within the College of Engineering and the university.
Counsellor Elizabeth helps students with their academic challenges by assisting them in drafting personal learning schedules and goals, as well as helping them identify their career paths.
Her experience as an academic counsellor reveals that educational, financial, relational, and emotional difficulties are the most significant challenges affecting engineering students. She urges financially burdened students to apply for scholarships and bursaries, such as the Ketewa Biara Nsua and KNUST bursaries available to students.
Dr. Fordjour reveals that the emergence of video conferencing applications and other technological advancements has enabled counsellors to increase accessibility and reach individuals all over the globe without geographical barriers. She also stated that the Counselling Centre under DoSA, in collaboration with UITS, developed an app that allows students to interact with the counsellors online, thereby increasing accessibility for students and staff.
Her workload is very demanding as a college counsellor, mother, and wife. She takes short breaks during the day to wind down and uses a schedule planner to help organise her activities.
Dr. Fordjour advises students to be curious and practice problem-solving as engineering addresses societal challenges. She also stated the importance of managing their time well to reduce the stress and demands of academic courses. She added that students should take issues relating to their psychological well-being seriously and learn soft skills that complement their engineering knowledge.
She addresses the issue of diversity, inclusion, and equity by being open to interacting with students from all backgrounds and identities without any judgments.
Dr. Elizabeth Anokyewaa Sarfo Fordjour’s offices can be located on the first floor of the Bamfo Kwakye Building (Aeroplane Building) and in Room 7A of the Directorate of Student Affairs' J Harper Building in the Commercial Area.
