Researchers from Western countries have studied how adolescents seek help, displaying that many young people are apathetic towards seeking professional counselling. However, using Western samples to highlight the common help-seeking behaviours (HSBs) of adolescents has significantly created a gap in the literature amongst members of indigenous communities in Northeast Nigeria. The literature is yet to understand the dynamics that help promote the HSBs of learners in public secondary schools in the community. Differently, previous studies have been delimited to learners as samples, thus discounting validations by school counsellors and managers. This study employed the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) technique for twenty-four student samples and in-depth interviews with four teacher-counsellors and four in-school administrators to explore the phenomenon of study in a real-world context. Using NVivo 10 software to analyse participants’ data corpus, the study has generated five emergent themes, namely: (i) Responsibility; (ii) Communalism; (iii) Value and belief norms; (iv) Counselling management in schools, and (v) Multicultural biases. As recommendations, the study suggests the need for counsellors to be multiculturally versatile—be aware of cultural interfaces and implications on counselling relationships as much as build linkages—advocacies, collaborations via the school Parents Teacher Association (PTA) and honour confidentiality in counselling.

• Aga Mohd Jaladin, R. (2013). Barriers and challenges in the practice of multicultural counselling in Malaysia: A qualitative interview study. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 26(2), 174-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2013.793046

• Alhomaizi, D., Alsaidi, S., Moalie, A., & Muradwij, N. (2018). An exploration of the help-seeking behaviors of arab-Muslims in the US: A socio-ecological approach. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 12(1), 19-48. https://doi.org/10.3998/jmmh.10381607.0012.102

• AlHorany, A. K. (2019). Attitudes toward help-seeking counseling, stigma in Arab context: A systematic literature review. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 15, 160-167.

• Ali, O. M. (2016). The Imam and the mental health of Muslims: Learning from research with other clergy. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 10(1), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.3998/jmmh.10381607.0010.106

• Al-Krenawi, A. (2016). The role of the mosque and its relevance to social work. International Social Work, 59(3), 359-367. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872815626997

• Alunga, A. A., & Anovunga, I. A. (2017). Traditional guidance and counselling: A case study of Bongo-Gurigo traditional area in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Research Journali’s Journal of Education, 5(12), 1-17.

• Arifin, S. R. M. (2018). Ethical considerations in qualitative study. International Journal of Care Scholars, 1(2), 30-33. https://doi.org/10.31436/ijcs.v1i2.82

• Asiimwe, R., Lesch, E., Karume, M., & Blow, A. J. (2021). Expanding our international reach: Trends in the development of systemic family therapy training and implementation in Africa. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 47(4), 815–830. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12514

• Balasubramaniam, V. C. (2019). Focus group discussions. In R. N. Subudhi & S. Mishra (Eds.), Methodological issues in management research: Advances, challenges, and the way ahead (pp. 93-108). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78973-973-220191007

• Balogun, O. M. (2012). Cultural and cosmopolitan: Idealized femininity and embodied nationalism in Nigerian beauty pageants. Gender & Society, 26(3), 357-381.

• Bejanyan, K., Marshall, T. C., & Ferenczi, N. (2015). Associations of collectivism with relationship commitment, passion, and mate preferences: Opposing roles of parental influence and family allocentrism. PloS one, 10(2), Article e0117374. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117374

• Blair, L. J. (2015). The influence of therapists’ spirituality on their practice: A grounded theory exploration. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 15(3), 161-170. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12015

• Bojuwoye, O., & Moletsane-Kekae, M. (2018). African indigenous knowledge systems and healing traditions. In S, Fernando & R, Moodley (Eds.), Global Psychologies, (pp. 77-98). https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95816-0_5

• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

• Camara, M., Bacigalupe, G. & Padilla, P. (2014). The role of social support in adolescents: Are you helping me or stressing me out? International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 22(2), 123-136. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2013.875480

• Campbell, P., & Wilson, J. (2017). Palagi counsellors and effective counselling practice with Pasifika youth. New Zealand Journal of Counselling, 37(2), 90-102.

• Chan, S., & Quinn, P. (2009). Secondary school students’ preferences for school counsellors to be of the same ethnic origin as themselves. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 9(3), 210-218. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733140903031101

• Choudhry, F. R., Mani, V., Ming, L. C., & Khan, T. M. (2016). Beliefs and perception about mental health issues: A meta-synthesis. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 2807-2818. https://doi.org/ 10.2147/NDT.S111543

• Cooper, M. (2006). Scottish secondary school students’ preferences for location, format of counselling and sex of counsellor. School Psychology International, 27(5), 627-638. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034306073421

• Cornish, M. A., & Wade, N. G. (2010). Spirituality and religion in group counseling: A literature review with practice guidelines. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(5), 398-404. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020179

• Courcy, I., & des Rivières-Pigeon, C. (2021). ‘We’re responsible for the diagnosis and for finding help’. The help-seeking trajectories of families of children on the autism spectrum. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43(1), 40-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13184

• Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. (3rd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.

• Dahir, C. A., Cinotti, D. A., & Feirsen, R. (2019). Beyond compliance: Assessing administrators’ commitment to comprehensive school counseling. NASSP Bulletin, 103(2), 118-138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636519830769

• Deb, S., & Strodl, E. (2018). Quality of life and spirituality in Indian university students. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 14, 393-408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9602-7

• Doody, O., & Noonan, M. (2013). Preparing and conducting interviews to collect data. Nurse Researcher, 20(5), 28-32. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2013.05.20.5.28.e327

• Duan, C., Nilsson, J., Wanga, C-C. D. C., Debernardi, N., Klevens, C., & Tallent, C. (2011). Internationalizing counselling: A Southeast Asian perspective. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 24(1), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2011.558253

• Elliott, V. (2018). Thinking about the coding process in qualitative data analysis. The Qualitative Report, 23(11), 2850-2861. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3560

• Emelifeonwu, J. C., & Valk, R. (2018). Employee voice and silence in multinational corporations in the mobile telecommunications industry in Nigeria. Employee Relation, 41(1), 228-252 https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2017-0073

• Etikan, I., & Bala, K. (2017). Sampling and sampling Methods. Biometrics & Biostatistics International Journal, 5(6), 215-217. https://doi.org/10.15406/bbij.2017.05.00149

• Farrugia, L. (2019). WASP (Write a Scientific Paper): The ongoing process of ethical decision-making in qualitative research: Ethical principles and their application to the research process. Early Human Development, 133, 48-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.03.011

• Federal Republic of Nigeria. (1987). National Policy on Education. Lagos: NERDC.

• Federal Republic of Nigeria. (2004). National Policy on Education. Lagos: NERDC.

• Federal Republic of Nigeria. (2014). National Policy on Education. Lagos: NERDC.

• Fietzer, A. W., Mitchell, E., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2018). Multicultural personality and multicultural counseling competency in counselor trainees. Counselor Education and Supervision, 57(2), 82-97. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12095

• Goss, S., & Adebowale, O. (2014) Counselling and guidance in Africa. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 42(4), 353-358. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2014.918363

• Gustafsson, J. (2017) Single case studies vs. multiple case studies: A comparative study. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1064378/fulltext01.pdf

• Hallouch, N. (2018). British indirect rule and Islam in Northern Nigeria (1900-1940). PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 4(2), 249-267. https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2018.42.249267

• Hamilton, A. B., & Finley, E. P. (2019). Qualitative methods in implementation research: An introduction. Psychiatry Research, 280, Article 112516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112516

• Hays, K. & Lincoln, K. D. (2017). Mental health help-seeking profiles among African American: Exploring the influence of religion. Race and Social Problems, 9, 127-138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-017-9193-1

• Huey, E. L., Sayler, M. F., & Rinn, A. N. (2013). Effects of family functioning and parenting style on early entrants’ academic performance and program completion. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 36(4), 418-432. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353213506066

• Ibrahim, S. (2015). A binary model of broken home: Parental death-divorce hypothesis of male juvenile delinquency in Nigeria and Ghana. Violence and Crime in the Family: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences, 9, 311-340. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1530-353520150000009014

• Knight, K., Gibson, K., & Cartwright, C. (2018). “It’s like a refuge”: Young people’s relationships with school counsellors. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 18(4), 377-386. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12186

• Kotlaja, M. M. (2020). Cultural contexts of individualism vs. collectivism: Exploring the relationships between family bonding, supervision and deviance. European Journal of Criminology, 17(3), 288-305. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370818792482

• Lam, W., Fowler, C., & Dawson, A. (2016). The approaches Hong Kong Chinese mothers adopt to teach their preschool children to prevent influenza: a multiple case study at household level. BMC Nursing, 15(51), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-016-0172-4

• Lau, A., & Takeuchi, D. (2001). Cultural factors in help-seeking for child behavior problems: Value orientation, affective responding, and severity appraisals among Chinese-American parents. Journal of Community Psychology, 29(6), 675-692. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.1042

• Lazarus, S., Baptiste, D., & Seedat, M. (2009). Community counselling: Values and practices. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 19(3), 449-454. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2009.10820314

• Lloyd-Hazlett, J., Moyer, M. S., & Sullivan, J. R. (2018). Adolescent risk-taking behaviors: When do student counselors break confidentiality? Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/23727810.2017.1381934

• Manderson, L. (2010). Social capital and inclusion: Locating wellbeing in community. Australian Cultural History, 28(2-3), 233-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/07288433.2010.585516

• McIntosh, M. J., & Morse, J. M. (2015). Situating and constructing diversity in semi-structured interviews. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 2. https ://doi.org/10.1177/2333393615597674

• McKenzie, K., Murray, G. C., Prior, S., & Stark, L. (2011). An evaluation of a school counselling service with direct links to child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) services. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 39(1), 67-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2010.531384

• MerçonVargas, E. A., Lima, R. F. F., Rosa, E. M., & Tudge, J. (2020). Processing proximal processes: What Bronfenbrenner meant, what he didn’t mean, and what he should have meant. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 12(3), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12373

• Moore, E., & Llompart, J. (2017). Collecting, transcribing, analyzing and presenting plurilingual interactional data. In E. Moore & M. Dooly (Eds.), Qualitative approaches to research on plurilingual education, 403-417. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2017.emmd2016.638

• Novek, S., & Wilkinson, H. (2019). Safe and inclusive research practices for qualitative research involving people with dementia: A review of key issues and strategies. Dementia, 18(3), 1042-1059. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301217701274

• Ohaja, M., Murphy-Lawless, J., & Dunlea, M. (2019). Religion and spirituality in pregnancy and birth: The views of birth practitioners in Southeast Nigeria. Religions, 10(82). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10020082

• Okocha, A. A. G. (2015). Counselling in Nigeria. In T. A. Hohensil, N. E. Amundson, & S. G. Niles. Counselling Around the World (pp. 41-46). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119222736.ch5

• Oluwatosin, S. A. (2014). Sociocultural factors in client-counsellor self-disclosure in Nigeria, Africa. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 42(4), 403-409. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2014.891000

• Omoniyi, M. B. I. (2016). History and development of guidance and counselling: The missing dimension of Nigeria school counselling services. International Journal of Education and Research, 4(11), 413-424.

• Pandya, S. P. (2017). Teachers’ views on spirituality for adolescents in high schools across countries. Pastoral Care in Education, 35(2), 88-110. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2017.1290132

• Parameswaran, U. D.,Ozawa-Kirk, J. L., & Latendresse, G. (2020). To live (code) or to not: A new method for coding in qualitative research. Qualitative Social Work, 19(4), 630-644. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325019840394

• Parker, J. S., & Hanson, P. (2019). School stakeholders do not “just leave their religious beliefs at home”: An exploratory study of school psychologists’ professional experiences. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 9(1), 88–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2019.1666441

• Pryce, J., Napolitano, L., & Samuels, G. M. (2017). Transition to adulthood of former foster youth: multilevel challenges to the help-seeking process. Emerging Adulthood, 5(5), 311-321. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696816685231

• Reid, J. G., Cunningham, C. E., Tobon, J. I., Evans, B., Stewart, M., … Brown, J. B. (2011). Help-seeking for children with mental health problems: parents’ efforts and experiences. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 38, 384-397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-010-0325-9

• Robinson, O. C. (2014). Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: A theoretical and practical guide. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11(1), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2013.801543

• Rossetto, K. R. (2014). Qualitative research interviews. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31(4), 482-489. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407514522892

• Rowe, S. L., French, R. S., Henderson, C., Ougrin, D., Slade, M., & Moran, P. (2014). Help-seeking behaviour and adolescent self-harm: A systematic review. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(12), 1083-1095. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867414555718

• Sakız, H., & Sarıçalı, M. (2019). Paradigmatic challenges in school counselling: Correlates and reflections on practice. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 29(1), 69-81. https://doi.org/10.1017/jgc.2018.23

• Schenk, L., Sentse, M., Lenkens, M., Engbersen, G., van de Mheen, D., Nagelhout, G. E., & Severiens, S. (2018). At-risk youths’ self-sufficiency: The role of social capital and help-seeking orientation. Children and Youth Services Review, 91, 263-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.015

• Senyonyi, R. M., Ochieng, L. A., & Sells, J. (2012). The development of professional counseling in Uganda: Current status and future trends. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90(4), 500-504. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2012.00062.x

• Seo, Y. S. (2010). Individualism, collectivism, client expression, and counselor effectiveness among South Korean international students. The Counseling Psychologists, 38(6), 824-847. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000009359947

• Sorsa, M., Kiikkala, I., & Åstedt-Kurki, P. (2015) Bracketing as a skill in conducting unstructured qualitative interviews. Nurse Researcher, 22(4), 8-12. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.22.4.8.e1317

• Taherdoos, H. (2016). Sampling methods in research methodology: How to choose a sampling technique for research. International Journal of Academic Research in Management (IJARM), 5(2), 18-27. http:// doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3205035

• Tavory, I. (2020). Interviews and inference: Making sense of interview data in qualitative research. Qualitative Sociology, 43, 449-465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-020-09464-x

• Tharbe, I. H. A., Sumari1, M., Ng, K-M., Razak, N. A. A., & Amat, S. (2020). Emotional intelligence from the perspectives of Malaysian helping professionals: A qualitative study. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 28(4), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.28.4.03

• Tufford, L., & Newman, P. (2010). Bracketing in qualitative research. Qualitative Social Work, 11(1), 80-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325010368316

• Varpio, L., Ajjawi, R., Monrouxe, L. V., O’Brien, B. C., & Rees, C. E. (2017). Shedding the cobra effect: Problematising thematic emergence, triangulation, saturation and member checking. Medical Education, 51(1), 40-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13124

• Zhang, X-D., Luk, S. C. Y., Han, Y-H., Chen, G-R., Zhang, G-L., Zhu, B-S., & Luchters, S. (2019). Ethical considerations for conducting sexual and reproductive health research with female adolescents engaged in high-risk behaviours in China. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 20, 46-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srhc.2019.02.005