The year was 1993 and business was going well for James Gibbs and his family. The founder and former managing director of Protective Systems and Alarms Limited was pulling in new contracts from major companies worth big bucks when he began to yearn for more knowledge about God and the Bible.

"I went back to my roots and decided that I wanted to study theology because I grew up in the Church," the now middle-age Reverend Dr Gibbs said, recounting his early days in Stewart Town, Trelawny, where he grew up.

It was a far cry from his previous studies which had taken him to what was, in his time, the College of Arts, Science and Technology, now the University of Technology, where he studied electrical engineering. He then went on to Wilmington, Wisconsin, where he earned another degree in systems engineering and worked while providing consultancy support in a number of Caribbean countries.

Gibbs returned to Jamaica and started his business in 1980 and, after many years of challenges, it seemed business was picking up, as well as his spiritual sensibilities.

"I had just won some of the largest contracts in the island, contracts that I had been trying to get for years. I worked for companies such as Alpart, Cable and Wireless, Jamaica Public Service; but, I think maybe I felt that I had achieved my objectives," he explained. "I needed to work with people," he said. "I just felt that call."

This urge to work with people eventually led him into full-time ministry, although it was never an objective when he decided to pursue theology.

On a mission

After completing his studies in 2002 at Columbia University, Georgia, in the United States, Gibbs was offered and accepted a ministerial post from the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. His ministry with the church afforded him opportunities to work with the underprivileged. He worked with young people in Grants Pen, a volatile inner-city community, where he was called upon to use the tools that led him to his current mission.

"I started working with people who really could not afford to see a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist," the trained psychotherapist and clinical supervisor explained. He had received his psychotherapy certification as a requirement of his theological studies, and received further training as a clinical supervisor at Matanzas University in Cuba.

"What you do as a psychotherapist is to help the individual to find their strengths and when you help the individual to find their strength, you then encourage the person to be able to use their own strength to renew themselves," he said.

Two-part model

In 2006, he embarked on a two-part business model that would offer psychotherapy to help people in the same respect. The first part of the plan would allow people access to qualified therapists for a minimal fee by telephone. He sought sponsorship from a utility company to assist with subsidising the cost of the calls.

They were upbeat about the project but declined to support it until he rolled out the second phase of his business model which would provide the service to corporate companies. Gibbs, however, needed financing to accomplish his objective, and sought funds from JN Small Business Loans Limited.

He received a low interest loan from the microfinance company in January of 2008, and immediately set up an office in New Kingston using the name Sajirah Psychotherapy and Chaplaincy Services.

Frank Whylie, general manager of JNSBL, said the organisation decided to assist the venture with a loan because it had the potential to offer a wealth of benefits.

"What we saw was a business with the potential to develop the individual, while increasing efficiency and productivity in organisations; and this is the type of venture we like to support," Whylie said. "Dr Gibbs had a sound business plan that showed exactly how the business would achieve its goals."

Gibbs is currently working with five corporate companies, and is negotiating with other interested companies. He offers support to human resource departments by counselling staff undergoing mental or emotional stress.

Responsive to therapy

"Many people are walking around with mental illnesses. There is a wide cross section of Jamaicans who need this kind of service," he noted, underscoring that local studies confirm that depression and substance abuse are the main cause of mental illnesses in Jamaica.

Clients have been very responsive to his therapy, he said, and many are able to function more efficiently in their respective organisations.

"I have never had an individual needing to come back to the programme, hence, it has been working," Gibbs said.

He wants to expand his services soon and return the business to its original concept of offering the public access to affordable therapy. He also wants to provide support to the educational sector in the future, particularly guidance counsellors in public schools. He said he would be seeking another loan from JNSBL to assist with this expansion of his business.

"Psychotherapy is important, but first, we still need to understand the benefits of it," he said.