Abstract

The mental health and well-being of single working mothers is a pressing concern that warrantsattention and support, as they often face unique challenges that can impact their self-esteemandvulnerability to depression. This study examined the efficacy of Narrative Therapy (NT) andSolution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) in enhancing self-esteem and alleviating depressionamong single working mothers in Lagos, Nigeria. Two null hypotheses guided the studyandaquasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design was adopted to carry out the study. 45participants (30 participants for experimental groups and 15 participants for the control group)were selected from three Local Government Areas. The instruments for data collectionare: Working Mothers Questionnaire (WMQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies DepressionScale (CES-D) was used to measure the participants' levels of depression while RosenbergSelf-Esteem Scale, was used to assess the participants' levels of self-esteem with reliability indicesof0.89, 0.90 and 0.88 respectively. The descriptive statistics of percentage was used to describethedemographic factors of the respondents; while the inferential statistics of Analysis of Co-Variance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses. Both Narrative TherapyandSolution-Focused Brief Therapy significantly reduced depression levels and improvedself-esteem among single working mothers while Narrative Therapy demonstrated a greater reductionin depression levels and a more significant improvement in self-esteem compared to SFBT. Thestudy recommended the need for accessible, affordable, and culturally sensitive mental healthservices to support single working mothers.