The introduction and development of psychology in Ethiopia has been mainly limited to Addis Ababa University in the capital city, and also to educational and school psychology which was highly influenced by the field of education at this pioneering university. Similarly, mental health services have been principally developed at the Amanuel Mental Hospital in Addis Ababa that has existed since the 1950s. However, the expansion of higher learning institutions on one hand, and the apparent growing prevalence of mental illness on the other, seem to have contributed to the development of both mental health training and services in other regional cities and towns. Although the influence of the education-oriented psychological training of the Addis Ababa University is still present, clinical psychology education and services are now being started in other universities. One of these is the master's programme in clinical psychology opened for the first time in the University of Gondar. This article sheds light on the development of psychology in Ethiopia and addresses some of the issues raised about the factors that have influenced its development such as traditional beliefs, poverty and comparisons between mental health in lower middle-income countries and higher middle-income countries (Uppal et al., 2014). The paper also proposes future directions for the education, research, infrastructure and services of clinical psychology and mental health in Ethiopia.
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