Counselling Centre
मनस्त:
University life can be an exciting and fulfilling time, providing the students with a number of opportunities to acquire new skills and knowledge, and thereby is an important milestone in students’ life. However, adjusting to the new environment and managing academic along with personal demands may pose a challenge in different ways to different students. Usually confiding in family or friends may be seen as a good coping strategy but sometimes one may wish to seek help from mental health professionals and this is where the psychology department could play a major role through establishing a Counselling Centre. The Counselling Centre could be managed by the faculty of the psychology department along with the students which would be a learning experience for them as well.
The counselling cell thus, aims to provide help and support for students from diverse religious, cultural, ethnic, educational backgrounds. There are a wide range of concerns that students may need to deal with -- it academic, personal, emotional, family or peer related. A few such issues could include:
- Conflicts with identity, with oneself, one’s gender, as students undergoing major transitions and negotiating with different spheres of their life could face certain disillusionment.
- Issues with maintaining a positive body image, given the pervasive body shaming culture in media and society today
- Challenges related to drugs use
- Personal relationships with family as a source of stress for some students too, in the context of abuse at home
- Bereavement and grief issues due to losing loved ones
- Challenges of staying away from family and managing strenuous situations by oneself.
- Academic issues where students may find it difficult to handle the pressure of expectations for achievement and may struggle with issues such as time management.
- Need for vocational centred assistance, soft skills development and dealing with feeling of unpreparedness to face the organizational world.
These are just a small fragment of the issues that students may be actually facing and may not have an opportunity or a safe space to express their distress. Given that counselling facilities and spaces may be difficult for students to access and afford, the Counselling Centre would be one step in facilitating the process of growth and positive well-being.
Picture Credits: Harsh Raj (M.A. Psychology 2023-25)