As part of their internship programme, final year students of the MA Wellness Counselling Department, Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho, Panaji have been offering free counselling sessions. NT BUZZ learns more
RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT BUZZ
In these difficult times we all need help coping with our realities at some point or the other. And, since face-to-face sessions might be difficult right now, the MA Wellness Counselling Department, Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho, Panaji brings counselling services, free of charge, to your screens.
Having commenced from May 31, the sessions are confidential and this service is open to all individuals from all age groups. Anyone experiencing emotions like anxiety and stress is welcome to reach out to
them.
Excerpts from the interview with faculty at MA Wellness Counselling Department, Nirmala Institute of Education, Brian Pacheco.
Q. Tell us about the mental health initiative started by the MA Wellness Counselling Department, Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho, Panaji, and what’s the objective behind it?
The COVID-19 pandemic which has plagued us for over a year has been hard on a lot of us. Hence, the MA Wellness Counselling Department of Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho, Panaji, came up with the idea of reaching out to people seeking counselling services. The final year students of the programme provide online counselling sessions free of cost to those wishing to avail the same. The service is open to persons of all ages and is being offered in English, Konkani, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. The counselling services offered are confidential and are offered via video calls or voice calls depending on the client’s preference and availability. The sessions are being supervised by the faculty to ensure that clients receive the best possible services.
Q. Given that you can’t observe non-verbal cues like body language, are these online sessions as effective as offline sessions?
Online counselling sessions may be slightly limited since the counsellor may not be able to see the entire frame of the client. Nonetheless, at this current time when people are reluctant to leave their homes except when it is crucial, online counselling is likely to be the most accessible mode. Besides this, a few clients are reluctant to meet a counsellor in person, especially if they have had no prior experience with counselling. This makes them more likely to opt for online sessions. Another advantage of online sessions is that your physical location does not become a barrier. Currently, we have clients seeking our counselling services across the country.
Q. How has the pandemic affected people’s mental health and sanity? Why is there an ever-growing need for people to talk about what they’re going through instead of bottling it up?
The pandemic has created a huge mental health crisis across the board. Besides being boxed up in their homes, cut-off from their usual support system of friends and relatives, several individuals are facing grief from the loss of their loved ones to COVID-19. Many have lost their jobs and livelihoods due to the lockdowns. Having to spend days on end in the house with one’s family also has the potential of creating tensions among family members. It becomes necessary in such situations to have someone to talk to, discuss one’s issues and be able vent out to.
Q. Not everyone is comfortable with the online medium. Have you derived a way to reach out and help these people?
Individuals who are uncomfortable with video calls can opt for voice calls for the counselling sessions. Unfortunately, at this point of time we are not offering in-person counselling keeping the safety of students and clients in mind.
Q. What are some of the major issues people want to talk about or have been facing during this time of crisis?
A lot of clients have been seeking help for issues they are facing in their personal lives, whether it is to do with issues with family members, romantic partners, or friends. Students facing the stresses of online education also form part of our clientele. Working individuals have also been struggling with job losses, pay-cuts and working from home and the work-home imbalance it creates. Loss of loved ones has been hard on many who are struggling with grief and the unexpectedness of the death. Our students are trying their best to help people with some of the above.
Q. Everyone wants to live a fulfilling life. How are you enabling people to do that by overcoming obstacles and how has the response been so far?
At MA Wellness Counselling, we believe that counselling shouldn’t be a go-to option only when one develops mental issues or when one has problems. The goal of wellness counselling is to help all individuals live fulfilling lives. Hence, a person may seek counselling even to better themselves and live more optimally to their
potential.
Students have been trained in a variety of approaches in counselling (Person-centred, Gestalt, Cognitive Behavioral, Individual therapies among others). They have also been trained in specific areas of counselling such as school counselling, marriage counselling, grief counselling, and others all within a positive psychology framework that emphasises the recognition and further development of the client’s strengths to help them overcome the obstacles they face.
Q. How can one participate in these sessions?
To sign-up for the counselling sessions clients will have to fill in their request on a Google Form using the link: https://forms.gle/
aYA3rrgbmJecR1wY9. Once the request for the session has been received, they will be assigned to a student counsellor who will contact them to fix an appointment at a time convenient to them.