Dimapur, July 22 (MExN): A total of 16 peer counsellors selected for the new academic year along with some teaching and non teaching staff attended training programme for the counsellors organised by the Students' Well-Being and Peer Counselling (SWPC) Committee of St. John College (SJC), Dimapur on July 17.
Administrative Head of SJC, Peter Banks in his welcome address highlighted the importance of having a committee of this nature in the institution and further discussed the stigma associated with mental health.
Prof. ST Janetius, the college principal and a member of SWPC Committee, thereafter, highlighted the history of peer counselling and the reasons behind its introduction in the college.
Another committee member and Assistant Professor of Economics Sumita Banik Saha also shared on the responsibilities of a peer counsellor.
Among others, the responsibilities included helping with the orientation of new students, helping students with disciplinary issues, helping students facing academics related problems, she added.
The guest speaker for the evening, Asha Thapa, a post graduate student of psychology of Lovely Professional University and a SJC alumna, shared her insights on how to be a better peer counsellor.
She also spoke about body language and manner of speaking that a peer counsellor must assume while performing his/her role and the importance of maintaining confidentiality while performing their role.
This was followed by Q and A session in which the doubts of the peer counsellors were cleared by the speakers, inforemd a press release from the college.
