Dr Madhurini Vallikad, Clinical Psychologist from St Joseph College, Bangalore, who was the guest speaker of a webinar on Mental Health and College Students organised by the Student Well-Being and Peer Counselling Committee St John College, Dimapur, on October 10.
Dimapur, October 11 (MExN): To commemorate World Mental Health Day, educational institutions across Nagaland held various webinars to raise awareness on mental health issues and remove the stigma attached to mental health.
In St John College, Dimapur, on October 10, a webinar on Mental Health and College Students was organised by the Student Well-Being and Peer Counselling Committee with over a hundred students from Nagaland and Assam participating in the programme.
Updates from the college informed that Peter Banks, Adminstrative Head of St John College, gave a welcome address where he highlighted the meaningfulness of the programme in the current context.
Professor ST Janetius, Principal, in his inaugural address, is said to have highlighted that mental health helps an individual to realise his or her own abilities, to cope with the normal stresses of life, and to work productively and to contribute to his or her community. He exhorted the students to focus on the positive aspects of well-being in their life.
Guest speaker for the day, Dr Madhurini Vallikad, Clinical Psychologist from St. Joseph College, Bangalore, highlighted the various aspects of student life that need special attention to mental health. She advised students to talk, share among friends and peers, help those in need of such assistance, the updates stated.
She also gave practical guidelines to cope with various stressful and depressing situations of student life. She gave special reference to Nagaland and its culture and the family set-up to highlight the various needs and how to solve them.
Sumita Banik Saha, the convener of the programme, gave the vote of thanks and certificates were given to the participants after a small quiz on the webinar.
St Joseph University Dimapur: To commemorate the day, the Department of Psychology and Counselling, St Joseph University Dimapur organized a webinar on the theme ‘Mental health for All: Greater Investment Greater Access.’
According to a press release received here on Sunday, Dr Mareena Susan Wesley, Assistant Professor of Christ University, Bangalore, was the speaker.
The speaker emphasized that the current pandemic situation has only impacted people’s mental health negatively.
Issues on increasing rates of suicide in India, increasing number of domestic violence towards women and children, etc., were discussed, the release said.
Dr Wesley highlighted how governments and policy makers have neglected investing to combat a mental health issue which is on the rise especially in India. There is a huge gap in the ratio of mental health professionals and treatment seekers, she lamented. She concluded policy makers should take notice of the need to invest in this area and make mental health care accessible to all.
As per the press release, the session was attended by 147 participants from 17 different institutions, colleges, researchers and mental health professionals from India and the US.
