DSEJ organizes online consultation meet of psychologists for ensuring mental health of students during COVID-19 Pandemic.
Jammu: Directorate of School Education Jammu, under the supervision and guidance of Ms. Anuradha Gupta, Director School Education Jammu,
organized an online consultation meet of psychologists to strengthen the
counselling services of the Directorate during COVID-19 pandemic with the sole aim of ensuring the stability of mental health and general well-being of students and staff in particular and the society in general.
Director School Education Jammu, Ms. Anuradha Gupta put the onus on the Counselling Cell of Directorate of School Education Jammu ( DSEJ) to devise strategies for ensuring fitness, emotional well-being and positive engagement of students during the ensuing lockdown. Clinical psychologists, counsellors, teacher counsellors attended this online consultation meet and provided their valuable suggestions.
In this meet, a host of issues were discussed and deliberated upon, including common emotional and behavioral reactions observed among the students, general people, people who are quarantined and infected during lockdown and post lockdown. Well-being and positive mental health of society at large during this crucial time was also discussed.
During the consultations, Mr. Romesh Kumar, incharge counselling cell DSEJ emphasised on mass reach out to students and engaging them during this lockdown period for ensuring their well-being.He called upon all the volunteer telecounsellors to be humane and passionate for helping students.
Keshav Sharma, Psychologist from Fortis health care talked about involving all the teachers in forwarding the mission. She also suggested incorporating WHO life skills modules for student engagement.
Dr.Surinder Nodal officer DSEJ home assignment guided all the telecounsellors about the DSEJ home classes while Brainpreneurs-CDC Jammu, team members emphasized on proper referral and follow-up of critical cases if any.
Various strategies were deliberated upon for mass outreach and engagement of students to ensure their positive mental health. Discussions were also held regarding publicizing tele counselling helpline “Aao Baat Karein”. It was also decided that flyers, pamphlets, material will be developed collectively for undertaking various counselling activities.
Deliberations were also held on how to regularly develop professional capacities of Counsellors.
Counsellors attending the meeting were of the opinion that pre-primary kids also need to be engaged through different activities and impetus needs to be laid on developing life skills among students in general and interpersonal skills amongst the teenagers in particular.
Fear about the well-being of members of family under current circumstances, boredom and loneliness and guilt of being a source of infection was also discussed. All the participants gave valuable suggestions for mass outreach so as to ensure right guidance and counseling services to others at this time of need.
