The Department of Home Science in association with Maithri Foundation Trust, Kochi, organized a workshop on ‘Coping with Stress : Strengthening Student Capabilities’ on 30th October 2018. Maithri is a non-governmental organization working for suicide prevention in Kerala. The talk was given to the II B.Sc.Home Science students.
The first session was on ‘Emotional Distress among Adolescent Children’ by Dr. C.J. john, which explained about the stress in our daily life and its ill effects that may affect our later lives.
The next session by Adv. Litto Palathingal was on ‘Crisis Intervention and Listening’. The session emphasized on the importance of listening as a communication skill. Suicide is the intentional act of killing oneself. In many cases, suicide can be prevented. Up to 75% of the people who have attempted suicide do something to let us know their intentions before they act. Their behaviour changes in a notable manner, they show warning signs and often say something that tells us they are in trouble and need help. One of the ways to help identify suicidal thoughts and ideas is to be an active listener.
The third session was in ‘Blocks in Communication, Prejudices, Confidentiality, and Referral’ by Mr. Rajesh. The session focused on the various aspects of counselling. Group discussions and interactive role plays were arranged by Mr.Paulson, Ms.Meera and Ms. Cynthia. The students were divided into groups and the activity helped them to differentiate between various emotions.
Overall, the workshop gave an opportunity to understand various aspects of emotional problems and ways to deal with it effectively.