WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY (OCT 10TH, 2020) REPORT

BE A FRIEND IN CRISIS –EMPOWERING ABUSE VICTIMS”

DEPARTMENT OF HOME SCIENCE
ST.TERESAS COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS) ERNAKULAM

Introduction

The Department of Home Science and Centre for Research conducted webinar as part of World Mental Health Day on 10th October 2020 in collaboration with Maithri Suicide Prevention Helpline. A talk was organised and the topic selected was “BE A FRIEND IN CRISIS –EMPOWERING ABUSE VICTIMS” by Adv. Litto Palathingal, trustee of Maithri Foundation, Suicide Prevention Helpline.

Summary

The webinar started at 3 pm on October 10th, 2020, Saturday. There were 75 participants for the webinar. The programme started with a welcome address by Tessa Dominic, a student of 2nd M Sc. Child Development. Adv. Litto Palathingal was warmly invited for the talk on empowering abuse victims. He started with an example and asked the participants how they will react when faced with a difficult situation. It was a very informative talk where he focused mainly on the importance of listening and communicating with the abuse victims.

Two main types of victims were also discussed –lonely victims and strong responsive victims, some who share their distress with others and some who do not. He stressed how important it is to respect and assure a victim’s ‘confidentiality, privacy and anonymity’ which is very uncommon in our society. The importance of assuring the victims that ‘we will not judge you’ was also emphasized by the speaker. He also emphasized to improve the strength of relationships, focus on being non- judgemental and to break the condition of loneliness in others. He also stressed on the importance of listening to the worries and troubles of school children. Because they are the ones who will be left alone in today’s busy life.

Conclusion

The session came to an end by 4 pm. It was very informative and worthy. The participants were allowed to ask their queries. The speaker explained briefly about the functioning of Maithri Foundation, Suicide Prevention Helpline. After the interaction, a video on mental health awareness created by the students of 2nd M Sc.Child Development was released by the speaker. At the end of the webinar, participants were asked to attend a quiz.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Share This Story,

Published On: October 11th, 2020Categories: Cochin news, college news, Home Science Activities