‘Campus Counseling’Desk — Aiming At Teen Personality Development
By SAR NEWS
MANGALORE, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) — The changing times have made teenage risky for children and students. It is at this age that they are prone to different elements that may make their personalities complicated and sickly. So they need to be counseled and guided to develop a healthy personality.
Aiming at achieving this growth is a new concept of ‘Campus Counseling’ being executed in educational institutions, especially high schools, pre-university and graduate and colleges.
The Pastoral Institute of the Diocese of Mangalore in collaboration with Shanthi Kiran Counseling Centre has successfully completed training the first batch of eleven counselors for ten months (from June 2009 to March 2010). Most of the trained counselors have been appointed ‘Campus Counselors’ in different educational institutions of the undivided South Kanara District like Shirva, Udupi, Padua, Urva and Bendure, as full-timers. Now, the training institutes are ready with more experience and interest to train the second batch of counselors.
The training titled ‘Campus Pastoral Counseling Course’ is aimed at forming Campus Counselors and ministers who can accompany the students during their critical life journey on the campus. He/she would be a person with sound spirituality, fair knowledge of human sciences, Christian doctrines and good values who would help the student to be a balanced personality.
There are 11 faculty members and 8 visiting lecturers. Dr. Lawrence Mendonca, Dr. Premanand, Dr. Lovina Noronha, Dr. J.B. Saldanha, Dr. Stany Goveas, Father Vincent Monteiro, Father Roque D’Sa, Father Boniface Pinto, Father Vijay Victor Lobo, Sister Carmelita UFS, and Rolphy Mascarenhas are the members of the faculty.
The training includes sixty-five credits with 975 hours of theory and practice. While just 345 hours are used for the theological subjects, 630 hours are used for psychology and counseling. They have been supported through audio/video recordings, verbatim transcriptions and evaluations by the supervisors.
While the course includes psycho-spiritual subjects like Pastoral Theology and Ministries, Social Analysis and Skills, Theology, Scriptures, Catechetics and Moral Science, Media and Technical Arrangements, an emphatic thrust is on Psychology and Counseling in the student situation. It would include elements like meaning and scope of counseling; process, skills and systems of counseling; ethics and dynamics of group counseling; principles and opportunities of career counseling, etc. Special credits have been included with regard to trauma and care, CISD; mass media, its effects and best use; substance abuse, pornography and related problems; effects of migrant families and single parents on the youth and students.
According to Father Vincent Monteiro, the course coordinator and director of the Pastoral Institute, negotiations are on to affiliate the training centre to Martin Luther Christian University based in Meghalaya. He hopes the official Certificate of Diploma would be soon given by the University. The training of the second batch would begin on June 15, 2010. More details can be had from the Pastoral Institute at 0824-2223877 / 2225177.)
