Counselling Cell

 

Counselling and Guidance cell Activities - 2024-25

Mental health is a crucial aspect of life. In the modern world, people face numerous stressors, especially the younger generation, who encounter various challenges such as academic pressure, relationship issues, behavioral problems, ragging in colleges, and career-related concerns. Professional students, in particular, lead a hectic academic life, which can significantly impact their mental well-being.To provide comprehensive support, having a counselor in every college is essential. For the past year and beyond, Ms. Siya V. K. serves as the college counselor, bringing extensive expertise in social work and mental health counseling. She holds an MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work from the Central Institute of Psychiatry and has a diverse background in student counseling, de-addiction therapy, and psychiatric social work. Her previous experience includes working as a counselor at institutions such as the Vimukthi Excise Department and Shraddha Wellness Centre.Ms. Siya V. K. is highly proficient in various therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Psychoeducation, Supportive Psychotherapy, multiple relaxation techniques, sleep hygiene techniques, problem-solving strategies, attention enhancement therapy, behavior therapy, activity scheduling, and counseling. Additionally, she is skilled in using various assessment tools to diagnose and address students' concerns effectively. With her expertise, she has established a strong rapport with students, providing them with the necessary tools to navigate their challenges. To ensure comprehensive mental health support, she has been appointed as a full-time counselor, making her services available to students throughout the week.

Annual report of the counselling cell
Dr. Jasila K. was appointed as the Convener of the Counseling Cell, alongside a dedicated team of faculty members, including Dr. Ansu, Dr. Manu V. Thottackad, Dr. Sindhu, Prof. Sreejith, Prof. Ranju K. V. and Prof. Subhija, on 30/8/24. These faculty members actively oversee the counseling services and support students in their well-being. A program titled "Introducing the Counselor" was conducted for first-year students in each department. This initiative, led by the Counselor and the Counseling Cell Convener, aimed to foster interaction between students and the counseling team. The "Introducing the Counselor" program served as an icebreaker to enhance communication between the students

and the Counselor. During these sessions, the Counselor engaged with first-year students to discuss key issues that could adversely affect their well-being, including stress management, mental health, drug addiction, relationships, exam anxiety, and social anxiety.In addition to her first year counselling sessions, the counsellor also visits second-year, third-year, and fourth-year students to address their concerns. These interactions provide an opportunity to understand the students' challenges more effectively and offer timely support. These sessions aim to equip students with practical coping strategies, emotional resilience techniques, and a supportive environment where they can openly discuss their concerns.
In each counselling session, a structured screening process is conducted to assess the students history and current concerns. For this purpose, a comprehensive case history format has been developed, ensuring a thorough evaluation of each student’s psychological and emotional well-being. The case history form includes sociodemographic details of the student, their expressed problems, medical diagnosis if any, history of the illness in present and past, their childhood history, provisional diagnosis and treatment plan. Considering the problem expressed and its severity structured assessment tools are used to diagnose the disorder. Conferring the assessment score and result the therapeutic modality will be designed and provided based on the need.The template of self-assessment is provided in Figure 1.

 

Students seek counselling individually, addressing a range of concerns; from academic challenges to personal issue. Common academic difficulties include poor concentration, lack of concentration, lack of interest in reading and learning new concepts. Many students struggle with completing assignments and record work on time, often finding themselves easily distracted during classes and self-study sessions. Time management issues further contribute to their inability to meet deadlines. A major concern among students is failure in university exams and the overwhelming burden of backlog papers. There are students who avail the counselling services just before the commencement of examination due to their anxieties about the same. Some of the students are facing difficulties when they are asked to present seminars in front of the class with the presence of their teacher.
Family issues and relationship challenges are significant concerns frequently raised by students during counselling sessions. Many students struggle with conflicts within their families, including parental pressure, lack of emotional support, single parenting andsudden demise of dear ones. In some cases, these issues create a sense of distress and emotional burden, making it difficult for students to concentrate on their academic activities. Relationship challenges are another major area of concern. Many students experience emotional distress due to breakups, possessive relationships, and toxic relationship dynamics, which can significantly impact their mental well-being.In addition to relationship concerns, some students experience social isolation within their peer groups or classrooms, leading to feelings of loneliness and exclusion. Many struggles with building friendships or fitting into social circles, which can further contribute to emotional distress and decreased confidence.Another sensitive issue that students bring up in counselling sessions is sexual orientation and identity-related struggles, including concerns about homosexuality and societal acceptance.
Substance use among college students is becoming an increasingly critical issue. Many students who develop dependency or severe addiction to substances often hesitate to disclose their struggles to their families, relatives, or teachers due to fear of judgment or consequences. However, through continuous support and the strong rapport built with the counsellor, some students feel comfortable enough to open up about their substance use and seek help. With regular follow-ups and personalized interventions, these students receive guidance to overcome their dependency. The counsellor provides counselling sessions, coping strategies, and behavioural interventions to help them regain control over their habits. In severe cases, where professional rehabilitation is necessary, students are encouraged to seek assistance from Vimukthicentre. Other reported significant issues of students are mobile addiction, increased anger outburst, poor decision making, inability to communicate effectively, issues in problem solving, sleep disturbances, etc.
The students are provided with different therapies and approaches. They are;therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, motivation enhancement therapy, psychoeducation, supportive psychotherapy, multiple relaxation techniques, sleep hygiene techniques, problem solving strategies, attention enhancement therapy, behaviour therapy, activity scheduling, and counselling.
Several assessment tools are used to diagnose the problem of the students. They are;BAI, BDI, Personality Assessment, Social anxiety scale, OCD scale, CDS, and SDQ
The students are asked to attend follow up sessions to ensure mental wellbeing and to note their improvement. 

 

Some engineering college students face mental stresses, mobile phone addiction, relationship issues, drug addiction, sleeplessness, and depression. Hence, necessary steps were taken, and a clinical Psychologist was appointed with an M.Phil. in Psychiatrist and social work utilizing the PTA fund. The counsellor had several years of clinical practice experience in counselling. This is done to ensure engineering college students' mental well-being.

Counsellor
Shejila B. K.

Convener
Dr Ansu V.

Classes are regularly organised by the Anti narcotic cell of the Kerala police to give awareness to the students about the dangers of substance abuse.

Counselling and Guidance cell Activities - 2023-24

Students face many mental stresses presently. Hence, a registered Mental Health Consultant was appointed with a 2-year full-time M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology or Psychiatric social work from a recognised university. She has several years of clinical practice experience in counselling. This is done to ensure engineering college student's mental well-being. A newspaper ad was floated, and the counsellor was appointed after interviewing many candidates. The counsellor who was enthusiastic, friendly, and had a positive attitude was selected. The counsellor is Siya V K. She is skilled in various therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, motivation enhancement therapy, psychoeducation, supportive psychotherapy, multiple relaxation techniques, sleep hygiene techniques, problem-solving strategies, attention enhancement therapy, behaviour therapy, activity scheduling, and counselling. She is also proficient in using various assessment tools to diagnose students' problems. She built a strong rapport with her students and gave them the tools they needed to overcome their challenges. The one-to-one counselling is going on four days a week in the dedicated counselling room on campus.

Annual report of the counselling cell
The counselling sessions for engineering students of Government Engineering College Kozhikode for this academic year are ongoing. The counsellor was introduced to each class of all the departments, so many students started approaching the Counselor for counselling services. Both B.Tech and M.Tech students from each department and from every batch are availing counselling sessions. The number of students consulting the Counselor for various mental health issues varies from day to day. Five to seven students are receiving counselling services and follow-up sessions each day.
A case history of the students will be taken in the first session, for which a structured case history format has been developed. The case history form includes sociodemographic details of the student, their expressed problems, medical diagnosis if any, history of the illness in present and past, their childhood history, provisional diagnosis and treatment plan. Considering the problem expressed and its severity, structured assessment tools are used to diagnose the disorder. Conferring the assessment score and result, the therapeutic modality will be designed and provided based on the need.
Reportedly, students are facing various mental health issues. Due to this, there has been a significant decrease in the academic performance of engineering students. So that the counsellor is providing an open space for all the students to talk to the counsellor about their problems without any hesitation or barriers. The counsellor always follows the principle of non-judgemental attitude and the principle of confidentiality towards the students and their problems to ensure quality mental health services.
The problems expressed by the students are diverse, and for each student, the therapeutic approach and strategies vary. There are numerous students approaching the counsellor to deal with their academic matters, such as poor concentration, memory issues while studying, lack of interest in reading and learning new theories, issues in accomplishing tasks, inability to complete assignments and records on time, easily distracted during classes and though studying. There are other students who used to approach the counsellor once the Examination Results were published. The main reason is due to failure in exams and the increase in the number of added supplementary papers they have. There are students who avail themselves of counselling services just before the commencement of the examination due to their anxieties about the same. Some of the students face difficulties when they are asked to present seminars in front of the class in the presence of their teacher.
Mood disturbances are common among the students. Many students used to meet the counsellor to deal with their mood swings and mood-related issues. Some of the students are having mild to moderate levels of depression. Those students are dealt with continuous therapy sessions at least once a week.
Substance use among college students is critically increasing nowadays. The students who have a dependency and are severely addicted to the substances are usually not ready to disclose it to their families, relatives, and teachers. Relationship issues and interpersonal issues are reportedly high among college students. The positive side of the students in our college is that they easily build rapport with the counsellor, which results in sharing their relationship and interpersonal issues with the counsellor without any reluctance.
Family issues are severely affecting the mental health of every student. The separation of parents, divorce of the parents, other marital issues among parents, single parenting, authoritarian parenting, and financial struggles of the family are making the students uncomfortable and impairing their overall mental well-being.The parents are also contacted by the counsellor and called upon for counselling sessions if needed.Due to work pressure, some faculty and office staff have also attended counselling sessions.
Other reported significant issues of students are porn addiction, mobile addiction, issues with studying which leads them to think about the discontinuation of the course, increased anger outbursts, poor decision making, inability to communicate effectively, issues in problem-solving, sleep disturbances, gambling, etc.
The students are provided with different therapies and approaches. They are therapeutic approaches, including cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, motivation enhancement therapy, psychoeducation, supportive psychotherapy, multiple relaxation techniques, sleep hygiene techniques, problem-solving strategies, attention enhancement therapy, behaviour therapy, activity scheduling, and counselling.