Counselling Cell

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.