Counselling Done Right

The Department of Psychology, Women's Christian College, started an online counselling service, exclusively for students of WCC during the pandemic, to establish a connection with students who need counselling and guidance.

The online counselling service was launched to help students who needed an outlet to release their emotions during this difficult time. The team of therapists included three professors from the Psychology department and six professional counsellors from the alumni of WCC. The professors were given a schedule of two hours per day for two days a week, since they were also handling online classes, while the alumni handled the rest. The standard procedure to meet a counsellor requires the individual to fill a form and schedule an appointment in advance. The sessions begin from 2 to 8 pm every day, where the counsellors spend a minimum of fifty minutes on each individual, which helps the students to gradually open up without a time constraint or worrying about the next class on their schedule.

Online counselling resolved several challenges faced by both counsellors and the individual during a physical session. Time spent with each student was considerably more when compared to the time spent in face-to-face sessions. It solved the problem of not being able to enter the physical counselling centre due to various constraints, as everything was organised online and anonymity was assured. Under normal circumstances, the college counsellor has to cater to the needs of all students, and this can be a daunting task, whereas the online counselling centre solved this problem too. Now, students can choose from a panel of counsellors, and if one person is busy, they can opt for another professional.

The Psychology Department also conducted an online counselling awareness program for students who faced tremendous mental health issues because of COVID-19 pandemic. They conducted the awareness program for the second and third-year students of Shifts 1&2. The awareness program received valuable feedback: 46% of students rated the awareness program to be informative and beneficial. 99% of the students found the program to be well organized and 51% of the students hoped to avail the online counselling services.

Editors: Sahana Mira and Aurelin Ruth