Mangalore : Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a humane, supportive response to a fellow human being who is suffering and who may need support.It is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster immediate and long term adaptive functioning and coping. It involves the following 7 themes: Assessing the needs and concerns, helping with basic needs, Listening, Comforting, Providing with social support, Protecting from further harm, Providing practical care and support.
It involves people of all ages, including children. Present children and adolescents belong to ‘z’ generation (born between years 2000-2019). They are fruits of digital evolution. Technology and social networking is in their finger tips. Most of the parents and teachers find it hard in parenting and guiding them. As this generation is abrept with technology, they find it hard to keep themselves away from the technological devices. They are born with technology and also live with technology. At times, the guidance, inputs and corrections of parents and teachers doesn’t help them and may have adverse effects on them. The educational policies too discourage the traditional forms of guidance and corrections. There are generational differences, behavioural problems, psychological and emotional difficulties in present day children and adolescents. Parents and teachers have hard times in understanding them, which makes difficult to guide them and in turn create a lot of stress both in children and parents/teachers. Certain amount of assistance may enable teachers, animators, and parents to equip with skills to identify, assess and guide in psychological needs and developmental hazards of our children.
Being aware of the changing times, technological advancements, psychology of ‘z’ generation and the herculean task of guiding the present day adolescents, Shanthi Kiran Counseling Centre, Mangalore, a unit of diocese of Mangalore started to organize the workshop of PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID for teachers of Higher Primary and High Schools since 2015. It has helped the teachers to equip the skills to guide the present day children and adolescents. It has created ripples and received a very positive response from parents, teachers and educational institutions. When the workshop initiated in 2015, it was held at the weekends in 3 levels. The workshop shed light on psychology, Generational differences, xyz generations, Management of classroom behavioural problems, counseling skills, and soft skills to deal with the children.
This year the workshop is held in two levels in two batches at the week-ends. The first level is in the months of July-August and the second level in November.
The first batch of Workshop was inaugurated by Msgr Maxim L. Noronha, Vicar General of Mangalore Diocese. He asked the participants to give attention in guiding the present day children and adolescents. Fr. Arun Lobo, Director of Shanthi Kiran Counseling Centre spoke on the changing times of today, differences between the present ‘z’ generation with the olden ‘x’ and ‘y’ generations and the their psychology.
In the afternoon session, Sandra Sunitha Lobo, Associate professor and Head Department of Psychology, School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya Mangalore spoke on Developmental phases of an individual. As the person grows from infant to adolescent he/she has different phases and the hazards are reflected in the behaviour of the adolescents. Significant persons like parents, guardians and teachers need to attend such symptomatic behaviours and guide the children
On the second day the theme was on "Classroom Management of behaviour of Students ". Addressing on the topic Roshan Monteiro, Assistant professor, Department of Social Work, St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, guided the teachers to identify and assess the situations of the students. Fr. Assisi D,Almeida, director of Sandesha spoke on the need of paying attention on the legal issues pertaining to the statutes Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) while dealing with the children.
