Kerala Latin Catholic Dioceses’ Guidance & Counseling Service Providers’ Meet

Kerala Latin Catholic Dioceses’ Guidance & Counseling Service Providers’ Meet

St.Joseph’s Guidance and Counselling Centre      Bishop Jerome Institute Campus, Kollam, 691001

Dear Rev.Father/ Sister

Greetings from SJGCC, Diocese of Quilon!

            We are pleased to inform you that SJGCC (St.Joseph’s Guidance & Counseling Centre, Diocese of Kollam) is organizing an informal   Kerala Latin Catholic Dioceses’ Guidance & Counseling Services Providers’ meet on 3^rd May 2012 at SJGCC Hall, Bishop Jerome Institute Campus, Kollam. Meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Train timings of arrival & departure is given in the next page so that you may plan your journey.

The purpose of the meet is to bring counselors involved in counseling and guidance services, to share their experiences, challenges and identify community driven therapeutic approaches to deal with specific problems in our healing ministry. Being the first meet each representative of a Counseling Centre is encouraged to make a presentation in the meeting. LCD projector will be provided for those who wish to use the same. Please bring your brochures and related public awareness materials for display if any. Participation of lay persons involved in the services is most welcome.

To meet the expenses a registration fee of Rs.100.00 per participant will be collected.

Please feel free to contact us if you require any further information regarding this meet. Please confirm your participation by calling us on 0474-2745691 or 9497534141. If you can please sent us a brief report in advance to sjgccentre@gmail.com. Kindly pass this mail to persons involved in this service in your Diocese.

Contact person:

Mr.Bijo Joseph

Counselor, SJGCC, Kollam

Mob: 9497534141

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

Rev.Dr.Jose Puthenveed

Director, SJGCC

Tentative Program

Arrival & registration (9 am)

Meeting : 10.a.m.

Agenda

Prayer Song

Welcome

Self Introduction

Tea break

Presentation of activities of Counseling Centres

(PowerPoint presentation facilities will be provided)

Lunch break

Group Discussion

Departure: 3.45 pm

Train Timings From Kollam R. Station

Arrival 

Trivandrum-Vanchinad   -   8.15 am

Trivandrm-Intercity         -   8.40 am

Mumbai-Kanyakumari     -  8.50 am

Departure

Nizamudeen          - 3.20 pm

Gandhidam            - 4.20 pm

Banglore                 - 5.10 pm

N.B.

Please get down at railway station and take any bus going towards Kannanellore and get down at Chemmamukku stop. From there you can see BJI campus. Paying minimum fare you can take an auto. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

10^th May 2012

Dear Friends,

All Kerala Latin Catholic Diocesan Counselling Services’ providers meet held on May 3, 2012 at St. Joseph’s Guidance and Counselling Centre, Bishop Jerome Institute Campus, Kollam, Kerala deliberated on various psychosocial issues affecting the Latin Catholic communities from the perspective of guidance & counselling services’ providers. It was resolved at the meeting that the recommendations be communicated among the diocesan bishops, generals and provincials serving the Latin Catholic communities. I am happy to send you a copy of the recommendations.

Thanking You,

Yours Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Jose Puthenveed

Director, St. Joseph’s Guidance & Counselling Centre, Kollam

Recommendations to Latin Catholic Church Hierarchy, Generals & Provincials.

Introduction

The world we live in is marked by violence, suicide, skyrocketing divorce rates, abortion, domestic violence…and the list can go on and on. And it builds on itself and perpetuates a cycle of abuse and despair. In Kerala, divorce rates are alarmingly increasing; we see its reflection in the catholic community with daily more and more petitions filed in marriage tribunals. So also Alcoholism is taking a toll on lives, breakdown of family, relationship, disease, domestic violence, neglect of women and children. Studies done in a few dioceses indicate a significant increase in suicide rates and religious communities are not exempt from these tragedies. Among school children many psychosocial problems are unattended due to lack of professionally trained counsellors.The youth in our community are falling victims to porn addiction, substance abuse besides alcohol. Many of our people are suffering from

stress - related problems and depression. People suffer internally, but do not know where or whom to turn to for help.

The participants recognized the good work done by many priests and sisters and lay people in the guidance and counseling services in the Dioceses but expressed univocally that they are just a drop in the ocean of maladies people suffer from. This pressing and urgent need has called us forth to come together today, the 3^rd of May, 2012. Impelled by the urgency and the need of the hour to respond to our people’s wide range of social, emotional, behavioural, mental health or family problems, we the participants in today’s meeting representing the Latin Catholic Counselling Services Providers would like to make the following recommendations:

1)      Start Centres with proper infrastructure facilities and professionally trained personnel for counselling and guidance services.

2)    Promote a network of counselling service providers in the Latin Dioceses of Kerala and to enable them to share and exchange their particular resources and expertise.

3)     Encourage religious congregations serving the Latin Dioceses to develop Counselling Centres of their own with qualified professionals.

4)  Enourage schools, hospitals situated in the Dioceses to open up counselling services with professionally trained hands and to have an on-going program involving principals, teachers and parents.

5)      Encourage priests and religious men and women to create awareness among people on the need of seeking help from Counselling Centres.

6)      Initiate community diocesan mental health programs at parish level by training BCC Educational & Social Samithi leaders with necessary skills to tackle most of the problems at the local level under the supervision of Diocesan Counselling Centres.

7)      Organize follow-up counselling sessions for couples who have attended pre-marital courses after a year.

8)      To include “hands-on” field experience of life under supervision of Guidance and Counselling professionals during the formation of future priests and nuns in school counselling & family counselling services, conducting awareness programmes, research and evaluation.

******************************************

VAZHITHIRIVU -2012

VAZHITHIRIVU – 2012

Under the auspices of St. Joseph’s Guidance and Counseling centre, Kollam, a two day’s motivational and guidance program for children and adolescents were organized at the Counseling centre. The first day’s program was held on 25^th April from 9.00 A.M. to 4 P.M. for children studying from 5^th to 8^th standard. On the second day, i.e.,26th April, the program was organized for students of 9^th  to 12^th standard.

The Director of the centre, Rev. Dr. Jose Puthenveed inaugurated the programme and SJGCC psychotherapists: Mr. Bijo Joseph, Dr. Sindha H. Mendez, Mr. A.G. Maxwell, Mr. John P. Fernandez, Ms. Poonam Fernandez, Dr. Biju Terrence and Mr. Saju animated the sessions and interacted with the participants. Abilities and talents of were encouraged. Shortcomings in the mental health field were tested scientifically and therapy suggested.

Thangum Thanalum: A project for school children at risk:

Consultation Meeting for Child Deveopment Practitioner's Training (CDP)

27^th January a Consultation Meeting  for Headmasters/ Headmistresses was held at SJGCC  at 2 P.M on Training Program to be initiated for the 5^th Standard teachers of Catholic Corporate Management, Diocese of Quilon .

This meeting was inaugurated by Rt.Rev.Msgr.K.J.Jesudas, Vicar General Diocese of Quion. Mr.Anso Cabot, Correspondent, Catholic Corporate Management, Diocese of Quilon welcomed the Headmaster/Headmistresses and Rev.Dr.Jose Puthenveed did the presentation of the project: Thangum Thanalum in power point presentation. Some scenes  from the meeting.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONER' TRAINING

 29-31 May 2012

CDP Training was held at TRNITY LYCEUM School, Kollam from 29-31 May 2012.

Msgr.K.J.Jesudas Vicar General inaugurated the training program. Teachers of 29 school participated in the training. Over 70 teachers attended.

News paper report of Malayala Manorama 01-06-12

UNARVU Kollam Jilla Panchayat Project

Training for retired teachers and team leaders for Unnarvu: Kollam Jilla Panchayat project of early identification of Psycho-physical disabilities and intervention pilot program for school children was inaugurated on 10^th January 2012 at 10.30 A.M. at St.Joseph’s Guidance & Counselling Centre, Kollam. 

Fifth standard children of one Government School in each Panchayat are selected for the pilot project. This project is to be completed in the academic year March 2012.

SJGCC has collaborated with Kollam Jilla Panchayat in preparing the project proposal and undertook the task of training the retired teachers selected for the project. SJGCC has ventured into this people oriented project after the successful initiation of Student Assistance Programme (SAP) in Trinity Lyceum and Vimalahridya ICSE schools in Kollam District.   

This unique project is first of its’ kind in the State of Kerala. SJGCC is glad that its slogan : “Early identification and early intervention”, is accepted and implemented by the Jilla Panchayat of Kollam District in collaboration with us.

SJGCC has also the track record of training around 2500 school teachers in early identification and intervention of psycho-social problems of school children in and out of Kerala State. 

SJGCC has also initiated a project for the fifth standard children of all the aided schools under the Corporate Management of Catholic Schools, Diocese of Quilon, Kerala. Training program for the teachers and retired teachers   is to begin during April –May 2012. This project named “Thangum Thanalum” will be implemented in the schools from 2012 academic year.

Transformative Leadership Program

Formation of religious communities has become a central concern of the Church. The document of Congregation for Catholic Education  says, “Formation to religious life and ministry requires certain abilities as well as moral and theological virtues, which are supported by a human and psychic -  and particularly affective - equilibrium, so as to allow the subject to be adequately predisposed for giving of himself in the celibate life”.

Kerala Church is facing problems one after another:  problems of alleged homicide and women abuse related to clergy, suicides among religious women in the Church. The document of Congregation for Catholic Education, A Guide to Formation in Priestly Celibacy, (para 4) recognizes that “errors in discerning vocations are not rare, and in all too many cases psychological defects, sometimes of a pathological kind, reveal themselves only after ordination to the priesthood. Detecting defects earlier would help avoid many tragic experiences.” In this challenging context an honest evaluation of our formees and if needed an effective psychotherapeutic intervention is of paramount importance. In some cases awareness and skill development is necessary. SJGCC  with its unique resources called  a consultative meeting to identify the key areas of  collaboration.   The first meeting was held on 24th Tuesday 11 A.M. at SJGCC, Kollam.   Several Women Religious Congregations came together and shared their concerns.  Transformative Leadership Programs will be initiated shortly.