New Indian Express Report on Porn Addiction Study

New Indian Express News:

More than 80 percent of high school students exposed to porn, says study

By Aneesh M Das | ENS - KOLLAM

30th July 2013 10:01 AM

When it comes to pornography addiction, most parents are under the false impression that their children keep a safe distance from the addictive visuals. Most often parents and teachers remain unaware of the pornographic content their children were exposed to or the sources through which they gain access to it.  

A recent study conducted jointly by city-based St Joseph’s Guidance and Counselling Centre and the counselling psychology students of Marin Luther Christian University (Meghalaya) among the high schools students in the district revealed that more than 80 per cent of the students were exposed to porn, among which 13.5 per cent were seriously addicted. The study covered 750 high school students from six schools in the district among which 143 were girls. Among the 750 students, only 146 were never exposed to porn.

While around 502 were ‘lightly’ affected with the craving for porn content, 88 students were ‘seriously’ affected, 11 ‘severely’ affected and three ‘chronically’ affected. The exploratory study, which covered four schools in the city and two schools in rural areas of the district, including government, aided and private schools, found that porn addiction rate does not relate to the location of the schools, gender, religion and syllabus or medium of instruction in the school. The study calls for intervention of parents, teachers and school authorities to save the children from addiction to porn, which can affect their behaviour and studies.

Director of St Joseph’s Guidance and Counselling Centre, Rev Jose Puthenveedu, who guided the study, said that students in the seriously-affected, severely-affected and chronically-affected categories require urgent professional awareness and psychotherapeutic intervention.

“Awareness should also be generated among lightly-affected students as they might fall for more porn content in future,” he said. According to Jose Puthenveedu, there is an urgent need for the parents and teachers to turn tech savvy.

 “Parents should be able to monitor the use of computers and gadgets that can be used for viewing porn. Overnight use of  mobile phones should also be restricted. Most often students get exposed to the porn website from internet cafes they visit under the pretext of preparing academic projects,” he said.

Computerized Psycho Therapuetic intervention

On August 8th 2013 Computerized PsychoTherapuetic intervention program was inaugurated by Rev.Dr.Jose Puthenveed, Director,  SJGCC, Kollam

Porn Addiction Seminar

Awareness Seminar on Porn Addiction among students

27^th July, 2013

Venue : St. Joseph’s Guidance and Counseling Centre (SJGCC), Quilon

Students in their developmental stage experience not only many academic challenges but psycho-social problems.  St. Joseph’s Guidance and Counseling Centre through a professionally qualified team of counseling psychologists have been addressing the needs of the students who have been psycho-socially marginalized.

With the therapeutic success in the treatment of social phobia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, exam phobia, learning disability, academic backwardness,   the study of pornographic addiction was undertaken by SJGCC as it became a problem to be reckoned with in counseling.

Pornography can create a powerful biochemical “rush” in the user. Body chemicals, such as serotonin, adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine are at play creating a euphoric state in the user. Teens who experience this biochemical thrill will, not surprisingly, want to experience it again. From this standpoint, it is helpful to see pornography not as just a social issue, but as a drug because the addictive mechanism is clearly part of the danger when teenagers habitually use pornography.

Some of the negative consequences of porn addiction include modeling and imitation of inappropriate behaviors; unhealthy interference with normal sexual development; emotional side effects (including nightmares, and residual feelings of shame, guilt, anxiety and confusion); stimulation of premature sexual activity; and the development of misleading and potentially harmful attitudes towards sex.

Porn has also been associated with sexual addiction, trouble with respecting boundaries, relationship and attachment problems, aggressive patterns of acting out sexually, the depersonalization of woman (and now men and children), irritability, depression, and loss of integrity, social isolation, neglecting important areas of life, personality disorders, out of control emotions, out of control behaviors, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and high-risk sex . Viewing explicit materials increases your acceptance of self-focused sexual behaviors that are casual and not relationship-focused and not affectionate.

It is important to be aware of the prevalence, dangers of porn addiction and its adverse effects on the brain and important areas of the addict’s life. The impact on marriages and families is immense, and it starts when people are teens. 

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.