Mangalore: ’Campus Counseling’ - a New Desk in Educational Institutions

By Fr Francis Rodrigues, Raknno

Mangalore, 07 June 2010: The modern and post-modern changes of the times have made the teenage a risky age for the children and students. It is at this age that they are prone to different elements that may make their personalities complicated and sickly. Being so, at this age they are to be counseled well and guided into a proper growth of the personality. As to do this, a new concept of ’Campus Counseling’ is being executed into the teenage educational institutions especially high schools, pre-university centers and colleges. Traditionally these type of desks were established in the hospitals, social service centers and personnel departments. 

The Pastoral Institute of the Diocese of Mangalore joining hands with the Shanthi Kiran Counseling Centre has successfully completed the task of training the first batch of eleven Counselors in this regard for ten months (from June 2009 to March 2010).   Most of the trained Counselors have been already appointed as Campus Counselors in different educational institutions of the undivided South Kanara District like Shirva, Udupi, Padua, Urva, Bendure etc. as full timers.

Now the Training Institutes are ready with more experience and interest to train the second batch of Counselors. The training titled ’Campus Pastoral Counseling Course’ is aimed as to form Campus Counselors and Ministers  who can accompany the students during their critical life journey in the campus. He/she would be a person with sound spirituality, fair knowledge of human sciences, Christian doctrines and good values who would help the student to be a balanced personality.

Amidst the team of the experts who have taken up the challenge of training the counselors, there are 11 faculty members and 8 visiting lecturers.  Rev. Dr Lawrence Mendonca, Dr Premanand, Dr Lovina Noronha, Rev. Dr J.B. Saldanha, Rev. Dr Stany Goveas, Fr Vincent Monteiro, Fr Roque D’Sa, Fr Boniface Pinto, Fr Vijay Victor Lobo, Sr Carmelita UFS, and Mr Rolphy Mascarenhas are the members of the faculty.

The training includes  sixty five credits with 975 hours of theory and practice.  While just 345 hours are used for the theological subjects 630 hours are used for the psychology and counseling. They have been supported through audio/video recordings, verbatim transcriptions and evaluations by the supervisors.  While the course includes the psycho-spiritual subjects like  Pastoral Theology and Ministries, Social Analysis and Skills, Theology, Scriptures, Catechetics and Moral Science, Media and Technical Arrangements, an emphatical thrust is on the Psychology and Counseling in the student situation.

It would include elements like meaning and scope of counseling; process, skills and systems of counseling; ethics and dynamics of group counseling; principles and opportunities of career counseling etc.  Special credits have been included with regard to trauma and care, CISD; mass media, its effects and best use; substance abuse, pornography and related problems; effects of migrant families and single parents on the youth and students etc.

According to Fr Vincent Monteiro, the course coordinator and the Director of Pastoral Institute, negotiations are on as to affiliate the training centre to Martin Luther Christian University based in Megalaya. He hopes that soon  the official Certificate of Diploma would be given by the said University.  The training of the second batch would begin on the 15th of June, 2010. (For more details you may contact the Pastoral Institute on 0824-2223877 / 2225177.)