Psychological counselling at JU’s Salt Lake campus to start from Feb 15
Kolkata: The Centre for Counselling Service and Studies in Self-Development (CCSSS) will restart providing psychological counselling at the Salt Lake campus of Jadavpur University (JU) from February 15.
The clinical psychologist will visit the campus once every week. The authorities have asked the students and staff, who need to consult with the clinical psychologist, to contact the JUSL Boys Hostel Superintendent.
The Centre currently has one clinical psychologist, who visits JU’s Jadavpur campus four days a week. This psychologist will now be visiting the Jadavpur campus for three days and one day at Salt Lake campus. According to a source, counselling facilities were provided at the Salt Lake campus before 2017. Due to some reason, the psychological counselling there was stopped from 2019. Last year, the matter to start the counselling there was placed in the academic committee meeting, wherein the decision to restart it was taken. According to an official, the centre is soon going to get a second clinical psychologist which will help in balancing the caseloads of the two campuses.
“During a mental health related programme, students of the campus had demanded for psychological counselling to be started again in the Salt Lake campus as there were few students who needed timely consultation. Considering which, it was proposed to be started in the Salt Lake Campus as well,” an official said.
The centre has been providing counselling service from 2003 onwards. “Any students, faculty members, non-teaching staff, officers or their core relatives may get counselling and also psychiatric help free-of-cost if they suffer from any mental health issues,” a notice by the varsity authorities stated.
A student from the Sociology department of JU’s Jadavpur campus said that it was only after the death of a first-year student last year. Since the last two years, mentors were being allotted to the students but these mentors mostly dealt with academic progression. But considering the present situation, the mentors may have to contribute more and support the students in need of mental health attention, a source had said.
Mental health had become a focal point of discussion among the students and professors of Jadavpur University after a first-year student of the varsity succumbed to the injuries from falling down the second floor balcony of the boys’ hostel. The interim report submitted by the Internal Inquiry Committee suggested that the deceased student was a victim of ragging and mentally stressed.
