With the aim to improve the mental wellness of students and staff during Movement Control Order (MCO), UTAR Department of Student Affairs (DSA) of Kampar Campus organised online talk series titled “Let’s Talk with Counsellor” from 13 to 28 April 2020 via Microsoft Teams.

The online talks aimed to provide informal consultations as well as a discussion platform for UTAR students and staff. The talk series attracted more than 120 participants in total. It covered a total of 12 talks, focusing on different topics. The topics include emotional intelligence, self-care, social well-being, mental health during MCO and daily strategies to boost mind. Six talks were delivered in English while the others were conducted in Chinese.

The talk series was conducted by registered counsellors from DSA Kampar Campus. Among the talks presented were “MCO期间，你是自由，自律还是自责呢?” and “适应力: 未来的工作与生活型态” by Chong Chee Wai; “Boosting Your Emotional Intelligence during COVID-19 Pandemic” and “是你选择了忧郁” by “Angus Ng Foo Yek”; “Rediscovering Self-Care in Light of MCO” and “The Day After Tomorrow: What Lies Ahead for Us” by Leong Pyh Shin; “Improve Your Mental Health During MCO” and “大学生的谈情说爱: 心动就要在一起吗？” by Chloe Ng Kai Yean; “做自己的主人” and “病毒无情, 人间有爱” by Ng Jo Anne; “MCO: A Chance to Reevaluate Life Priorities” by Karen Ong Sweet Ling, and “Daily Strategies to Boost Your Mind” by Gursheena Kaur.

DSA Kampar Manager Ng Foo Yek explained, “As the COVID-19 infection spreads, many individuals are likely to suffer depression or anxiety due to the movement restriction order. Moreover, some may also experience fear and stress due to the infection of COVID-19 virus. The movement restriction makes it impossible to conduct a face-to-face counselling session. Therefore, the DSA counselling team made use of the digital platform instead.”

He added, “The talk series kick-started on 6 April 2020. However, it was not provided with any specific topic for the first week. From 13 April 2020 onward we implemented a new way by giving a different topic every day to attract a diverse group of audience. We believe it is a critical moment for all of us during the MCO period. We hope through these talks we can provide support and enhance the mental health, EQ and self-care of UTAR students and staff during this difficult period.”

Moreover, the online counselling session has helped the students to interact with each other during MCO. Ch'ng Yee Kheim, a Year Three student from Faculty of Arts and Social Science said, "As an extrovert person, I have always craved for interaction. Hence, the MCO was a difficult period for me. Having these counselling sessions were indeed great. I feel different after every session; the counsellors provided warmth and companionship to us. I also learnt some skills to take care of myself during MCO. The one-hour sharing was indeed more than enough to brighten my day."