UTAR National Counselling Month

UTAR Department of Student Affairs (DSA) of Sungai Long Campus organised the National Counselling Month from 12 October 2022 to 5 November 2022. During the month, a whole host of talks, workshops and forums were organised on Microsoft Teams with each focusing on different counselling topics.

The first talk that took place on 12 October 2022 was titled “Self-exploration with Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI)”. The talk was given by Open University Malaysia Master of Counselling Chen Khang Juinn, and its purpose was to promote effective tools for managing a healthy lifestyle among UTAR students. Speaking about the purpose of the MBTI instrument, Chen said, “There are multiple benefits of MBTI in helping people, such as enhancing their understanding and awareness of themselves, understanding their motivations and capitalising on their natural strengths, learning about their potential areas for growth, and understanding and appreciating individual differences.”

Chen giving his talk on MBTI

The second talk titled “HERE 2 HEAR” was led by a fully-accredited Forensic Psychologist at the British Psychological Society, Aw Chan Yann on 14 October 2022. The objective of the talk was to teach individuals how to face problems by channelling their inner strength. “Mental health concerns can be hard to recognise, and even harder to talk about by those suffering from it. Thus, the objective of the HERE 2 HERE talk is to teach people to have a clear place to start focusing on their inner strength while facing challenges. This talk can also educate them on how to manage stress caused by uncertainties,” said Aw.

Aw explaining mental illnesses

On 19 October 2022, the third talk titled “Exploring yourself with cherish card” commenced with UTAR DSA Sungai Long Counsellor Ng Wan Fern at the helm. Speaking about the purpose of the talk, Ng said, “The main goal of this talk is to introduce the Cherish Card. This card can be used to develop, understand and ensure a deeper connection with our inner self and interpersonal connection with our surroundings.”

Ng detailing the uses of the Cherish Card

The fourth talk titled “The secret to successful relationships” was conducted by Trainee Counsellor Vivienne Chong on 21 October 2022. The talk aimed to explain how successful relationships are formed using Satir’s Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST). Vivienne Chong said, “In Satir’s model, there are five communication styles; placating, blaming, computing, distracting and congruent communication. Placaters act as pleasers and are often self-effacing, while blamers will accuse others and shift the blame from themselves. Meanwhile, those who compute are emotionally detached and rigidly intellectual; distracters are unfocused and do not know what is being communicated, and lastly, congruent communicators are genuine, responsible and are able to communicate clearly and effectively.”

Vivienne Chong explaining the secrets to a successful relationship

The first workshop titled “Self-exploration with expressive arts” was conducted on 21 October 2022. It was led by UTAR DSA Sungai Long Counsellor Tan Chin Yee. The aims of the workshop were to enhance participants’ creativity and interpersonal skills, help participants express their feelings and thoughts freely, improve participants’ self-confidence, and develop better teamwork skills.

Tan with the participants in the workshop

The second workshop titled “Let’s understand mental health” was held on 25 October 2022. The workshop, conducted by UTAR DSA Sungai Long Counsellor Lau Yi Hui, aimed to break down mental health stigmas and stereotypes, understand mental illness symptoms, and discuss ways of overcoming mental health illness and the services available in Malaysia.

Participants during the Mental Health workshop

UTAR DSA Sungai Long Counsellor Ong Chia Shen was in charge of the third workshop titled “5 Love Languages” which was conducted on 28 October 2022.  The aim of the workshop was to help the participants understand their own, as well as others’ love languages, in order to foster a positive relationship. Ong explained the main objectives of the talk in more detail, “There are a few reasons this workshop is held, one of which is to help all of you gain self-awareness on your own love language. Moreover, this workshop will allow you to understand the importance of expressing your love to your loved ones through Love Language, and learn how to improve your relationships through different love languages.”

Ong alongside the participants

The final workshop of the National Counselling Month “Journaling Workshop” took place on 5 November 2022. The speaker was secondary school teacher Nadiah binti Mohd Abdah. Centred around the theme, ‘Self-Discovery’, the workshop was able to promote effective tools for managing a healthy lifestyle among UTAR students. “Other objectives of the workshop also include promoting journaling as a tool for self-love and self-discovery and exploring self-discovery journal writing as an effective tool to help manage stress, solve problems, and enhance creativity. In short, this workshop is all about improving your creativity and emotional growth, expressing yourself and keeping track of your development in life,” said Nadiah.

Nadiah talking about journaling