“I have to admit na ang Office of Guidance and Counseling, para siyang silent office.”
photo by Adrian Joven
This was admitted by Hania-Percia F. Usman, RPm, guidance coordinator of the Office of Guidance and Counseling, pointing out the unawareness of students regarding the existence of their office and the services it offers during the two-part World Mental Health Day celebration at the Regional Science Research Center (RSRC) on October 18.
During the morning session, the Office of Guidance and Counseling gathered student leaders of the university to provide them with insights on mental health, empowering them to re-echo this information and promote the mental health services and academic support offered by the office.
“Sila ‘yong may influence towards the students, sila ‘yong may direct connections with the students so even a very small effort to let the other students know about the existence of the office,” Usman explained the rationale of convening student leaders for the event.
On another note, Usman mentioned that they are already receiving referrals, including self-referrals, from different colleges and noted that there has been an improvement in the sense that more students are seeking help from the office but refrains from categorizing this as a straightforward improvement, as it signifies that students are encountering challenges.
“So may improvement in such a way na the students are going to the office but, of course, I don’t want to picture it as improvement talaga kasi it only means na the students are having problems. Parang positive siya and negative kasi it’s still sad to know na may mga students na may gano’ng problema,” Usman remarked.
BS Psychology, Mental Health Center soon in MSU-GenSan
When asked about the status of offering a BS Psychology program in the university, and the establishment of a Mental Health Center which she mentioned during her discussion, Usman stressed in an interview that it is not merely a plan anymore as they are already working on it.
“May mga papers na tayo na pinapalakad for this. So for example, the BS Psychology, for what I know, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs is working on it. May numerous degrees tayo na wino-work out na ng campus natin para maka offer tayo. For the mental health center, may mga papers na ‘yan, may mga proposals na tayo and kasali na ito sa mga strategic planning natin and, of course, we cannot have this in just one snap lang,” she remarked.
Available Mental-Health Services
Usman also enumerated the services that their office is currently offering which include assessment and early evaluation services, counseling services, and a referral system.
She further explained that the assessment services involve a preliminary interview and standardized psychological tests, which encompass personality and emotional quotient tests as well as career and intelligence assessments.
“So, these are actually available outside, but sa university natin, they are available of course, so everybody can go to the office and avail those services,” she urged.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Team (MHPSS)
“Maybe mas makikita nila ‘yong hope and help from kapwa nila estudyante.”
For this reason, as stated by Usman, their office created the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Team (MHPSS) which will act as an auxiliary team of their office.
“We know sometimes, the students, natatakot sila to go directly to the office, kasi may notion na when we talk about guidance and counseling naay sanction, naa kay punishment, or pinatawag ka ni guidance counselor so, I think, it would be very much helpful if meron tayong group of students na mag co-conduct tayo ng capacity building ng mga basic counseling, basic physiological first aid, crisis intervention so that if wala kami on that area for example, the students are available to help or to lend their hand, and ears sa mga kapwa students nila,” Usman explained the reason for creating MHPSS.
Comments