2021-22

With the growing demands and concerns of students from all backgrounds, as well as their various requirements and ambitions, a holistic and comprehensive guidance system in the form of counselling services for university/college students' mental health and well-being is essential. Counselling is a procedure that tries to assist and guide students' personal well-being for a healthy mind and body through the support and guidance of experienced psychologists and counsellors. With the goal of addressing and assisting the student community with emotional and psychological concerns, the Department of Psychology, St. Xavier’s College, Jaipur established a “Mental Health and Counseling Cell” under the aegis of the Department of Psychology in the academic session 2021-22. Various activities to promote mental health are organised through the cell throughout the year. 

The Department of Economics and Psychology at St. Xavier's College, Jaipur in collaboration with Counsel India organised a 45 hours Certificate Course on ‘Science of Happiness’ from 17th November 2021 to 14th December 2021. Through assignments, recorded video lectures and live interactive classes, this programme was centred around imparting knowledge outside the traditional set up of a classroom. The students participating in this programme, had an opportunity to converse with a diverse group of successful psychologists across the nation. As the course wrapped up, many students reported to have inculcated a relatively comprehensive understanding of the field, rendering the program a memorable experience. 

This National level online quiz event is organised by the Department of Psychology in collaboration with the Mental Health and Counselling Cell (MHCC) at St Xavier's College, Jaipur. 'InQUIZitive'  was conceived to probe into the fundamental yet versatile knowledge that the students of classes 11th and 12th possessed, pertaining to the field of Psychology. The first edition of the buoyant competition 'InQUIZitive- The Game of Psych' was  organised by the Department of Economics and Psychology in collaboration with the Mental Health and Counselling Cell (MHCC) at St Xavier's College, Jaipur. It was held online on the 31st of January 2022 in which more than 200 students across the nation from eminent schools like Mayo College Ajmer, Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School, The British School New Delhi, registered to compete in this 'Game of Psych'. 

This National level online quiz event is organised by the Department of Psychology in collaboration with the Mental Health and Counselling Cell (MHCC) at St Xavier's College, Jaipur. 'InQUIZitive'  was conceived to probe into the fundamental yet versatile knowledge that the students of classes 11th and 12th possessed, pertaining to the field of Psychology. The first edition of the buoyant competition 'InQUIZitive- The Game of Psych' was  organised by the Department of Economics and Psychology in collaboration with the Mental Health and Counselling Cell (MHCC) at St Xavier's College, Jaipur. It was held online on the 31st of January 2022 in which more than 200 students across the nation from eminent schools like Mayo College Ajmer, Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School, The British School New Delhi, registered to compete in this 'Game of Psych'. 

Rorschach Workshop: The Department in collaboration with Mental Health and Counselling Cell (MHCC) organised a two days workshop on the Rorschach Inkblot Test from 26 to 27 November 2021. The facilitator for this workshop was Dr Dwarka Prasad, former Professor of Clinical Psychology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, who is also nationally renowned for his expertise in Inkblot Testing. 

Research Workshop: A two-day Research Methodology Workshop was organised by the Department of Psychology in association with the Department of Economics on 8th and 9th February 2021. The workshop intended to impart knowledge amongst the students regarding how to write research papers/reports/dissertation, how to use tools for analysis, research ethics and targeting appropriate journals for publication. The workshop consisted of four technical sessions taken by two resource persons- Dr. Preeti Bhatt, Associate professor, MNIT, Jaipur and Dr. Bhawana Arya, Associate Professor, Manipal University Jaipur. 

World Suicide Prevention Day: On the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, the Department hosted two events: a webinar and a panel discussion. An online interactive webinar on A Cry for Help: Suicide Prevention was organised on September 9, 2021. Rev Fr Bala Bollineni SJ, Counselling Psychologist and Founder-Director, Yes-J, served as the resource person for this webinar. Additionally, a panel discussion was also organised on ‘Prevent Suicide: Connect, Communicate and Care’ on 10 September, 2021. The Resource Persons for this discussion were Dr Raghav Shah, Director and Consultant, Department of Psychiatry and De-Addiction, Rajasthan Hospital, Jaipur and Dr Pradnya Deshpande, Senior Clinical Psychologist and Committee Member, Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace (POSH).

Webinar on Substance Abuse: In order to spread awareness about the issue of substance abuse in the student population a webinar on 'Mental Health and Substance Abuse' was organised by The Department of Economics and Psychology of St. Xavier's College on 16th of February.  The Guest Speaker for the event was Dr. Kirti Shekhawat Ma'am is currently working as an Asst. Prof in Psychology at Manipal University Jaipur. 

PsyED: Career Counselling Panel Discussion: The Mental Health and Counselling Cell, in collaboration with the Department of Economics and Psychology organised an online Panel discussion on PsyED: Career Counselling and Prospects in Clinical and Counselling Psychology on the 12th of March, 2022.  The panellists for the panel discussion were Ms. Trishala Gupta and Ms. Ishhita Gupta. Ms. Trishala Gupta is an Educationalist, Trainer and Psychologist and Ms. Ishhita Gupta is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Minds Matter. 

World Mental Health Day on the 10th of October is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organisation with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. On Saturday, October 9th, 2021, the Department celebrated World Mental Health Day to raise awareness about mental health concerns around the world and mobilise action in support of mental health. This year's subject was "Metal Health in an Unequal World." Artistic Psyche - Poster Making Competition, Mental Health Minutes -Short Video Creation, and Mindnetic - Group Discussion were among the events that brought students from diverse universities and cities across India together. Group Discussion was facilitated by Ms Deepika Kapoor, Psychology Practitioner and Alumni of Tata Institute of Social Sciences.   

Field trip or industrial visit can enhance students’ critical thinking skills and give them a chance to think about a topic or theme from a different perspective. This allows them to get to know things which they typically would not have the opportunity to experience. The Department of Economics and Psychology, St Xavier’s College, Jaipur organised an industrial visit to ‘Jaipur Rugs’ on 24th of November 2021. A group of 70 students from the undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Economics and Psychology went for the visit along with the department faculty members. The visit was articulated in a very well manner in which the students visited the warehouse of ‘Jaipur Rugs’ SURANA, where they got a glimpse of the functioning of the organisation from the grass-root level. Then they went to the weavers and saw how the weaving is done in small houses of villages. And lastly the students visited the head office of Jaipur rugs to understand the organisational structure and also experienced the world famous rug show. It was a great experience for the students. 

The Department of Psychology and Economics collaboratively conducts group discussions and moving screenings for the students to enhance the knowledge of students on contemporary issues. On September 28, 2021, the Economics Society of the Department of Economics and Psychology hosted a movie screening of “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet”, followed by a movie review competition. The documentary tells the experience of a 94-year-old naturalist in order to educate us about how drastically and fast the globe has changed throughout his lifetime. He explains the devastation that humans have caused in all sections of the globe, including the forest, sea, and air, over the last 94 years.