The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, Professor Nilofer Khan, opened a symposium on ‘Mental Health and Well-Being’ organized by the varsity Department of Psychology on Wednesday.
Addressing the opening session as the main guest, Professor Nilofer said that advocacy and awareness are two important causes that need to be championed to address emerging mental health issues and also to “de-stigmatize” mental health.
Underlining the important role that the Department of Psychology could play in addressing mental health issues, Professor Nilofer called for an action-oriented roadmap from the department on initiatives that could be taken at the university level to contribute to this social effort.
Congratulating the department for organizing the symposium in connection with World Mental Health Day, Professor Nilofer emphasized increased visibility of the department’s Advisory Cell for the benefit of students, academics and varsity staff who wish to take advantage of counseling facilities.
KU registrar Dr. Nisar A Mir emphasized the importance of “individual counseling” for adolescents who, he said, are highly hesitant to talk about their mental health problems and concerns.
Research dean Professor Irshad A Nawchoo called for “assessing” the causes of “isolation stress among research students and academics that is negatively affecting their profile and behaviours”.
Professor Showket A Shah, Dean of the School of Behavioral Sciences, called for adequate budget provisions for mental health awareness and related infrastructure development across the country. He said this is necessitated by the fact that 20% of the country’s population is said to suffer from some type of mental health problem.
The head of the Department of Psychology, Dr. Humaira Shafi, gave the welcome address and highlighted the research areas of the department, including mental health. She said the department will hold more events in the coming days, including a marathon and flyer distribution, to raise awareness of mental health.
Professor Arshid Hussain from the Department of Psychiatry, IMHANS Srinagar, spoke about different coping strategies, including playing group sports to create social connection, sleeping well, creating and maintaining friendships where friends enjoy each other’s successes and They support each other in their failures. “Follow your careers, identify your strengths; don’t copy it because no profession is superior or inferior,” he said in his presentation titled “Mental Illness: The Modern Scourge.”
Dr. Mohammad Muzaffar, Director of the Center for Youth Development and Rehabilitation, spoke about how the mental health landscape changed after Covid19, even as he highlighted “our collective responsibilities as parents, institutional directors, religious leaders and law enforcement agencies ” to address different challenges related to mental health.
Dr. Ijaz Ahmad Suhaf, JVC SKIMS Consultant Psychiatrist, underscored the importance of mental health literacy.
Dr. Asma Nabi led the proceedings of the opening session, while Dr. Mohammad Muzamil and Dr. Yasir Hamid delivered the vote of thanks.
