COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM
VISION
A world in which every human being is mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically healthy.
MISSION
- Empower people with the skills necessary to cope with the demands and pressures of our ever changing environment.
- Heal any dis-ease through mental, emotional and spiritual transformation.
- Educate children and young adults on the core values that promote universal peace and a healthy society.
We believe that educating and healing the minds of children and young adults is the key to unconditional love, compassion and oneness in the world in every socioeconomic sector of society.
In an endeavor to Celebrate Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Well-being in the Community, Practical Nirvana is working with Nai Disha, an NGO working towards the upliftment and empowerment of underprivileged children through education.
Children from underprivileged families face numerous mental and emotional challenges that are unique to them because of their environment. It is important for the children to resolve these issues with the help of trained therapists so that they are able to:
- Release unwanted negative emotions such as anger and frustration that prevent them from moving forward in life.
- Cope and release the trauma of physical or sexual abuse.
- Understand the dynamics of their social environment and emerge from their dysfunctional family situation with stability.
- Concentrate and perform better in their studies with an awareness of the value of education in our society.
- Set realistic goals for themselves professionally.
A multi-level approach is required to bring about healing and transformation in the children. This approach involves working with the:
- Teachers to
- Educate them on how to identify at-risk children and improve mentoring skills to better assist the children through workshops conducted on a monthly basis.
- Help them cope with the distress that they experience at the workplace due to the nature of their work. It is essential that teachers work with empathy and not sympathy. Individual counselling sessions (1-2 hours each) with each teacher at least once in 3 months.
- Students to identify mental, emotional and behavioral issues based on the following symptoms:
- Suicidal thoughts or intent.
- Physical or sexual abuse.
- Mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder leading to intense mood swings and personality changes. It also includes children with feelings of anger, rage, frustration, irritability and aggression/violence.
- Anxiety disorders which can range from generalized anxiety for no apparent reason to panic attacks. Children may also feel uneasy and frightened in certain situations. Extreme cases may also depict obsessive-compulsive behaviour.
- Learning disabilities due to inability to focus or concentrate on the task at hand or inability to retain or recall information.
- Substance abuse (alcohol, nicotine, or any other drugs).
- Low self-esteem, self-confidence and body image.
Mental Health Awareness Workshop (Online)
A weekly online webinar is conducted to make the teachers at Nai Disha more aware about mental health issues. The objectives of this webinar are:
- to make them aware of the stigma surrounding mental health problems so that they can be more sensitive to students and coworkers who face these issues,
- to make them aware of the myths and realities about mental illness,
- help them consider their own attitude towards mental health issues and develop a more realistic and positive understanding towards people suffering from such issues,
- to help them develop positive personal strategies for dealing with stress,
- to help them recognise the importance of self care and work life balance in their own lives.
Experiential Workshops for the Students
Priti Gupta is the consultant Psychologist & Hypnotherapist at Nai Disha and she and her team support the staff and students in an effort to promote their mental and emotional well being.
Therapy for the students is conducted in individual counselling sessions using psychotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming, inner child healing and hypnotherapy on a weekly basis. Experiential workshops are conducted once a month for select students (of a particular age group facing similar issues) to encourage sharing and caring towards fellow students and enhanced awareness of themselves in a safe environment. As needed, career counselling will be offered to highlight their strengths along with realistic goal setting to bridge the gap between their expectations and the practicalities of life.