Yogyakarta, July 9th, 2024–Fisipol UGM’s Career Development Center (CDC) has shown from time to time again its commitment and support in improving the mental health and development of students in the campus environment by providing a counseling service with a psychologist. There are two types of services that are provided by the CDC, that is psychological assistance as well as personal and career development. Other than a counseling service with a psychologist, CDC also offers peer counseling as a service.
“Peer counselor refers to Fisipol UGM undergraduates that are selected through a screening process and are trained with basic counseling skills. With that, these undergraduate students work as mental health agents in the Fisipol campus environment,” Ulfah explained, a staff of CDC, in the interview on Tuesday (9/7). However, the counseling sessions that are done by peer counselors must be done under the supervision of professional psychologists.
Since its introduction in 2014, student participation has always increased. A year before, the total number of students who had participated in the counseling service with a psychologist was around 107 students. Even though not all students can give testimonies regarding the experiences, there were many positive responses coming from students after each counseling session. “They feel like the programs are quite helpful,” Ulfah stated.
In line with the increase of participation by students, the CDC is considering recruiting more professional psychologists. Before 2022, the CDC only had about two professional psychologists to handle the counseling service. The amount of professionals at the time cannot possibly anticipate the ever increasing demands of students for a counseling service, which in turn will slow down the process of counseling sessions for some students. After recruiting one more professional psychologist, the needs of students are much more accommodated. Other than recruiting more professional psychologists, the CDC also plans to improve the facilities and infrastructure by adding more counseling rooms.
This is very much in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being. As such, the faculty needs to support this effort. Ulfah has admitted that the CDC has received support in the form of funds and facilities. Other than that, the faculty also tries to show its support to improve the mental health of students in the campus environment by compiling policies that are related to mental health. All of this effort is expected to create a healthy campus environment.