Media Release

Mangaluru, Jun 17: A 3-day national level webinar on 'COVID-19: Educator’s Challenges and Responses' was organised by the Departments of Psychology and Clinical Psychology at St Agnes Centre for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Mangaluru.

The webinar was conducted from June 15 to 17. The webinar inauguration was presided over by Sr Dr Venissa AC, principal of St Agnes College, who delivered a warm message for all the attendees. She spoke of how COVID-19 has changed our lives and how having a positive outlook and practising self-care can be useful tools in overcoming these difficult times.

Dr V Premanand, HOD, PG Department of Psychology and convener of the webinar, gave the participants an overview of the content to be covered.

On Day 1, the first resource person, Shruti Rajan Kappil, assistant professor and clinical psychologist, addressed on the topic 'Changing Negative Thoughts' while Dr Hithakshi B, HOD and assistant professor, Dept of Psychology, spoke on 'Importance of Positive Wellbeing'.

Day 2 began with a session on 'Communication with Sensitivity' conducted by Dr Kavyashree, HOD, PG Dept of Clinical Psychology. This was followed by a session on 'Self-Care Practices for Coping with Stress' conducted by Deepa Kotari, assistant professor, Dept of Psychology. The final session was on 'Psychological Preparedness for Virtual Classroom Teaching and Learning' held by Vinatha K, associate professor in Psychology.

The final day of the webinar comprised of a session on 'Strategies to Cope with Common Reactions to COVID-19' and was taken up by Sr Dr Vinora AC, coordinator of St Agnes Centre for PG Studies and Research. It was followed by a session on 'Mindful Ways of Being a Teacher' by Dr V Premanand, HOD, PG Dept of Psychology.

Over 230 participants from across the country took part in the three-day webinar. The webinar was compeered and moderated by Sarah Crasta and Athena Aranha, assistant professors of the Department of Psychology.