A
National Seminar on “Stress and Mental Health: Nurturing Positivity in Children
and Adolescents” was organized by the School of Continuing Education, IGNOU at
the Convention Centre of the University.
The National Seminar was attended
by around 150 participants from across the nation. The Seminar was highly
appreciated by all the participants.
Prof. Neerja
Chadha, Professor of Child Development and Director of the School of Continuing
Education, as well as the Seminar Organizer, stated that childhood and
adolescence comprise crucial stages in the human life span development. Mental health
and well-being of children and adolescents, who comprise the future of our
country, is a vital area of concern; more so in the contemporary context. The
National Seminar was organized as an attempt to take stock of the ground
reality, analyze the emergent challenges, and discuss ways of fostering
positivity among children and adolescents; drawing upon our traditional
strengths as well as research-based evidence.
The
Seminar focussed on the relevance of child and
adolescent development for outcomes in education, health, life success, and
societal well-being. The National Seminar was graced by dignitaries of repute in
the niche area of stress and mental health among children and adolescents. Dr.
Vinod Aggarwal, Chairperson, Rehabilitation Council of India and Secretary,
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India, was the Chief Guest at the Valedictory
Session. In his Valedictory address,
Dr. Aggarwal
congratulated the University for organizing a national seminar on such a
pertinent theme in the present-day context. He said that children are the most
important asset of the country, and there are many issues pertaining to their
well-being which need to be addressed on priority basis. Dr. Aggarwal cited his
experience as Chief Executive, National Trust where he found that disabilities
amongst children, if detected early, can be acted upon and solutions found to
the impediments encountered. He therefore emphasized the importance of early
intervention. Dr. Aggarwal informed that under the Persons with Disabilities
Act, Mental Illness is called a Disability. He quoted statistics from the
Census 2011 to illustrate the imbalance between persons with disabilities and
health professionals needed to attend to such persons. Dr. Aggarwal also
expressed concern that the crime rate amongst adolescents in the age group of
16 – 18 had increased rapidly. He said that there was a need to study and
conduct research on this issue so that proper intervention could be undertaken
for remedial measures. He emphasized that prevention is better than cure, and
emphasized that it was a social responsibility for all.
Dr.
Jitendra Nagpal, an eminent Psychiatrist, was the Guest of Honour at the
Valedictory Session of the Seminar. In
his address, Dr. Jitendra Nagpal said that earlier
mental health had been ignored and left to only mental health departments. But
now the importance of mental wellbeing was being recognised and being talked
about by non-mental health departments also, and this in itself is a big step
forward. Such discussions would help prevent children from succumbing to
disorders, and instead, help in leading them towards a normal life. Dr. Nagpal emphasized
that it was important for all sectors within the government to come together to
help and support children and ensure
that their mental health issues are not treated as a disease, but as a problem
which can be sorted out and addressed. This would help to make a more positive
society and a progressive nation.
The
Chief Guest at the Inaugural Session of the Seminar was Prof. Girishwar Misra,
Vice Chancellor, MGAHV, Wardha. In his inaugural address, Prof. Girishwar Misra
laid emphasis on the perception of mental
health in the Indian context, and the importance of positivity. Quoting from
Indian traditions and scriptures, Prof.
Misra said that positivity had to be seen within a context, and
emphasized the importance of everyone taking cognisance of the dignity and
wellbeing of others in their interactions in day-to-day life. He further opined that the stress generated at the
workplace impacts the child and family wellbeing. In his address, Prof.
Girishwar Misra highlighted the importance of prosociality and altruism.
Prof Rajni Dhingra, Dean &
Professor of Human Development, University of Jammu, J&K, was the Guest of
Honour at the Inaugural Session.
In her address, she spoke about the parent-child relationship and said that it
was required of parents to give time and warmth to children for better
bonding.
Giving his presidential address the
Hon'ble Vice Chancellor (I/c) of IGNOU, Prof. Nageshwar Rao elaborated on the
impact of stress on the mental health of the individual. In this context, he
explained that there are two types of stress - positive stress and negative
stress. The positive stress has the purpose of giving us energy, but we need to minimize our negative stress.
He also motivated the participants not to be overwhelmed by stress, but rather
to understand it in their various personal and professional roles. He
highlighted that we need to manage stress and help the others to do the same.
He expressed the hope that the deliberations of the seminar would provide
inputs for policy formulation in mental health and stress.
Apart from the Inaugural and
Valedictory Sessions, there were three Plenary Sessions at the National Seminar
in which eminent personalities in the field of Child and Adolescent Mental
Health expressed their views on different topics.
The first Plenary Session was
chaired by Prof. Girishwar Misra, Vice Chancellor, MGAHV, Wardha and Prof.
Manju Mehta, Professor of Clinical Psychology (Retd.), AIIMS, Delhi. The
Speakers in the Session were Prof. Rajni Dhingra, Dean, & Professor of
Human Development, University of Jammu, J&K who spoke on “Children and
adolescents in armed conflict situations: Focus on mental health”, Prof. Neerja
Chadha, Professor of Child Development, IGNOU, Delhi who spoke on “Stress and
mental health of children and adolescents: Issues and correlates” and Dr. Vibha
Sharma, Associate Professor, IHBAS, Delhi who spoke on “Positivity,
mindfulness, and spirituality: Need and relevance to inculcate these among
children and adolescents to foster good mental health”.
The second Plenary Session was
chaired by Prof. Manju Mehta, Professor of Clinical, Psychology (Retd.), AIIMS,
Delhi and Prof. Rajni Dhingra, Dean, & Professor of Human Development,
University of Jammu, J&K. The Speakers in the Session were Ms. Poonam
Chaubey, Principal, Greater Valley School, Greater Noida who spoke on
“Inclusion, Stress and Positivity”, Dr. Renu Gulati, Associate Professor, IHE,
Delhi who spoke on “Frustration Tolerance and Anger Management among Children
and Adolescents” and Dr. Amiteshwar Ratra, Assistant Professor, STRIDE, IGNOU
who spoke on “Fostering positivity: Role of Counselling and Family Therapy”.
The third Plenary Session was
chaired by Prof. Rajesh Sagar, Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS and Prof. Neelam
Sood, Department of School and Non-formal Education, NUEPA, New Delhi. The
Speakers were Prof. Rajesh Sagar, Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS who spoke on
“Stress, Mental Health and Young Minds” and Dr. Jitendra Nagpal, Sr. Concultant
Psychiatrist, Moolchand Medicity, Delhi and Ms. Geetanjali, Academic
Coordinator, Expressions India, Delhi who spoke on “Skills for Fostering
Mindfulness among Children and Adolescents”.
