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Community counsellors
Community counsellors are counselling educators who gives immediate support the needy. They provide their services directly in the community. As a part of Kudumbashree Gender self learning programme, 336 community counsellors were selected from 14 districts of the state. Community counsellors are selected women from Kudumbashree network as well as professional counsellors from the community. Three state level training programs at regular intervals has been conducted for community counsellors for capacity building based on the module developed by counselling experts. These counsellors work in collaboration with gender resource centres of Kudumbashree and Snehitha gender help desk all over the state. Training and development of community counselling educators were started in convergence with Child Development Centre.
- Community counselling and support services primarily aim to give premarital counselling, counselling services to the parents of BUDS/BRC children, old age people and adolescent students. Other than these focussed areas, target group includes young couples, children, women who are survivors of violence in family and workplace, people with psychiatric problems, Family counselling, Drug abuse etc.
Service Provided
- Community counsellors are involved with gender self learning activities by providing Psycho social support.
- Crisis management
- House visit and support to the abandoned or those who are living alone
- Premarital Counselling
- Identify the issue and refer to Snehitha Help Desk or other service providers.
- Address domestic violence issues
- Group counselling and awareness classes
- Counselling support to the cases registered in Block Level Community Counselling centre, Gender Resource Centre and Snehitha gender help desk.
- Counselling services to the school
- Business counselling
Apart from taking group counselling sessions, community counsellors deal with a number of individual cases too. Over these years, community counsellors in the state dealt with a wide variety of cases and given them adequate support needed. The cases can be broadly classified in to five categories
- Family issues
- Adolescent issues
- Mental health problems
- Personal disputes
- Premarital Counselling
Community counsellors use various techniques such as case study, mental status examination, behaviour therapy, positive reinforcement etc.
Training and follow-ups are based on the following areas
- Different Counselling techniques
- Adolescent issues
- Family issues
- Common Mental health issues
- Psychological interventions
- Crisis intervention
- Legal aid for women and children
- Support systems and organizations
Outcomes of community counselling programme
- Community counsellors can be provided services in a range of ways. Rather than defining counselling or group work, community counsellors are powerful tool in the society to make interventions
- They try to decrease the trauma of people exposed to violence and negligence
- They have the ability to challenge the power, and rise of up common people’s rights
- They are able to provide improved emotional support.
- They could serve people with available resources and support systems in the society.
- They are capable of giving support to adults, parents of specially abled children and old age people etc