Counselling Corner aims to improve mental health well-being in Myanmar and in this regular newsletter we want to inform you how to take care of the well-being of the people in your organisation. And let us clarify a myth: taking care of mental health is important for EVERYBODY, not just for people who act strange or are no longer able to function in the society. Below some tips and activities we organize, many of them are free of charge (some are paid) so please do feel free to share with all people in your organisation.
Facebook Live! – Musician Thar Nge sharing his personal experience
Every Tuesday at 7 pm we organize a free Facebook Live webinar with a different topic each week ranging from suffering from cyber-bullying, how to be healthy during Covid-19, experiences from people in quarantine centres to domestic violence and suicidal thoughts. Recently our psychotherapist Aung Min Thein had an open talk with musician Thar Nge about his personal feelings in the past. Find out more here and do follow us on Facebook to connect every Tuesday at 7 pm for a new Live Talk.
Myanmar people more resilient than others? Book this workshop.
Especially in this Covid period (whether working from home or at the office), we see that staff in organisations need a bit more support. Counselling Corner developed a 2 hrs workshop that is focused on letting people talk and express their feelings in groups of 20 people. The workshop is not about “telling” what the participants should do but about creating a behaviour change / make people feel better from within (which is done by letting participants talk). The feedback we get is fantastic and participants are very happy with the discussions and mention “I now realized I am not the only one going through this” and “This was definitely a strong relief for all of them and is great that they had this kind of outlet.” We truly recommend any HR department to organize a workshop for their staff and experience by themselves how helpful it is for staff well-being (and with it often comes a better performance). We do see that Myanmar people are very resilient and just a 2 hours’ workshop makes a difference. The costs can be as low as 22.500 Kyat per staff member – call us now for more information: 09-664017251.
The holiday season is coming up: 6 suggestions to reduce stress and depression
Christmas and New Year will be different as Yangon still is a “stay at home” zone. While for many people it’s a happy period, it can also be a mentally difficult period. Being realistic and accepting what’s possible and what not, planning ahead and seeking support from others can help reduce staff and avoid depression. Have a look at this blog from our colleague Cyndy Read more….
Individual counselling – when do you need it?
Sometimes individual people in your organisation might feel stressed, less motivated, anxious, overwhelmed or seriously depressed, “hearing voices”, have an eating disorder or even have suicidal thoughts. This could be caused by anything ranging from serious trauma in the past to a recent change in home or work circumstances. Firstly, it’s important to know that “not feeling mentally well” can happen to anybody, it doesn’t mean somebody is “crazy” (as many people seem to believe) but it’s just a mental state that can be treated. We can achieve a lot of progress, just by talking and listing to the client, reflect on what he / she is saying and try to come together with a plan to do more sessions. It’s not scary, it’s nothing to be afraid or ashamed of, having a difficult time mentally simply happens sometimes. Counselling Corner currently has 4 experienced counsellors / psychotherapists who all work online or face to face from our new centre in Bogalay Zay Street. The sessions only can work if a client actively wants him / herself to talk with one of our counsellors and we typically start with an intake session and then discuss with the client how to move forward. As a company / organisation you can’t “send somebody to see us” but you could suggest individual people to have a look at our website / Facebook and contact us by themselves to see if we can help.
Please do share / like and contact us if you have any questions or suggestions on the above or want to know more about our services. We want to make it easier for people to talk about mental well-being and we need help for all organisations in Myanmar to discuss mental well-being openly with your team and work on improving it.