Counselling Cornr newsletter – February 2024
Dear Counselling Corner,
Read the Myanmar version of this newsletter on our website
Reflection workshop
Our Myanmar counsellors designed a reflection workshop that is ideal for company staff. During a 2-3 hours interactive workshop, you are asked to fill in questions that make you reflect on the past 12 months. What have I achieved at work but also personally in my development? Did I make new friends?
Did I change old habits? Did I smile or laugh often enough? Did I take time to relax?
Yet, we’re also asking participants to look at the future. What am I going to do in the coming months? How to improve my communication skills, am I showing enough empathy to colleagues? What are my goals for the new year at a personal level as well as in my career?
We often hear afterwards that companies see a positive change in the cohesion of the team members and we are glad that workshops have such deep and rewarding results on teambuilding.
The reflection workshops are held in small groups of a maximum of 20 participants and can be done at your own office or at Counselling Corner’s renovated heritage space on Bogalay Zay Street.
Contact us for more information: info@counsellingcornermyanmar.com
Topic of the month – Relationship Issue – Romantic/ Work/ Social – Are you a red flag?
Are you okay with your relationships?
From birth to death, we experience many relationships throughout our lives. Relationships are an important part of our lives. When relationships don’t work out, I feel very tired and hurt, and when relationships work out, I feel like I can conquer everything.
Just have
Always being betrayed…
No relationship works…
I don’t want to live with people anymore…
Is it just me? . . .
These kinds of relationships are difficult to focus on. If you’re always feeling sad and depressed, you need to do something……
Sometimes, the things that you are experiencing like this are not caused by yourself, but may be due to events that occurred in your childhood. Things that happened in my childhood may be affecting me now.
Can’t believe I can’t love, dare not love How to build relationships Things like things that you don’t know how to maintain are encountered in the present.
Is this the end…
If it’s always going to be the same, the things that happen to you have a reason. How to build relationships for yourself How to deal with what is happening can be learned and solved.
Change starts with you.
These topics
Week 1: Let’s talk about relationships
Week 2: It didn’t start with you: Childhood & Relationship
Week 3: What’s going on now? Common Relationship Challenges
Week 4: Making it work: Healthy Relationship
As I will tell you, to understand yourself more, you can join and listen to Facebook Live and Wednesday Workshop to improve your relationships.
You can interact and learn through the following channels:
Every Tuesday at 7 pm, a counsellor will talk about the topic and answer all your questions on Facebook Live www.facebook.com/counsellingcornermyanmarhttp://www.facebook.com/counsellingcornermyanmar
Every Wednesday we organise a free online workshop that discusses the topic and give possibility to share your own emotions and experiences
Every Friday a Facebook post is uploaded about the topic
At the end of the week, the recorded Live video is uploaded in our video library: https://www.youtube.com/@CounsellingCorner/videos
Coming soon: a Myanmar language Reflection Journal book
For many months, our counsellors have been working on a reflective journal book that helps people to create structure in their life. It’s very much needed in these challenging times. The book can be used for a period of 52 weeks and you can start any time you want. The aim is to actively use it, write your thoughts, your reflections, your goals for the future as well as your happy thoughts, and your gratitude for the small positive steps in the last week.
The journal helps you to take small breaks after 4 weeks; look back, see what worked, what didn’t work, accept it and then move on to the next 4 weeks.
We are currently working on the final details and you will soon find the journal at bookshops around Myanmar, next to the memory game we recently launched: memory game explanation
Survey on depression levels
Just as last year, we are currently doing a survey on depression levels in Myanmar together with the Dutch university of applied sciences. A simple questionnaire is used for self-assessment of depression levels. Last year we learned that about 46% of the population is moderate to severely depressed. Depression levels are quite equally divided amongst different genders, education level and region. We saw that the younger generation is reaching higher depression rates. A recent study by Cambridge university also showed high rates (60.71%) of probably depression and anxiety (Cambridge report on depression and anxiety in Myanmar)
We greatly appreciate if you participate with our mini survey and fill this survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeq-P2btFIV_0Mni2fy7168_k2JclbknZEOqOi_wDoAgESPwA/viewform – at the end of the survey you can see how you scored. A small lucky draw is held at the end of the survey period with a chance to win 100.000 Kyats in cash.
Why these surveys are important? People suffering from depression are looking for ways out to feel better. This is often drugs, alcohol abuse, gambling, violence and self-harm, all things that greatly will harm society and also has a negative impact on the productivity of staff in your organisation.
High depression levels amongst young people also means that amongst your company there are staff who have difficulties coping. Are you a HR manager and you want to know how staff in your organisation feels? For companies with over 100 staff, we can create an anonymous mini-survey with the same self-assessment questions on depression. We will not show you any names but only show percentages on how your staff scored which you can compare to Myanmar’s average. Send an email to info@counsellingcornermyanmar.com for more information.
Suicide prevention helpline
Over the years, Counselling Corner has been reaching many people in Myanmar society and trained hundreds of people through an intensive 3 months counselling skills training. We are very happy to see that many young counsellors have started their own organisation in mental health. Our current running Seit Mate Swe program wants to support more people through small community organisations. One of such local mental health heroes has set up https://www.facebook.com/SuicidePreventionMyanmar and we are proud to be supporting the volunteers who have these difficult conversations with people who have suicidal thoughts. Please help us supporting this organisation as they do a fantastic job!
Suicide Awareness – Youtube Video
Coming soon: Mental Health in the boxing Centre!
We are very excited about the location of our next series of 4-weeks workshops: it’s in a Myanmar Lethwei (Burmese boxing) school. Our aim is to take mental health out of it’s stigma and in the community and we are very happy with cooperation Kokkoya Organics and Yangon Private Yoga in the past. We are now taking it a step further and starting a fantastic cooperation with Strong Wave Myanmar Lethwei Gym
Expect to learn some basics of Lethwei by Burmese boxing talents in combination with basics on how to stay mentally strong by our counsellors.
The workshops will be in Myanmar language, held on Sundays on 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th in March at 9:00am – 12:00 Noon and are reasonably priced at 120.000 Kyats for 4 sessions. Interested? Call us already now to reserve your spot and keep an eye on our Facebook page for details.
It’s good to see big Myanmar companies doing something for mental health
Mental health is important for everybody in Myanmar and we applaud companies that take this seriously and support their staff AND the community they are working in. The private Myanmar TV channel MNTV took the initiative to produce public service announcements and broadcast these on TV reaching millions of people nationwide. The animations are talking about stress, trauma, depression, suicidal thoughts, postnatal depression and gives tips to stay mentally strong. In case you missed it; see one example here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1027905251656281
Is your company ready to talk openly about mental health on your packaging, in social media or elsewhere? Contact us for consultation and ensure that the correct message is send out to your clients, your community and your colleagues.
Contact Counselling corner for bookings as we still have some slots to end the year or to start 2024 with renewed energy: info@counsellingcornermyanmar.com or phone: 09-785074173
Read the Myanmar version of this newsletter on our website
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 from all organizations in Myanmar to discuss mental well-being openly with your team and work on improving it.
For inquiries, please contact us:
Email: contact@counsellingcornermyanmar.com
Phone: 09 785 074 173, 09 784 509 916