BIS #1579 COUNSELING WORKSHOP

Elieen Buthello
LONAVLA, OCTOBER 5, 2009:
Maria Ashiana conducted a Workshop on “Social Workers as Counselors” on October 3, 2009 for NGOs based in Lonavla and Pune.

The workshop was initiated by Fr. Barnabe D’Souza. The Manual “Social Workers as Counselors” was efficiently explained by Fr. Barnabe. He also took the opportunity to explain the work of the Salesians with vulnerable children in India, at Shelter Don Bosco and in Lonavla. The sessions were conducted by Prof. Tarana Pitawala of SNDT University and Director of Sinara Education and Career Counseling Institute.

Prof. Pitawala got the group involved in practical nuances of counseling in their situations in the field. There were several sessions in getting the participants taking roles of the ‘Counseled and Counselor,’ Counseling skills in listening, rapport building, assessing the problem, goal setting, understanding the situation and responding accordingly were touched upon.

Fr. Barnabe invited the participants and their organizations to the Udaan 2009 mela in Mumbai. He introduced the FINO Savings cum Identity Card to the participants and gave them an opportunity to discuss it with their Directors to take it further for implementation in their organizations.

The Workshop ended with an announcement of another workshop on ‘Outreach Strategies’ on October 5, 2009 at Matunga, R&D, Mumbai and on October 29, 2009 in Maria Ashiana, Lonavla for the NGOs of Pune district.