On Saturday, May 28, 2011, i was interviewed by reporter Sahana Bhandari. This article was published in the popular newspaper “The Times of India’s” local supplement Chembur-Ghatkopar Plus.
“Currently working in school as a counselling psychologist, Mansi Gupte feels great to be working with cute adorable kids. As a psychologist she recommends some tips to maintain peace of mind”
Mansi Gupte has a lot to tell about herself. She has been a model for a photography workshop. She experienced fame for the first time when she was selected as ‘Model of Month’ in January 2007 and she appeared on the cover page of Chatura magazine.
She was also selected as the ‘First Chosen One’ in Chembur- Ghatkopar Plus in October 2007. But when it comes to her real profession,everyday is a new day with different challenges for her. She is a counselling psychologist working in SVDD School, Ghatkopar.
“I have always been interested in psychology and I enjoy working with children,” says Mansi. She explains counselling as a process that focuses on enhancing the psychological well-being of the client. To her it means helping people deal with and overcome their behavioural, emotional and academic issues.
Three years in to this profession, the most common problem she has come across is academics wherein the child is not able to concentrate on studies. “Behaviour problems are when children get stubborn, throw tantrums and show a pattern of hostile or disruptive behaviour towards oneself or towards the society,” she adds.
Talking about child rearing and parent child relationship she says, “In case of working parents, I would say the child gets less attention. Parents should avoid yelling, nagging and screaming to manage child’s behaviour and harsh punishment is not a way to discipline your child. More than caring, parents should become aware of the child’s feeling and thinking.”
One of her recent successful case involved a seven-year-old boy who was reluctant to go to school because of his extreme disliking for writing. “The child would weep the entire day when forced and used to be always under a fear. In this case behaviour therapy helped which included sessions with parents, school members and class teacher.”
During personal sessions with the child, she applied play and art therapy. She made him do some muscular movements to improve writing. Soon he started going to school. Now he attends all the ten periods of school and writes well.
The counselling theory or approach that she follows are play and art therapy and a variety of other tactics. “Talking, establishing rapport with the child is a must. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Behaviour Therapy and REBT ie Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy are some of the therapeutic settings I follow depending on the case,” she explains.
She loves her job but she also revealed the challenges she faced in her profession. “Sometimes explaining few parents gets complicated. As parents, they do not want to believe anything unpleasant about their children. It is the psychologist’s job to make parents understand their child’s condition.”
Being in the mind profession, when asked about mental health she explains that mental health refers to cognitive and emotional wellbeing. “It is all about how we think, feel and behave,” she smiles.Concerned about the growing stress among humans, she says that the source of stress can be hectic lifestyle, inability to deal with a particular situation in the right way, aggression, negative thinking, neglecting sleep and nutrition. “Stress can be harmful if it is prolonged.
Stress lowers your resistance to psychological trauma. It leads to tension, lack of fulfillment, sense of futility, reduced self-esteem and confidence,” she adds.Discussing about the rising cases of depression she states,
“Depression is a condition when a person feels sad, miserable or down in dumps. But not everyone recognizes depression when it happens to someone they know. It can be harmful if people hide their depression and avoid getting help.
Depending on its severity, depression can be dealt with proper consultation, counselling and appropriate medication.”In her leisure time Mansi loves to read books and travel to far away places. “Yoga, meditation, relaxation, welfare activities help to keep peace of mind. If you like to be by yourself, moments of silence can keep you at peace with yourself,” she concludes.
Sources: Chembur Ghatkopar Plus.
This article can also be read here interview
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