On Friday (5/7), the Health Promoting University (HPU) team and Faculty Counselors Faculty of Biology UGM Counselors organized a training session for Buddy Counselors to prepare their skills for assisting new students in 2024. This year’s Buddy Counselor team is the second cohort following the establishment of the peer counselor team, called Buddy Counselors, by the HPU team and Faculty of Biology Counselors last year.
The Buddy Counselor 2024 team consists of 28 active students who received training and inaugurated on May 20, 2024. The training session was guided by Yudhistira Adi Perdana, M.Psi., a psychologist from the Faculty of Biology UGM . This activity is part of the HPU Faculty of Biology’s work program, chaired by Titin Fauziah, SE., MBA. The Buddy Counselors supported by the Faculty Psychologist and assisted by Faculty Counselors, including Dwi Umi Siswanti, S.Si., M.Sc., Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Rachman Siregar, M.Biotech., and Dr. Dwi Sendi Priyono, S.Si., M.Si.
The Buddy Counselors received training in active listening skills, life goal mapping, and practical sessions in active listening. This team will work alongside the PPSMB Faculty of Biology guides in assisting the 2024 new student cohort. The Buddy Counselor program is the first of its kind in the Faculty of Biology, aimed at helping new students adapt to their new environment, academic life, and all its intricacies. The team provides academic orientation and tracking the mental health of new students to minimize risks throughout their studies at the Faculty of Biology UGM.
“Active listening begins with our willingness to listen to the counselee’s story, paraphrasing, summarizing, clarifying, and providing support. We should focus on the counsellee,” explained Yudhis. “We hope that this new student assistance program becomes a tradition in our faculty, helping new students smoothly transition from high school to university life,” expressed Titin in her remarks. This assistance also facilitates the Faculty Counselors’ efforts in identifying mental health issues early and preparing measures to prevent self-harm and suicide.