LAHORE– The Government College University Lahore has established the Tele-counseling Centre for providing free online counselling services to people dealing with anxiety, stress, fear or other psychological issues arising due to the global pandemic of Coronavirus and lockdown in their houses.
According to Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Asghar Zaidi, the arrangements for the Center, established with the help of their Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology Unit), had been completed; and Punjab Governor, the Chancellor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar would formally inaugurate it tomorrow on Thursday, April 09, 2020.
The Vice-Chancellor said that the Governor Punjab Corona Helpline Call Centre would also refer patients with psychological issues to GCU’s Mental Health Helpline.
Prof. Zaidi said that the cell-phone numbers of the university’s qualified psychologists were also posted on the university’s website and social media accounts along with their availability timings. He said that people of Pakistan had been facing a very tough time due to this COVID pandemic, so all institutions, both public and private, and all individuals must play their role to the best of their resources to help other human beings.
He appreciated that where our doctors and paramedics have been fighting this pandemic as frontline soldiers, our clinical psychologists will also be making efforts to help people in fighting with anxiety, stress, fear or other psychological issues arising due to this global pandemic of Coronavirus and lockdown in their houses.
The Vice-Chancellor said that the GCU Tele-counseling Centre would provide counselling services to relieve the effects of stress and anxiety management, management of isolation anxiety, building resilience, coping with activity restriction, dealing with Hypochondria and Cyber-chondria and supportive psychotherapy for dealing with illness anxiety and fear.
He said that initially five senior clinical psychologists would provide counselling services from 9am to 9pm Monday to Thursday. They will be part of part of the tele medicine corona helpline (0304-1112101)
The Vice-Chancellor advised people In such times of uncertainty, avoid speculations about the pandemic on social media, keep yourself busy with activities, write e-letters to your family and friends, engage yourself with books, watch movies — and above all try to help others which, he believed, was the best way to counter hopelessness, anxiety, depression or fear.
The GCU has been at the forefront of the fight. GCU has also established a quarantine centre for 364 people at its Kala Shah Kaku Campus besides providing 20,000 liters disinfectant to hospitals across Punjab.— PRESS RELEASE
