“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
In the current climate of ever increasing stress, cut throat competition, and increasing consumerism, it is only natural for any of us to encounter social, personal, or academic problems. The constant pressure and expectation from oneself and significant others often leads to emotional or psychological turmoil, thus disturbing the peace of mind.
When one is away from his/her comfort zone, a mentor, a counsellor, a saathi emerges as ‘a shelter in the storm’. Saathi, the counselling service of IIT Guwahati, has experienced counsellors and a dedicated team who are ready to take the responsibility of guiding and supporting the students in their path towards success and self-fulfilment. This includes handling personal, family and peer problems as well as managing academics more responsibly.
The counsellors provide a comfortable and confidential environment where the students feel at ease to discuss anything that may be bothering them, and help find solution to their problems.
There are times in our lives when we all feel a moment of “impasse”, that feeling of just getting stuck. In these moments it becomes almost impossible to gain an objective perspective and find your way forward. Counselling can play a crucial role in this regard. It is the development of a therapeutic relationship between a client and a mental health professional that focuses on the client’s concerns and problems. That’s not to say that counselors provide solutions, after all nobody knows your life better than you; but rather, it involves a collaborative effort as the two parties work together to identify and work towards the client’s goals. Through this process, clients can develop a better understanding of themselves, including their patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and the ways in which these may have been problematic in their lives. Counseling provides the opportunity to change some of these unhelpful patterns and to examine how to tap into the client’s existing resources - or to develop new ones - to allow for better, more satisfying emotional and social functioning. Because it is an intimate process, it demands a practitioner who is willing to shed stereotyped roles and be a real person in the relationship. Counseling therefore is a therapeutic process embedded within the framework of confidentiality, accurate empathetic understanding and unconditional positive regard.
Namrata Naomi Rynjah
Students’ Counsellor
Hello my dear friends!
Heartiest Congratulations and welcome to IIT Guwahati.
At the very beginning of a significant phase of your life I wish you all a glorious and fulfilling time ahead. May all your dreams come true and may you occupy a happy space, here in this beautiful campus.
During your sojourn you may encounter loneliness, heartbreaks, loss, pain, sorrows, problems and issues of myriad shades. Fear not, fret not. It is life as it comes. You are not alone. Most of us learn life the hard way. Brace up, pull your socks and endure the challenges of life. And I along with my colleagues promise to help you negotiate the crossroads that you might encounter to the best of our capacity.
As Thomas Moore said "...the art of living has more to do with finding a place for the inspirations that rise from the sea of possibilities than with planning and forecasting from anxiety."
Good luck and take care.
Pallabita Barooah Chowdhury
Students’ Counsellor
A very warm welcome to the new batch of freshers!
So now that you have made it to one of the most prestigious Institutes of higher education in the country, you are at the cusp of entering the rather beautiful phase that college life is and we at Saathi understand how daunting it may seem at the onset. Let me tell you that we take great pleasure in dispelling the plethora of myths that are associated with the term “Counselling” on a daily basis! One of them being the idea that one needs to be seriously troubled to see a counselor, which is simply not the case. One may meet us with a seemingly “trivial” issue, but be assured that no issue is too trivial for our time! So next time you’re having doubts about your career, or having a tiff with a buddy, or facing a lack of motivation or anything in between, remember that there is this weird bunch at the New SAC, who will listen, and not judge. The door to the Counselling cell is always open, literally.
So all in all, I wish you all the success that you may possibly earn in the coming years and hope that your time here is filled with fun memories and stories for a lifetime.
Cheers!
Rakesh Kakati
Students’ Counsellor