Saturday 18 September 2010

The Boy in Stripped Pyjamas


The boy in stripped pyjamas.
Last evening as I was channel surfing I came across the movie the boy in stripped pyjamas. Now I wont argue the historical inaccuracies or how evil the Nazis were. What struck me were the boundaries that separated the characters in the movie. Here was a German family, the father the commandant of Auschwitz , the wife unaware of what her husband did, the daughter an admirer of the Nazi regime. It’s only the son, the protagonist in the movie who explores his boundaries.
The father is following orders to rid Germany of its Jewish menace and restore it to its glory. The family is unaware of the real horror of the concentration camp. When the wife comes to know she has a breakdown. It’s only the little boy who understands there is no difference between Jews and Germans.
Lets take this further. What is it that maintains the boundary of ‘the self’ and ‘the other’? Can dialogue exist between groups that think of themselves as different? The little boy didn’t think there were differences; he worked around the differences in this case by ignoring the wire fence and even digging under it- to help his friend.
The Nazi regime skilfully created the enemy- the Jew, and then went onto exterminate them. This of course was a large and political demonstration of hatred, yet boundaries exist even within those who claim to be secular. A distinction of ‘‘them’, rational irrational exists. Our boundaries prevent us from exploring beyond what we know. Those who accepted what the state told them were already in some way convinced that Nazisim was right and allowed the atrocities to be committed by not opposing the regime and also by not offering their opinions.  The two boys broke the rules they were friends. They didn’t understand their differences.
Unfortunately both the boys end up dying in the gas chambers. It’s a small but poignant scene both the boys hold hands as death approaches. The movie ends in silence because to say anything at a time like this would take away from the pain the characters feel. The other characters are never shown this happy or connected each on of them is disconnected from someone, family members or the reality of their situation.
Perhaps it is the alienation we feel not just from others but also from ourselves that touches us throughout the movie. The boy in the stripped pyjamas transcends that boundary. 

Friday 17 September 2010

PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATE IN PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONS

The Eric Miller Centre for Group Relations, Bangalore, India

&

The Tavistock Consultancy Service, Tavistock Clinic, UK

offers its first ever

PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATE

in
PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONS

for


CONSULTING and CHANGE

24 September 2010 to mid-January 2011

in

JP Nagar, Bangalore
_____________________________________________________

We wish to recruit 10-12 post-graduate students in this program who will be absorbed in jobs with Sukrut and/or its affiliate companies from February 2011 on a consolidated monthly salary of Rs 16,000.00. These students may request for a personal loan to pay the entire or full course fee of Rs 30,000.00 for which they will be required to sign a training bond and/or a loan agreement. This loan will be recovered in 36 equal monthly instalments from March 2011 @ Rs 1000.00 per month from the monthly salary of each individual availing of the loan facility.


Please contact Ms Amrita Chatterjee on + 91 96633 31494 and amritac2007@yahoo.co.in for more details about this job-oriented course and a selection interview with the Programme Director.





Sukrut Human and Organization Consultants Private Ltd.

Sukrut Human and Organization Consultants Private Ltd. specializes in providing psychological services and facilitating the development of human potential.


Sukrut was started in 2008 by a group of unlike-minded professionals: a psychologist, a businessperson, a housewife, a social worker, and a gynecologist. Sukrut underwent a major expansion and relocation in 2009. Today Sukrut consists of over 25 psychologists.

Sukrut provides organizational training with eclectic theoretical groundings and a focus on generative learning. Our training courses are open to external organizations and individuals as well as being used to develop in-house staff.

Our organizational training programs have been successfully implemented in public- and private-sector organizations. Our training programs aim to generate awareness of the self, of others in the organisation, and of significant others in one’s life. The focus is on identifying one’s strengths as well as room for change, and targeting these areas by developing life competencies such as communication and interpersonal skills.

Sukrut’s Trainers have extensive experience in training and developing people in diverse organizational settings. Our Trainers represent a broad base of competencies and professional orientations.
Sukrut provides services in three major areas:
1) Educational Institutions
2) Corporate Sector
3) Therapeutic Service Wing.
In Educational Institutions

Sukrut‘s psychologists provide services in schools customized to different stakeholder needs:

1) Students: remedial training, life skills training, sensitivity training, study skills training and psychotherapist and behavior therapy.

2) Teachers: training in classroom management, behavioral performance management; teacher workshops.

3) Management: problem-focused solution-oriented intervention, leadership training programme.

We have 25 psychologists working full-time in schools serving students from a wide range of cultural, regional, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Psychosocial Interventions in Schools

We advocate a systemic approach to diagnosing and intervening in problems usually identified as residing within the individual. We view the school system, the school, and its constituents as important parallel levels of analysis. We address behavioral and emotional issues identified in students with behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapies (BT and CBT). Our goal is continuous positive development for the system and healthy adjustment and optimal functioning for the individual.

Life Skills Training (LST)

Our Life Skills Training modules are based on the WHO concept and were developed in an intensive long-term process. Sukrut has over 20 Life Skills Trainers catering to students of Stds. 6-10 from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. Our modular approach is customizable to the needs and strengths of the individual student group. Our sessions are participative and activity-based. Group sharing and experiential learning are the cornerstones of LST.

Remedial Training In Schools (RTIS)

Sukrut provides Remedial Training on school premises to students identified as having academic difficulties, learning disorders, and hyperactivity. Our approach to Remedial Training incorporates behavioral and cognitive-behavioral methods. We provide training in cognitive skills as well as in the numerical and linguistic conceptual skills that provide the foundation for academic performance.

Remedial Training includes activities such as art therapy, writing exercises, worksheets, and games to develop and reinforce attention and concentration. Clients may choose to participate in exhibitions showcasing their talents, organized by Sukrut.
Training Programmes

GROUP RELATIONS CONFERENCE (GRC): The GRC provides a unique practical experience in group processes and dynamics as they operate within a formal organisation. Participants collude into a temporary organizational hierarchy and engage in both participative and third-person observation. Based on the Tavistock method of clinical observation, the GRC develops the skills of observation, analysis, and transformation critical to organizational development, as well as to the survival and success.

INWARD CHANGE CONFERENCE (ICC): The Inward Change Conference seeks to create self-awareness and self-development through an experiential, interactive process of facilitated group-sharing. Sharing occurs in both large and small groups. Participants are free to discuss issues or points of interest from their own experience. The group then generates hypotheses concerning the significance of the shared event to the individual's current level of functioning. The ICC can be an extremely cathartic experience; its aim is to facilitate identification and exploitation or room for change.
Practitioner Certification in Psychosocial Interventions for Consulting and Change (PC-PICC): Sukrut in conjunction with Tavistock Clinic, London, is commencing an intensive four-month course open to postgraduates from the field of psychology, social work and with experience working with people, leaders from the NGO & Corporate sector. This course aims to develop skills necessary in systemic diagnosis and change: such as conceptualizing organizational problems, facilitating understanding and functioning in organizational members, and skills for consultation and intervention. The theoretical foundations of the PICC approach are eclectic, ranging from psychodynamic to ecological. The course focuses on group learning and development.

Therapeutic Services

Sukrut adopts a holistic approach to psychotherapy, focusing on the social-ecological context within which problematic patterns of adjustment develop. Our team of psychotherapists is led by a practicing, experienced clinical and behavioral psychologist.

Our services have addressed clients of all age groups (from pediatric to geriatric) and with a range of difficulties (including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism spectrum disorders, nocturnal enuresis, and marital problems). Reflecting our contextual approach, our specialty is in marital and relationship counselling.

Our Psychotherapy facilities include a JPMR room, a play therapy room, and a library. Further, we believe in networking with and harnessing community resources, collaborating with various other healthcare providers to develop a holistic package for each client. As required, we integrate psychotherapy with medical treatment as well as alternative approaches such as yoga and dance therapy. A camp-based approach addresses special-needs groups such as women and children.

Our therapeutic paradigm leans towards behavior therapy (BT) and cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) but is eclectic, incorporating empirically supported research and applications from diverse schools of thought.

We provide psychotherapy on our premises. Appointments on mutually convenient timings. In special cases we consider home visits. Telecounselling and counselling by email are also available.
Corporate Social Responsibility

At Sukrut, we firmly believe in giving back to the community. We have been involved in several charitable activities, some of which are mentioned below:

v Bosco Mane: Our therapists volunteered their time to provide dance therapy.

v Centre for Mentally Retarded Children: Our trainers have been providing behavior therapy to 93 institutionalized mentally retarded children and adults, including training in motor coordination, cognitive skills, and self-care.

 Bal Mandir Juvenile Home (Child Welfare Committee): Our therapist have been volunteering their time to a group of juvenile delinquents. We have been engaging these young people in Remedial Training and therapeutic activities.

For details contact: Shobha Managoli-09900874478 Email: shobhamanagoli@gmail.com

#855, 6th Main, Behind Ragi Gudda, J. P. Nagar, II Phase, Bangalore 560078