The Psychosocial Support Group under the banner of All Arunachal Pradesh Psychological Association organized a webinar on ‘suicide prevention during COVID-19 pandemic’ on Tuesday, according to a press release today.

In his deliberation, Dr. Krishnan Gireesh, Chairman PSY Link and Former President of Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists dwelt upon the aspects of ‘I quit’ and ‘Why’ which focused on the perspective of the victim, highlighting the myths and realities on the reasons, suicides occur. He also emphasized on personal and cultural risk factors related to suicide.

In the second technical session, Pampak Khumukcham, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Asst. Professor, Department of Psychology, RIMS, Manipur, spoke at length on the topic ‘Psychological first aid for the caregivers.’ She focused on the role of a caregiver for the victim and emphasized that anyone can be a caregiver, that it is not necessary that one needs to know a certain set of skills to take care of the victim.

She also highlighted the do’s and don’ts one must know as a caregiver and the importance of listening and active planning while dealing with people with suicidal tendencies. 

Coordinator of the event, Jomyir Bagra, Guest Assistant Professor at RGU’s Psychology Department said “The webinar is specially meant for the people of the state, as the state has witnessed an increasing number of suicide cases in recent times. This webinar is an attempt to respond to the issues of self-harm and thoughts of suicide in young people.”

A total of 100 participants attended the event through Zoom App.