After opening the COVID-19 call center service, UGM is currently opening the COVID-19 psychosocial call center for its academic community.
This psychosocial call center service started on Monday (6/4). It was created as an effort to provide support to students, lecturers, and UGM education staff in reducing psychological and social burdens due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are mainly open to serve students who are the most vulnerable groups. If you need support, you can contact the UGM psychosocial call center at 0811 285 1221," said the UGM Psychology Task Force COVID-19 Team, Dr. Diana Setiyawati, M.HSc.Psy., on Wednesday (8/4).
Diana said the social support services proposed to students and academic community members so that they would function optimally in this situation. Later, every need for academicians who contact this service will be measured. Furthermore, the team will then follow up on the results of the measurement. For example, whether it is required psychosocial assistance during physical distancing, support in meeting basic needs, the aid of psychologists to psychiatrists.
She said that the call center service was developed by the UGM Health Promoting University team in collaboration with the Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) and the Psychology Consultation Unit of the Faculty of Psychology UGM. The volunteer team who are in the vanguard of the call center service are students of the UGM Faculty of Psychology. The Gajah Mada Psychology Volunteer (Repsigama) was also dispatched and will work with around 200 volunteer cross-disciplinary student volunteers who are prepared to take turns serving in the psychosocial call center services.
"They have been provided with psychological first aid or psychological first aid. So, when listening to complaints, they can calm or provide empathic responses," Diana said.
According to her, the current unusual situation requires someone to adapt to change and face a lot of uncertainty. The reactions that arise can usually be anxiety, fear, excessive negative / positive feelings, difficulty concentrating, decreased / excessive appetite, disturbed sleep patterns, and various physical reactions that make you feel uncomfortable and interfere with daily activities.
"If you feel that way, don't hesitate to contact the Psychosocial Support Call Center service. Your secrecy will be maintained," explained the lecturer and Head of CPMH Faculty of Psychology UGM.
She explained that there are various causes for individuals to be more vulnerable than others to experience anxiety, stress, depression, even suicidal thoughts. Some of them are having physical illness both related to COVID-19 or other illnesses, suffering from psychological pain before this pandemic, economic problems, limitations in learning because the facilities do not support. Then, conflict with family because it continues at home.
"It could also be due to the unfavorable residential and boarding environment such as the size is too small or too dense," she explained.
Therefore, she again conveyed to UGM academicians who felt they needed psychosocial support not to hesitate to contact UGM psychosocial call center services.
Author: Ika
Translator: Natasa A