As many as 50 alumni of the Faculty of Psychology wrote a collaborative book entitled Jejak Delapan Tiga: Perjalanan Hidup Satu Angkatan Psikologi UGM that recounts their career pursuit journey in the psychology field. This 536-page book reflects the development of psychology based on their respective outlooks and experiences.
It offers a unique perspective on the matter surrounding the writers’ circumstances during their admission in 1983. At that time, there were only three state universities in Indonesia that had a Faculty of Psychology, namely the University of Indonesia, Padjadjaran University, and UGM. In that year, Airlangga University also opened a Psychology study program but was still under the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. Psychology in Indonesia has grown rapidly to date as seen through its participation in over 128 universities throughout the country.
Professor of the Faculty of Psychology UGM, Prof. Dr. Djamaludin Ancok, commended them for the launching of the book. For Ancok, psychology is a field of science that intersects in almost every field of work. He gave an example of his experience in teaching MBA programs both at home and abroad. “I taught leadership, organizational change, consumer psychology, and even provided training in companies,” said Ancok in the virtual book launching and discussion event, Friday (4/12).
For those alumni and workers in psychology, it would not hurt to study other fields of science that have a close relation to psychology. “Because human behavior is related to psychology,” he explained.
Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing (FKKMK), Prof. Yayi Suryo, who is among the alumni and co-author the book, revealed that his current field of work is mostly in medicine, but promotion activities in health and healthy living habits such as smoking cessation campaigns correspond heavily to counseling and consulting matters. “Health promotion is beneficial to understand people’s behavior,” he said.
Besides, according to his observation, nursing staff did more activities related to psychology, such as relaxation and mindfulness. “This is a challenge for us to keep on expanding our insights regardless of the fields and be open to stances that suggest psychology goes hand in hand with industry and health,” he said.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Translator: Salma