Jalandhar October 10 (Jaswinder Singh Azad)- At Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, various activities are consistently organized for the continuous development of the faculty and to ensure that the teachers are not pouring from empty cups. On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, the IQAC organized a Faculty Development Program titled “Poetry, Painting, and Pedagogy: Expressive Arts Therapy for Teachers” to promote the well-being and mental resilience of the faculty. Expressing her views on the subject, Principal Dr. Neerja Dhingra stated that in today’s rapidly changing times, paying attention to mental health is just as crucial as physical health, given that many people are grappling with mental apathy and distress in this era of intense competition.
Ms. Niharika Mazumdar, a faculty member from the PG Department of Psychology, and an expressive arts therapist attended the program as a resource person. In this program, Ms. Mazumdar discussed at length the challenge of rising burnout among teachers, analyzing its underlying physical, psychological, and institutional factors, as well as its direct impact on teaching effectiveness. Ms. Mazumdar distributed worksheets designed to evoke childhood memories, offering opportunities for coloring, sketching, reasoning, and poetry writing; the activity left all the teachers immersed in nostalgia.
With great enthusiasm, the teachers completed the worksheets—coloring, sketching, and answering questions—and even composed beautiful poems in the process. Practical CBT-based activities and targeted worksheets were incorporated into the sessions, utilizing cognitive behavioral techniques to restructure negative thought patterns, establish healthy boundaries, and manage daily stress. A guided meditation and mindfulness session was also conducted to provide immediate stress relief and promote deep relaxation, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness in life.
Dr. Rupali Sood expressed her gratitude to Ms. Niharika Majumdar for organizing a Faculty Development Program on such a thoughtful topic, and to the teachers for their active participation. Dr. Dhingra appreciated Ms. Niharika’s efforts in presenting such a thought-provoking topic and also commended the efforts of the program coordinators, Dr. Roopali Sood and Dr. Anjana Kumari, for the successful organization of the Faculty Development Program.