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Counselling for college-going drug users |
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By: Alisha Coelho |
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Date:
2009-07-05 |
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Place: Mumbai |
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AFTER the recent arrest of two college students in possession of drugs outside Bhavan's college in Girgaum, counsellors have advised college principals and parents to be sensitive while handling the cases. Social boycott and extreme punitive action can lead to further delinquent behaviour.
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One of the students arrested outside Bhavan's college for possession of cocaine, being produced in court pic/A Aziz | In a workshop organised for students and administrators of over 25 colleges by the KEM Department of Psychiatry, the need for counselling and rehabilitation of such students with sensitivity was discussed. "Students caught taking drugs are fearful and apprehensive when they come in. They are even in denial.
Ostracising them can only lead to harmful effects on their character," said Dept of Psychiatry HOD, Dr Shubhangi Parkar.
Dr Madhavi Pethe, principal of M L Dahanukar College at Vile Parle said that she had encountered several such cases in her college but counselling and not harsh disciplinary action was the first recourse. "Some students have confessed that they used to take drugs just before sports practice to numb pain and others were just experimenting. It's essential to bring these students back on the right path and not banish them. Fortunately the rapport between my staff and students has been effective enough to help solve these problems before they escalate out of hand," said Pethe.
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