Course
Descriptions
Gita
Sadhana : A Spirituality for Today
The world that the Gita unfolds before us is one of
wholeness and harmony, of freedom, love and peace;
but it is not a world that makes us forget 'our' world
of fear, blindness, attachments, greed and violence.
On the contrary it is a world which both opens our
eyes to the way we go about fragmenting our world
through our likes and dislikes and makes us discover
a holistic world through the light of discernment.
The Gita achieves this through the yoga of insight
into the very nature of the Ultimate, of communion
with all human beings and of commitment to the universe.
Gita Sadhana is a theoretical as well as a practical
initiation into the Yoga which in effect is a spiritual
exercise that makes us see the Divine in all things
and all things in the Divine.
Vipassana:
Awareness of the World and the World of Awareness
Vipassana, also known as insight meditation, is a
simple and direct practice of moment to moment observation
of the mind-body process through calm and focused
awareness. Observing experiences from a place of stillness
enables us to relate to life with less fear and clinging.
Seeing the reality of constant change, we begin to
accept pleasure and pain, fear and joy and all other
aspects of our life with increasing poise and equanimity.
Deepening insight helps us see the totality of our
being and experience life with greater clarity, wisdom
and compassion. Under skilful guidance the course
aims at gaining a deeper understanding of both the
theory and practice of meditation and explores the
therapeutic potential of Vipassana.
Psychology
and Women
Perception, cognition, meaning making and response
patterns of men and women differ, with corresponding
differences in values, attitudes and behaviours, a
fact that has received inadequate recognition in male-dominated
societies. This course will seek to impart an understanding
of the feminine ways of experiencing and relating
to the world and their implications for ecology, spirituality
and counselling.
Dream
Work and the Inner Life
Recognizing the healing and transformative power of
dreams, this course will provide a brief overview
of different approaches to dream work. Going beyond
dream analysis and interpretation, it will also offer
a body-oriented approach of dream integration that
will enhance personal growth. The course will be primarily
experiential aiming at personal growth through actual
dream work in group as well as training in working
with dreams under supervision.
Imagery
and Healing
Imagination as a vital key in determining whether
people stay well or become ill, whether they respond
positively to challenges or succumb to stress and
illness, has been historically recognized. Modern
psychology and medicine are awaking to the power of
imagery in the healing process. An impressive and
expanding body of clinical and research evidence supports
its use in a broad range of therapeutic settings and
shows it as a preeminent factor in the psychological,
emotional and spiritual healing of people dealing
with crises. This course will include demonstrations
as well as didactic sessions leading students to explore
the healing potential of imagery in dealing with physical
and psycho-spiritual problems.
Psychology
of Religion
Humankind, since the emergence of consciousness, has
continuously grappled with perennial questions related
to the meaning and mystery of life and death, after
life, and transcendence. This course examines the
individual and social processes involved in these
religious questions and the human efforts at answering
them. It will study religion as path as well as pathology,
exploring its nature, development and consequences
for individual and social health, employing the perspectives
of psychologists who have studied religion, including
in its scope the recent contributions from transpersonal
psychology and consciousness studies. It will also
examine the approaches of various mystical traditions
and religious thinkers who have contributed to our
understanding of religion.
Psychopathology
and Mental Health
This course is intended to provide students with a
working knowledge of psychopathology - the various
expressions of dis-ease and disturbance placing particular
emphasis on the discrimination between normal adjustment
problems and enduring psychopathology. Students are
helped to determine appropriate ways of helping persons
and of making referrals when necessary. A major part
of this course will also involve leading students
towards a wellness model of the person,
focusing attention on support systems
and resources available to him/her in dealing with
the challenging aspects of dis-ease.
Psychological
Evaluation
The course will offer a basic overview of psychological
assessment and the basics of some selected personality
inventories and projective techniques by taking, scoring
and interpreting them. The focus will be on learning
through understanding the tests and themselves in
the light of the test results and on developing an
overall framework for assessment with particular sensitivity
to the complexity of the human person and an anticipated
range of human problems. They will also be trained
to assess the mental status and evaluate the psychological
condition of clients so that appropriate intervention
modalities can be chosen and necessary referrals made.
Personality
Types
The awareness of who we are, how we behave and how
we interact with one another and affect our world
is important for personal and interpersonal effectiveness.
In this course the students will learn to use some
of the effective tools available for self-understanding
like Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Enneagram.
The MBTI identifies one's preferred modes of orienting
energy, patterns of perception and judgement and overall
personality configuration or 'psychological signatures.'
The Enneagram is a dynamic personality typology that
illustrates the full range of human potential and
points the way to recognizing and maximizing one's
potential. The personality types of the Enneagram
identify the main features of our inner landscape
and provide us with an interpretation of the human
personality so encompassing that it takes us to the
threshold of the spiritual. The Enneagram, therefore,
is being widely recognized as a natural bridge between
the psychological and the spiritual.
Neuro-Linguistic
Programming (NLP)
NLP offers a detailed and pragmatic model of the process
involved in human behaviour and communications. It
is non-invasive. Its principles can be used to understand
and make changes in many areas of human activity.
The objective is to provide one with the widest range
of flexibility and greater choices and possibilities
for behaviour.
Crisis
Intervention
Counsellors frequently face crisis situations as people
encounter unexpected loss and bereavement, potential
suicide, sexual assault, family conflict, distressing
health concerns, accidents, vocational crisis, and
the like. Helping people in such distress requires
a range of skilful responses quite different from
those appropriate in more traditional forms of counselling.
In this course students will learn both theory, skills,
and techniques of crisis counselling with focus on
counsellor awareness and understanding.
Special
Issues in Counselling
The counsellor has to deal with various issues in
different work and life settings where understanding
and intervention may be necessary. This course offers
the basic theory and skills needed in dealing with
diverse issues such as depression, problems of aging,
stress and burnout, professional ethics, counselling
AIDS patients, formative psychology, and midlife transition.
It affords students an opportunity to pursue topics
and areas of special relevance to their work under
competent guidance.
Zen
and Psychic Harmony
This retreat aims at an introduction to Zen. Through
sitting and walking meditation and didactic sessions,
it will offer the Zen understanding of human life
and inner freedom, of awareness and awakening, and
explore its diverse methods for helping persons toward
attaining personal and spiritual growth. Acknowledging
the therapeutic and formative value of Zen, this retreat
under the guidance of a Zen master will be encouraged
during this programme.
Supervised
Practicum
Training in integral counselling culminates in the
supervised practicum in real life settings under professional
counsellors approved by the Institute. Students are
required to complete 6 months of full time counselling
work in individual and group settings. Emphasis is
placed on conceptualizing counselling cases using
various models or frameworks with respect to assessment
and intervention.
Integration
Paper
Students demonstrate mastery in an area of interest
to them in counselling and spirituality under the
direction of an approved guide. This masters level
project aims not merely to be a scholarly paper but
an integration of their learning in class room, counselling
settings and their life experiences and interests.
An oral presentation and defence of the completed
project are required.
