GCU celebrates Mental Health Week

Lahore: The Dr Ajmal Psychological Society is celebrating the Mental Health Week at the Government College University Lahore with an aim to promote positive thinking in the society through art and culture. Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah inaugurated the celebrations which began on Monday with an Inter-Universities Poster Competition themed “Positive Psychology” and an on-campus awareness walk titled “Mental Health Walk.”

Around 100 psychology students from different educational institutions of the metropolitan including Punjab University, Kinnaird College and Lahore College for Women University took part in the competition and put on display their posters which highlighted the key values that helped people in staying positive in negative environments. The posters were inscribed with interesting and through-provoking headlines.

Speaking on the occasion, GCU Psychology Department Chairperson Dr. Syeda Salma Hasan highlighted the need for promoting positivity in the society through art and culture, saying that it’s not wealth but the core values of love, hope, tolerance and generosity which made the life of a person contended and happy. She said that celebrating Mental Heal Week was one of the oldest traditions of GCU Psychology Department and this year it was themed positive psychology which emphasized on positive thinking.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan Amir Shah called upon the students to value unconditional bonding of relationships, forgive other and serve the humanity, saying that these positive attributes give better direction to the developmental journey of their life. He appreciated the artwork of the students, saying that artistic expression was best way to create awareness as it usually had a very strong and direct impact on the thinking of people.

Later, the Vice Chancellor gave away prizes and certificates to the winners of the competition. A performing arts festival and workshop on “Diagnosis Psychopathology and treatment planning” are also part of the week long celebrations.