UPM Serdang, 19 October – The Opening Ceremony of the National Counseling Month 2023 was organized by the Malaysian Counselors Board. The theme of Counseling Month for 2023 is "Civil Minded Harmonious Society". This ceremony was officiated by YB Datuk Hajah Aiman Athirah Sabu, Deputy Minister of Women and Community Development. While the Keynote Speech of the Counseling Seminar was delivered by YBhg. Prof. Dr. Othman bin Dato' Mohamed, President of the Board of Counselors. The ceremony will take place on 10 October 2023 from 8.30am until 4.30pm at Dewan Perdana Nur, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), Putrajaya.

National Counseling Month is celebrated in October every year since 2016 in conjunction with World Mental Health Day. Various slots have been held specifically for the counselors in attendance. Among them is the Counseling Expert Talk which discusses the Human Well-being of a Harmonious Society conducted by a 3-member panel of Prof. Associate Dr. Mohd Izwan Mahmud, UKM Lecturer, Dr. Azmawaty Mohamad Nor, Malaysian Board of Counselors and Mr Md Noh Saiman from LPPKN. In addition, another very interesting slot is "Counselor and Law" shared by Dr. Jum'awaton Shahruddin from the Attorney General's Department. The last slot was delivered by Puan Maisarah Hashim from the KPWKM Women's Development Department who presented on Anti-Sexual Harassment Advocacy. counselors from various agencies come to attend this program including government and private departments.

Each of the counselors present are registered counselors and are active in guidance and counseling services including lecturers, counselors, counseling teachers and counseling practitioners. The impact of this program is to inject high enthusiasm to all counselor practitioners to continue delivering psychological and counseling services to the community. The counseling profession is no longer a new thing in society, but has become a main pillar in helping society deal with mental health issues that are getting worse. A participant in the UPM Counseling Month launch program, Mrs. Anis Akmilah, UPM's Psychology Officer stated "I am grateful that the Malaysian Counselor Board organizes such a program every year, through this forum I can meet fellow counselors from various agencies and can exchange experiences and skills in helping clients. This kind of program can also help me to always be aware of the current needs of society, especially teenagers."

Photo: Memories of the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 National Counseling Month Celebration

Photo: Speech of YB Datuk Hajah Aiman Athirah Sabu, Deputy Minister of Women and Community Development (Left) and Local Social Support Center Promotion, PSSSMobile @KPWKM (Right)

Date of Input: 23/10/2023 | Updated: 23/10/2023 | ayna