Prof. Tarhan: "High school and secondary school students also need positive psychology!"

President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan met with teachers who are members of İstanbul Esenler RAM (Counselling and Research Center). In the seminar "Psychological Support Services at School", Tarhan made his remarks on academic failure, addiction, adolescence... Tarhan answered questions from educators about many current problems experienced by students. Expressing educators as individuals who plant seeds in the developing spirit of children, Tarhan pointed out that educators should develop the ability to read the emotional background of their behaviors to identify injured and troubled students. Pointing out that every child is a candidate for leadership, Tarhan said that high school and secondary school students also need positive psychology course and practices.

The seminar, hosted by Üsküdar University at the Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall, was attended by guidance counselors affiliated with the Istanbul Esenler District Counselling Research Center.

Esenler RAM Director Harun Acar, who made the greeting speech of the program, thanked Üsküdar University for hosting and cooperation. In the program, which was moderated by guidance teacher Rasim Helveci, what the students are experiencing today was discussed such as peer bullying, academic failure, technology addiction, anger management, abuse, adolescence, addiction and lack of motivation after the pandemic, etc.

There are attitude mistakes behind behavioral adaptation disorders...

Drawing attention to the importance of preventive mental health in the development of children, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that children who were excluded from the team experienced behavioral adjustment disorders. Tarhan said that the biggest reason behind this is attitude mistakes in the family or education.

Educators need to develop the ability to read the emotional background...

Reminding that teachers are the heroes of children, Tarhan pointed out that each teacher should be able to catch injured and troubled children. Tarhan stated that "Wounded and fragile children cannot express their feelings verbally... They prefer the method of expressing themselves with the language of attitude, behavior and situation. For example, they misbehave or get offended... They are able to express their emotions behaviorally in this way. For this reason, educators should be able to read the emotional background of their children's behaviors very well. Our educators should develop emotional reading skills because the approach based on behavior becomes the guardian's approach. It should focus on the background of the behavior, not just the behavior, and it should be addressed..."

Being an active listener has a therapeutic effect!

Stating that it is very important for the student who has problems to have someone who listens to them in terms of mental health, Tarhan said that in this context, being an active listener has a therapeutic effect. Tarhan said: "If the teacher can actively listen to the student who has a problem, the student will feel valuable. And they will say that this life is worth living. This will have a therapeutic effect on them.".

The balance of love and discipline is important...

Stating that he encountered examples of unsuccessful project children in the society, Tarhan noted that these children, who were raised with high motivation, could show passive-aggressive behaviors in case of failure. Emphasizing the importance of the balance of love and discipline, Tarhan said that academic success is not the only thing that matters, but also life success is very important in the development and life of an individual.

Mothers, fathers and educators plant seeds in the developing spirit of children...

Underlining that mothers, fathers and educators have an important place in the development of children, Tarhan stated that parents and educators plant seeds in the soul and added: "They plant good-evil seeds. Therefore, the student must love their teacher in order for the student to love the lesson, and in order to love the teacher, the teacher must love the student. Love is an exchange. That's why psychological resilience is so important."

It is not right to raise it with shame, prohibition and sin...

Emphasizing that children should not be raised with 'shame, prohibition and sin' today, Tarhan noted that today's children cannot be educated or raised with these words. Tarhan said that children and young people do not like oppressive and imperious language, and they adopt the persuasive method.

Every child is a candidate for leadership...

Answering the questions from the guidance teachers, Tarhan stated that every child is a candidate for leadership. Tarhan said that "Their character education should be given in a very healthy and correct way. In order for children to be successful, it is not enough for them to be smart and hardworking, they also need to be raised to be very good people. A well-educated, intelligent, successful computer engineer becomes a hacker... Therefore, it is not enough to be successful and intelligent, you also need to be raised as a good person."

Psychology brings the minus to zero

Drawing attention to the importance of positive psychology in his speech, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that positive psychology focuses on people's positive character traits, strengths and virtues. Tarhan said that it is a branch of science that directs them to make life more satisfying and contributes to their search for happiness. Tarhan stated that Positive Psychology aims to identify and develop the factors that will enable both individuals and all societies consisting of individuals to be successful. Saying that psychology brings the minus to zero, Tarhan said: "If we evaluate the diseases negatively, the psychology that heals them makes the person normal, that is, it makes the minus zero. Positive psychology, on the other hand, makes people plus. It aims to increase well-being and increase happiness. It aims to improve the quality of life of a healthy person."

The origin of positive psychology...

President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan explained where the roots of Positive Psychology are based and why it has recently come to the fore as follows:

"Especially after 2005, psychiatry has tended to define malignment 0due to the increase in the suicide rate, the increase in violence, and the increase in human cruelty. Why do people become evil, why did bloodlust, cruelty multiply? Why have addictions increased? Why have divorces increased? While searching for answers to these questions, the question 'Are we not able to be happy?' has become the most important question to be answered. In the U.S., studies of anti-depressant use from sewage waste have shown that people cannot live without these drugs. Positive Psychology is a branch of science that has been shaped to combat this problem. When we look at it, it is the explanation of the truths taken from ancient cultures, Eastern teaching, Sufism and Mevlana with scientific methodology, systematizing them and presenting them to the people of this age. It is currently taught at Harvard University as Lecture 1504 and is described as a 'groundbreaking course.'"

Why is positive psychology important?

Noting that it is necessary to realize that Positive Psychology is something different from Pollyannaism, Tarhan stated that Positive Psychology is seeing all the positive and negative aspects of what is experienced, fighting the negative and aiming to focus on the positive while Pollyannaism is not seeing anything negative in life, looking at everything positively.

It is part of the effort to raise good people...

Stating that they have been including Positive Psychology courses in their curriculum since 2013 as part of Üsküdar University's academic education, Tarhan said that "Harvard University, one of America's well-established academic institutions, added Positive Psychology courses to its curriculum in 2015, two years after Üsküdar University. Positive psychology courses, which aim to increase personal skills such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and coping with adversity, started to be taught as a course at Yale University in 2018 after Harvard. In 2019, the positive psychology course was included in the curriculum of the University of Bristol in England. Positive psychology courses, which Üsküdar University has been including as a compulsory course in its curriculum since 201 and realizing the importance of positive psychology long before the world's respected universities in the USA and Europe, are also a part of the effort to raise 'good people' among the aims of our university."

Positive psychology is also needed in high schools and middle schools!

Tarhan said that high school and secondary school levels also need positive psychology courses and practices taught at Üsküdar University. At the seminar, the participants were also presented with the book 'The Science of Happiness' published by Üsküdar University Press.

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)