Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan met with teachers who are members of Istanbul Esenler RAM. At the seminar "Psychological Support Services in Schools," Tarhan answered questions from educators about many current problems students face, such as academic failure, addiction, adolescence, etc. Stating that educators are individuals who sow seeds in the developing souls of children, Tarhan emphasized that educators need to develop the skill of reading the emotional background of behaviors to identify wounded, troubled students. Also noting that every child is a potential leader, Tarhan stated that high school and middle school students also need positive psychology education and applications.
Guidance counselors from the Istanbul Esenler District Guidance and Research Center attended the seminar held at the Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall, hosted by Üsküdar Üniversitesi.
Esenler RAM Director Harun Acar gave the welcoming speech for the program, thanking Üsküdar Üniversitesi for its hospitality and cooperation.
During the program, moderated by guidance counselor Rasim Helveci, many current issues faced by students were discussed, including peer bullying, academic failure, technology addiction, anger management, abuse, adolescence, addiction, and lack of motivation after the pandemic, etc.
Attitudinal errors are behind behavioral adjustment disorders…
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, emphasizing the importance of preventive mental health in children's development, stated that excluded children and those not included in a team experience behavioral adjustment disorders. Tarhan said that the biggest reason behind this is attitudinal errors in the family or in education.
Educators need to develop emotional background reading skills…
Tarhan reminded that teachers are heroes for children and emphasized that every teacher should be able to identify wounded, troubled children. Tarhan said; “Wounded, fragile children cannot express their emotions verbally… They prefer to express themselves through attitudes, behaviors, and body language. For example, they act naughty or sulk, etc. They can express their emotions behaviorally in this way. Therefore, educators must be very good at reading the emotional background of such behaviors in children. Our educators should develop emotional reading skills. Because an approach based solely on behavior would be a guardian-like approach. Not just the behavior, but the background of the behavior should be focused on and addressed…”
Being an active listener has a therapeutic effect!
Stating that it is very important for the mental health of a student experiencing problems to have someone who listens to them, Tarhan said that in this context, being an active listener has a therapeutic effect. Tarhan said, “If a teacher can actively listen to a student who is having problems, the student will feel valued. 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 'project children' who failed in society, Tarhan noted that these children, raised with high motivation, can exhibit passive-aggressive behaviors in cases of failure. Emphasizing the importance of the balance between love and discipline, Tarhan said that the only important thing is not academic success, but that life success is also very important in an individual's development and life.
Parents, guardians, and educators sow seeds in the developing souls of children…
Underlining the important role of mothers, fathers, and educators in children's development, Tarhan stated that parents, guardians, and educators sow seeds in the developing soul and added: “They sow benevolent-malevolent seeds. Therefore, for a student to love a lesson, they must love their teacher, and for them to love their teacher, the teacher must love the student. Love is giving and receiving. Psychological resilience is therefore very important.”
It is not right to raise children with shame, taboos, and sin…
Tarhan emphasized that today's children should not be raised with 'shame, taboos, and sin,' noting that children today cannot be educated or raised with these words. Tarhan said that children and young people do not like oppressive, authoritative language and adopt persuasive methods.
Every child is a potential leader…
Answering questions from guidance counselors, Tarhan stated that every child is a potential leader. Tarhan said, “Their character education must be given in a very healthy and correct way. For children to be successful, it is not enough for them to be intelligent and hardworking; they must also be raised as very good people. You see a well-educated, intelligent, successful computer engineer becoming a hacker… Therefore, being successful and intelligent is not enough; they must also be raised as a good person.”
Psychology brings the negative to zero
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, also drawing attention to the importance of positive psychology in his speech, said that positive psychology is a branch of science that focuses on people's positive character traits, strengths, and virtues; guides them to make life more fulfilling, and contributes to their pursuit of happiness. Tarhan stated that Positive Psychology aims to identify and develop factors that will enable both individuals and entire societies composed of individuals to be successful. Tarhan, saying that psychology brings the negative to zero, said, “If we evaluate illnesses as negative, psychology, which heals them, brings a person back to normal, that is, it makes the negative zero. Positive psychology, on the other hand, moves a person to a positive state. It aims to increase well-being and multiply happiness. It aims to increase the quality of life of a healthy person.”
The origins of positive psychology…
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan explained where the roots of Positive Psychology lie and why it has recently come to the fore:
“Especially after 2005, due to the increase in suicide rates, violence, and human cruelty in the USA, psychiatry turned to defining evil. Why are people becoming evil, why has bloodlust and cruelty increased? Why have addictions risen? Why have divorces multiplied? While seeking answers to these questions, the question 'Are we failing to be happy?' became the most important question to be answered. Research conducted in the USA by measuring antidepressant use from sewage waste revealed that people became unable to live without these drugs. Positive Psychology is a branch of science formed to combat this problem. When we look at it, it is the explanation, systematization, and presentation to the people of this era of truths taken from ancient cultures, Eastern teachings, Sufism, and Mevlana, using scientific methodology. Currently, it is taught at Harvard University as course number 1504 and described as a 'groundbreaking course.'”
Why is positive psychology important?
First and foremost, Tarhan stated that it is necessary to realize that Positive Psychology is different from Pollyannaism. While Pollyannaism means not seeing anything negative in life and looking at everything positively, Positive Psychology aims to see all positive and negative aspects of experiences, fight the negative, and focus on the positive.
Part of the effort to raise good people…
Tarhan stated that Üsküdar Üniversitesi has included Positive Psychology courses in its curriculum since 2013 as part of its academic education. He said, “Harvard University, one of America's long-established academic institutions, added Positive Psychology courses to its curriculum in 2015, two years after Üsküdar Üniversitesi. Positive psychology courses, which aim to increase personal skills such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and coping with difficulties, began to be taught as courses at Yale University in 2018 after Harvard. In 2019, Bristol University in England also included a positive psychology course in its curriculum. Long before prestigious universities around the world such as the USA and Europe, Üsküdar Üniversitesi recognized the importance of positive psychology, and the positive psychology courses it has included as mandatory courses in its curriculum since 2013 are also part of our university's effort to raise 'good people' among its goals.”
High school and middle school students also need positive psychology!
Tarhan stated that high school and middle school levels also greatly need the positive psychology course and its applications taught at Üsküdar Üniversitesi. The book 'Science of Happiness,' published by Üsküdar Üniversitesi publications, was also gifted to the participants at the seminar.