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Ursuline ‘Sampoorna’ Centre is 10 years

Any one who passes through the historical Rosario cathedral on the Hoige Bazar Road in Bolar can notice the sampoorna counseling Centre in the Campus of St . Ursula convent. The credit of starting counselling ministry in Mangalore Province by establishing a centre under the name  ‘Sampoorna Counselling Centre’,  at Ursula Convent premises in the year 2012,  goes to Sr. Lenita D Souza when she was the provincial superior.  The immediate ground for  establishing  this centre was the return of   Sr.  Dr. Judith Lewis after  very successfully completing her research studies in  St. Thomas University, Manila, Philippines. She being the first  Doctor in Clinical Psychology in the Province, it was necessary to think of a centre in order to make her studies useful and fruitful through efficacious engagement in the field of her specialization. But providentially she got an opportunity to become  a lecturer of Psychology in St. Josepph’s College, Bangalore (which has become a University now),  in the same year and she rendered meritorious services there by  starting  a new department of Psychology which is now flourishing well. As she terminated her services in the College in the year 2018 and returned to Mangalore,  Sr. Lilly Fernandes, the General Councilor of the Congregation then,  was kind enough to take interest in the Centre by furnishing it well and making it quite attractive.  Sr Judith resumed her responsibility as the Director of  the Centre on   16th July  2018,  and since then it slowly picked  up its tempo and now running in full swing, very successfully under her professional skill.

Sampoorna means wholeness and from psychological perspective wholeness means  a sense of good and perfect mental health.  It is a well known fact that people pay more attention to physical health and hardly any one thinks of mental health in our society.  In this context the Samporna counseling centre has a specific mission  to fulfill, namely to propagate not only the awareness of the need for mental health but also to provide concrete support whenever people are tormented with psychological disorders.
 
 Dr. Sr. Judith Lewis being a Clinical Psychologist, and well qualified with necessary skills and core competence to encounter the   clients and identify their problems: emotional, mental, and behavioural, through observation, interviews, and Psychological  tests, has proved herself to be effective and successful in her ministry.  She, with her expertise easily does the clinical diagnoses of any existing or potential disorders. She has also developed treatment plans and therapeutic processes, useful for her clients.
 
Dr. Sr. Judith  Lewis has earned a name for herself  as a Clinical Psychologist since she returned from Manila in 2012.  During the last ten years she has  not only attended international conferences in Taipei, Singapore, Malaysia,  spain, Portugal  and Berlin, as well as national psychological seminars,  but also guided internship for MSc students of Psychology, volunteered as  co-guide to research students, all under the umbrella of Sampoorna Counselling Centre.  She is now known as a qualified   resource person for career guidance, aptitude tests and specialized psychological guidance to children, youth, married couples and families.  All these activities keep the Centre totally engaged and occupied throughout the week with an average of around 50 sessions per week.

Yet another, by no means  less significant  an activity of the Centre is to amplify  its  extension programmes to other institutions with psychological assistance. The scope of this activity is boundless and the Director is actively engaged in presenting herself as a resource person to the following Institutions:

1.  Formation Houses and Religious Communities
2. Educational: (Schools and Colleges)
3.  Social Work Centers:
4. Articles and Write-ups. :  Regular contributor to the Online Digital “Dijiworld” magazine, (www.daijiworld.com/news) on relevant psychological topics in order to enlighten the public on mental health and psychological issues.     Rakno Publications:  Few articles has been published in Rakno for Konkani language readers in order  to give awareness on various psychological issues.       

The land mark achievement in media apostolate from the Sampoorna Counselling Centre is by the publication of the book, “The Pearls for Sound Living” authored by Sr. Dr. Judith Lewis and published by ATC Publications, which was released on Easter Vigil, Saturday April 16, 2022 at St. Annes Church Thottam,   Let the Sampoorna Counselling Centre reach the new heights of service to the humanity.