Monday (19/6), the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) conducted a field visit and exchange in collaboration with the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. Apart from students from the University of Sydney, the Center for Indigenous and Cultural Psychology (CICP) and the Student Activity Unif of Diffable Care (SAUDC) were also present as partners in organizing the field visit & exchange entitled Disability Inclusion and Rights Fulfillment in Indonesia.

Dr. Wenty Marina Minza, M.A., Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, and Cooperation at the UGM Faculty of Psychology, officially opened the activity. Wenty also welcomed Prof. Sonja van Wichelen, Deputy Director of the Sydney Southeast Asia Center, and students from the University of Sydney to the UGM Faculty of Psychology.

Pradytia Putri Pertiwi, S.Psi., Ph.D., a Lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology UGM and an adviser to UKM Caring for Disabilities UGM, moderated the discussion. Wuri Handayani, S.E., Ak., M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business UGM; Elga Andriana, S.Psi, M.Ed, Ph.D., Lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology UGM; Alexander Farrel, Student of Faculty of Law UGM and member of SAUDC; and Restu Tri Handoyo, Ph.D., Psychologist., Lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology UGM and Head of the Unit Konsultasi Psikologi (UKP) were the four speakers in the discussion session.

Wuri began her presentation by stating that several studies had found a vicious cycle between difficulties and poverty, “If we are talking about disability, it is very close to poverty… There’s a vicious cycle between disability and poverty. There are many barriers—physical, social, or attitude barriers—that they have to face in Indonesia. The facilities or schools cannot accommodate all disabled children in Indonesia. Second, because of a lack of education, they couldn’t compete with non-disabled people in terms of getting decent work. Because of a lack of education, they also experienced a low level of wage”. 

Continuing the discussion, Elga Andriana gave a presentation on education for people with disabilities. In Indonesia, children with disabilities attend special schools at the elementary level. Few institutions provide education to those with disabilities, especially at the higher education level, which is another issue with education for people with disabilities in Indonesia, “There are around 184 universities in Indonesia that provide inclusive education”.

One of the presenters, Alexander Farrell, told his experience as a person with a disability who is presently attending university.

Author: Erna

The Psychology Consultation Unit (UKP) on Friday (18/11) held a webinar entitled “Dear Little Me, It’s not Your Fault”. The event was held online with Amalia Nur Aisyah Tuasikal, Psychologist as the moderator. Meanwhile, the resource person was delivered by Annisa Poedji Pratiwi, Psychologist and Ernawati Widyaningsih, Psychologist. It is hoped that through this event the participants who take part will get the opportunity to learn more about the relationship between the inner children and also the traumatic events that have been experienced in the past.

Before heading to the main event, Restu Tri Handoyo, Ph.D Psychologist as the head of UKP was present to give a speech. “Maybe what I need to say is that today’s event is UKP’s effort to provide more benefits for as many people as possible. So that UKP does not only have the UGM academic community or the Faculty of Psychology, but also provides broader benefits to the public.”

After Restu gave his remarks, the event continued with the first session delivered by Annisa Poedji Pratiwi, Psychologist. In this session, Annisa explained the relationship between trauma and the inner child born from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). In addition, the inner child can also be understood as a part of oneself that has a “childish” way of thinking, feeling, behaving, and acting inside an adult. “So, there is a little one whose way of thinking, feeling, behaving, acting is childish even though he is an adult,” explained Annisa.

“That the inner child is neutral and when the inner child is healthy, the presence and existence of the inner child within us can empower ourselves to grow into more optimal adult individuals.” A healthy and empowering inner child consists of good curiosity about new things around us, spontaneous & free to explore things that are foreign to oneself, energetic, passionate, storytelling, creative, focused, and fun when doing something.

Annisa also said that don’t blame the inner child as a scapegoat. “Inner child is neutral, friends. Inner child only tells us that there is something in the past that we need to process, that we need to restore so that our inner child can return to health and power so that we can grow into optimal adult individuals.”

Then, how do you find out inner child? This was conveyed by Ernawati Widyaningsih, Psychologist in the second session. First, the way to know the inner child is to be aware. “Be aware of positive and/negative past experiences. Of course, our life experiences are diverse,” explained Ernawati.

Then, identify inappropriate responses or triggers. It can be a situation, condition, or who is the person who can be the trigger or hidden desire and need. Then take action by taking responsibility. It relates to the need to do something at once as a form of expression. Next, foster and assist the inner child by meeting their needs and making friends. “Learning to be friends, not when we know there is a wound inside, we actually “beat” ourselves with obligations. It should be this, it should be that, “explained Ernawati.

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Promovendus Club Doctoral Program in Psychology UGM once again held a Kolokium Dua Mingguan (KDM) event with the topic “Food Choice and Sugar Intake: Promoting Healthy Eating in the Obesogenic Environment through Priming and Nudging Methods” (18/11). This topic was discussed by the main speaker, namely Ana Undarwati Ph.D who is a lecturer and researcher at Semarang State University. The purpose of holding this event is to become a forum for information and sharing related research that has been carried out by presenting competent speakers. In addition, this KDM activity is part of a series of activities for the 58th Anniversary of the UGM Faculty of Psychology.

“Thank you, this morning there were quite a lot of participants, it was extraordinary. Even though it’s online, we, from the Faculty of Psychology, Gadjah Mada University, especially the Doctoral Study Program in Psychology, would like to say hello and thank you for your enthusiasm for all attending this morning’s event,” said Edilburga Wulan Saptandari, Ph.D Psychologist as Head of the Doctoral Program in Psychology.

At the beginning of the event, Ana asked the participants about diet, “Are you on a diet program? It’s okay to answer silently because actually this question is also sensitive for me”. Ana admitted that she had been on a diet program for years and it didn’t work. “So, it was from the trauma of dieting that I had the idea to explore this (diet)”, said Ana.

According to Ana, each individual must have had thoughts about managing their diet. “I will start by sharing diet experiences.” Ana shared that she had started dieting for 6 years after giving birth, but there were no significant results. Even though this diet problem is a long-term problem which later if not regulated will lead to overweight and even obesity.

“So, some say that obesity is a silent killer. If you eat something delicious like cake now, maybe the effect won’t be right away. However, when it (eating cake) becomes a habit, it will have long-term effects.” In addition, environmental factors also support or actually hinder the diet program or can be called the attention and behavior gap. You could even say, the current environment is an obesogenic environment, which means access and availability is very easy, food trends change quickly, faced with a variety of fatty food choices and large portions.

From research conducted by Ana, information can be obtained that the fake food (study 1) provided evidence than non-conscious cognitive routes intervention (i.e., implicit priming) potentially works better for individuals with a higher BMI. Nudging is more effectively applied in an individual context compared to when in a group context (sweetened tea experiment study: study 2). Combining nudging and competition interventions has the potential to reach a saturation effect.

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Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) Faculty of Psychology UGM conducts Online Lectures (KulOn) with the topic “A to Z of Mental Disorders and Suicidal Behavior”. The topic was shared by two speakers, namely Nurul Kusuma Hidayati, M.Psi., Psychologist and Wirdatul Anisa, M.Psi., Psychologist. The topic of KulOn this time was delivered in the form of a QnA, namely answering questions that had previously been submitted by the audience without any lengthy presentation before of material from the resource persons.

However, before starting to answer the questions that have been submitted, Nurul again reminded the participants who attended KulOn about the four pillars of support, “So, when we talk about mental health, we are talking about the four pillars of support, and they are active and endeavored”.

Apart from reminding about the four pillars of support, Nurul also reminded about one of the protective factors that can be developed and pursued is mental health literacy. The higher mental health literacy, the higher the ability to understand oneself so that they are more sensitive and can make early detection of mental health disorders. “The very minimal mental health literacy in society has caused such a large gap in handling,” said Nurul.

After explaining several things related to mental disorders and suicidal behavior, the resource persons began to answer the incoming questions one by one. One of them is about why individuals can have the desire to commit suicide and Wirdatul answered by analogy with a pillar that supports a burden. “Individuals who have suicidal thoughts are like having a big burden, but the pillars that support that burden are fragile,” explained Wirdatul.

Wirdatul explained several factors that made the pillars that support fragile, such as social factors, having a traumatic experience, having a single or comorbid mental disorder diagnosis, substance and alcohol abuse, inability and reluctance to ask for help, and a person’s level of religiosity.

At the end of the session, it was closed with a question about how to have simple tips to be mindful, so you don’t easily get distracted and think about committing suicide again. “Have routines and notes. Make yourself as an individual who needs notes so that what is done is done in a systematic manner,” replied Nurul.

“Thoughts are wild, and a person may experience sudden negative thoughts. Once a negative thought appears, it will provoke other negative thoughts to appear. Therefore, writing and keeping notes is one way to organize and tidy up those (wild) thoughts and minimize multitasking activities, “added Wirdatul.

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The Faculty of Psychology UGM in collaboration with the Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) held an Online Lecture (KulOn) with the topic “NSSI Phenomenon among Students & College Student: Protective Factors & Risk Factors” (19/09). NSSI is one of the things that individuals do to deal with feelings that are difficult to manage, but NSSI is not a clinical diagnosis or mental disorder.

According to research in 2022 by Wang and colleagues, it was found that teenage girls and boys have a different tendency to do NSSI and statistically NSSI behavior is more common in girls. “We want to convey a warning to women that we are more vulnerable to NSSI. So, please be more vigilant,” urged Nurul Kusuma Hidayati, M.Psi., Psychologist as one of the speakers at KulOn this time.

In addition, Wirdatul Anisa, M.Psi., Psychologist also explained that NSSI behavior can cause addiction. “Therefore, the behavior of self-harm is not seen from the motive, but seen from the person’s desire to hurt himself without any intention of killing him or her self.” For individuals who do not have mental disorders, but then solve their problems by doing NSSI as a form of instant problem solving, it will potentially lead to mental disorders, depression, or anxiety disorders if allowed to continue.

Through this KulOn topic, it is also explained what conditions can make individuals susceptible to NSSI behavior or are referred to as risk factors. Things that can be risk factors are bad experiences in childhood, low ability to manage emotions, inability to express thoughts or feelings, low self-esteem, low stress tolerance, lack of ability to solve problems, family members or peers having NSSI, using social media, having mental disorders, and low knowledge about health. “It doesn’t mean that there are more risk factors, how come there are fewer protective factors, as if the protective factors were losing, no. However, we want to show that there are many conditions that must be watched out for and observed so that they can be anticipated, “explained Nurul.

Meanwhile, for protective factors as a condition that can protect or reduce individual vulnerability related to NSSI behavior, it was conveyed by Wirdatul. The protective factors in question consist of 3 things, namely social support, having positive coping, and mature emotional regulation.

“What should we do when we see or find people around us doing NSSI? First, increase literacy regarding NSSI behavior regarding dangers, consequences, unexpected impacts that were not known beforehand because NSSI actors do not know that NSSI can be something dangerous, “explained Nurul during the presentation of the material.

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The Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, again held a Student Activity Body or it could be abbreviated as BKM Expo 2022 by offline. Two years earlier, the BKM Expo was held online, “Honestly, there was a lot of confusion that I and the committee friends felt from the beginning of the committee’s formation,” said Aufa Fadhil as Chair of the 2022 BKM Expo Committee.

BKM Expo 2022 is held so that new students can get to know each BKM and Communities under the auspices of the UGM Faculty of Psychology. There are several BKMs participating in this year’s expo, such as PMK, KMK, KMP, LM Psi, Repsigama, Palapsi, KRST, BPPM Psychomedia. Meanwhile, the communities that are part of the 2022 expo are Basketball, Futsal, Badminton, OpteamA, Psycholens, YES! CPMH, and Triba.

In addition to introducing BKM and the community under the auspices of the UGM Faculty of Psychology, the 2022 BKM Expo is also held as a forum as well as an opportunity for BKM and the community to show off through various activities that have been carried out. “At first, as the chairman, I was confused about the most appropriate form of committee because this is the first time the transition from online to offline events is,” said Aufa.

When asked what the difference between BKM Expo 2022 and the previous year was, Aufa explained that the previous two years BKM Expo was held online and only in 2022 BKM Expo will be held offline like when it was last held in 2019. Through the theme carried, “The Sky is where your dream lies, it’s time for you to fly and reach them”, BKM Expo 2022 wants to convey the message that the sky is always an endless source of wonders, a zone of all kinds of inspiration, as well as a place to have dreams and find goals. “This is the first step for students of the Faculty of Psychology to fly and achieve all their dreams through the 2022 BKM Expo,” explained Aufa.

In addition, it is hoped that the new students of the Faculty of Psychology UGM can become the best version of themselves in their own way through various BKM and community activities. It is hoped that the activities in BKM and the community can help new students to process, progress, express themselves, realize dreams, and achieve achievements.

“Although I and the entire committee felt tired of preparing an expo it paid off when they saw the enthusiasm of the 2022 Psychology students as they toured every stand. In fact, the energy from every scream and stomp at the peak of the event in the form of performances from Trisula Purba (Triba) made us excited to welcome them to various organizations, activities, and committees at the UGM Faculty of Psychology,” explained Aufa when asked how he felt while preparing for the event BKM Expo 2022.

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Thursday (25/8) Faculty of Psychology Universitas Gadjah Mada held the Release of Period IV Graduates for the Academic Year 2021/2022. The release this time is the release of graduates in the Undergraduate and International Undergraduate programs. The release of this period was attended by 59 undergraduate programs and 8 students from the International Undergraduate Program (IUP). Thus, there were 67 students who were the total participants who took part in the graduation ceremony for this period.

The highest-Grade Point Average (GPA) in this graduation period was achieved by Hijriyahningrum Fifkoputri with 3.9 from the Undergraduate Program which also earned cum laude predicate. Apart from Hijriyahningrum, there were 47 undergraduate students who also received cum laude predicate at the graduation ceremony for this period. Then, the highest GPA in the IUP program was achieved by Rifka Annisa Puspitasari as well as getting a cum laude predicate, which was 3.83. Apart from Rifka, there were 5 other students who also received cum laude predicate in this graduation period.

Furthermore, awards for outstanding students are also given by the Faculty of Psychology to graduates who excel academically and non-academically. Academic achievement was marked by 54 students who received cum laude predicate. While for student achievements, 17 students were achieved, namely Almeira Hadi, So Wey Thao, Kautsar Muhammad Wiroto, Dea Rifda Fauzia, Iqbal Setya Nugraha, Aisyah Noor Ridha, Dina Arifka, Hijriyahningrum Fifkoputri, Lu’luul Jannah, Yasmin Naaima, Ahmad Iqbal Zimamul Hawa, Azmi Subha Adil Paramarta, Nabila Rosa Damayanti, Pratihata Dinar Rivaldo, Rahadian Dandyaswara Hidayat, Yuniar Septya Rahmawati Qurrota A’yun, and I Gusti Agung Dyah Cahyaninggrat

In addition, the event continued with remarks, one of which was given by Aurellia Winda Fatika Azzahra as a representative of the graduates. “Therefore, let us express our deepest gratitude to the entire family of the Faculty of Psychology UGM. Thank you for giving us a warm greeting the first time when we were away from family,” said Aurellia.

A speech was also given by Yasmin Naaima’s parents, Dr. Bagus Sarnawa S.H., M.HUM as a representative of the parents of graduates. “The graduates who graduated today are the generation that is able to adapt to external conditions that have undergone drastic changes”. The change in question is the existence of a pandemic that has changed the lecture process from offline to online.

“Congratulations on graduating all of you. Brothers and sisters who, inshaaAllah, will soon become our friends, colleagues, and partners who all work for Indonesia. Congratulations on your graduation and thank you for your struggle,” said Kumala Windya Rochmani, M.Psi., Psychologist as the representative of the Gadjah Mada Psychology Alumni Family (KAPSIGAMA).

“This is a very happy and meaningful time for all of us,” said Rahmat Hidayat, S.Psi., M.Sc., Ph.D as the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology UGM in his speech. In addition, Rahmat also said that the titles that are currently pinned behind the graduates’ names are the result of struggle, strong determination, high ability to reason, self-management, emotions, and motivation.

Silih Agung Wasesa, S.Psi., M.Si or who is familiarly called Silih is a graduate of the Bachelor of Psychology from Gadjah Mada University. Currently, Silih has a career as a writer, youtuber, and owner of an event at SmartFM Jakarta. Silih is also known as an expert in brand development, consumer behavior, marketing strategy, communication, public education, and behavior modification with various experiences in corporate matters. All that has been and is being done by Silih for 28 years.

Don’t want to keep the experience on his own, Silih tried to share his experience with the graduates through the Graduation Briefing for the Psychology Undergraduate Program Period IV T.A 2021/2022 (22/8). The topic raised is not far from Silih’s expertise, namely branding as a form of applied psychology. Therefore, branding is an inseparable part of psychology.

Before entering the material, the Head of the Psychology Undergraduate Study Program, Indrayanti, Ph.D., a Psychologist, gave a speech to the graduates. “Because this (graduated as a graduate) is part of the change, right? If there is a change, the first step is to accept it. Do not deny it, let alone look for rationalizations so that you can get the status of being an undergraduate psychology student. Hopefully this will be your destiny and this is a new chapter of your life to fight and contribute”, said Indrayanti

Then the event was continued by Silih who began to provide material related to her 28 years of experience in applied psychology. “Actually, to what extent is psychology useful for branding?”, asked Silih at the beginning of the session. According to Silih, psychology is very useful for branding and even important. The purpose of branding is to build an image, confidence, quality assurance, and prestige.

One thing that is also related to branding and is one of the keys to shaping behavior change is Behavior Change Communication. It relates to how a person can change the behavior of others through communication. Another theory that is also related to behavior change communication is the theory presented by Ivan Pavlov in shaping behavior. “The interesting thing is that the habits we do are stored in DNA and DNA is genetic,” explains Silih.

In addition, Silih also said that attention span only lasts a maximum of 3 months. This is what causes some brands to change their packaging to maintain consumer loyalty to their products. “I hope that after this, friends are interested in a career in marketing, branding, or career in creative with your knowledge of Psychology,” said Silih

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Friday (29/7) the Center for Indigenous and Cultural Psychology (CICP) of the Faculty of Psychology held the “Theory Building Training: Grounded Theory & Qualitative Writing on Grounded Theory” event. The event was delivered by Dr. Bagus Riyono, M.A., Psychologist and Prof. Drs. Subandi, M.A., Ph.D., Psychologist. The purpose of this event is because universities have a central role in the advancement of science. In addition, Theory Building Training is a series of activities that provide material on research methodology.

The first speaker at this event was Dr. Bagus Riyono, M.A., Psychologist who explained the grounded theory philosophically first. “Before we discuss grounded theory as a method or as a technique, I want to convey it first philosophically because when we only consider grounded theory as a technique and do not live up to its philosophy. I’m afraid it will be mechanistic when doing grounded theory studies.”

Furthermore, Bagus explained that science is a human effort to understand what is happening and reality. “Why do we have to understand reality because we really want to know what science really is or more generally, science aims to find truth at various levels and the most superficial level is often called reality.” But reality is sometimes blocked by veils, such as perceptions, prejudices, and so on and science aims to uncover these veils so that we get the real reality.

To be able to reveal reality or open the veil of reality, there are 3 sources or approaches. The approach that is quite popular so far is the quantitative approach. which is supported by the philosophy of positivism which considers reality as something that can be measured. The second approach, not through measurement, but through excavation or commonly called phenomenology. Finally, the third approach is revelation as instructions from God conveyed through the holy books. “The source of truth because it has been proven that the journey of life and human experience has been written in the holy book until the end of time with their respective languages ​​/ terms,” ​​explained Bagus.

The second session of the event was delivered by Prof. Drs. Subandi, M.A., Ph.D., Psychologist. So, theorizing emerged as a natural process of understanding the world and the reality around them. So, everyone can make a theory. Finally, theories can be divided into lay (general) theories, pseudo-scientific theories, and scientific theories,” explained Subandi. In addition, Subandi also explained that the theory is not fixed in nature, can change due to new events or phenomena.

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The Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) of the Faculty of Psychology UGM held a non-regular Online Lecture (KulOn) as one of the agenda for the Pre-Online Summer Lecture Series 2022 (29/7). The topic raised by Kulon this time was Conventional Parenting in Today’s Times. The topic was directly delivered by Dr. Diana Setiyawati, M.HSc., Psy., as Head of CPMH, Faculty of Psychology UGM.

The event started with Diana asking some questions to the participants. One of the questions asked is what the main purpose of parenting is. Participants answered with several answers such as forming and accommodating children to develop optimally, facilitating children to grow according to their potential, accompanying and educating and caring for children according to their developmental stages. Another question that was also asked at the beginning of the show was what exactly the elements in parenting were. Then the participants mentioned several answers such as giving love, educating, and facilitating, understanding, and supporting, building connections, and bounding.

Through the material presented that the element of parenting is to provide support and control which is a combination in the parenting style. “Providing support can be in the form of stimulation or education, while control is supervision”.

Conventional parenting is parenting “like the old days I was raised”. “Children live for the future, not the present, let alone the past,” said Diana. There are four kinds of parenting styles, namely authoritarian (rigid), permissive style, uninvolved style, rejecting style, not involved

Diana also explained that the main goal of every parenting is to educate children with character. “So, when we talk about parenting, it should not be from an early age, but starting in the womb. Because the child’s character is determined once in the womb.” So, how the child is in the womb is influenced by how the mother’s character is, and it significantly contributes to the character of the child in the future. Does the mother accept the child she is carrying in a happy condition or whether the child conceived is the child that is expected.

“Therefore, the essence of family planning is planning a pregnancy so that the parents are able or ready for the pregnancy.” This is because the occurrence of pregnancy is an extraordinary event for children.

Diana revealed that currently at the Sleman & Bantul health center, pregnant women who are coming for the first time must meet with a psychologist for assessment. Regarding whether the child is fully loved, whether this pregnancy is fully desired or not and so on. Conditions during pregnancy greatly affect the character of the child. When parents are not happy due to stress or pressure, it will affect the placenta which is not able to carry out its function to filter toxins. This causes children in the womb to be susceptible to substances, one of which is cortisol, which is very corrosive to brain development.

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