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Professionalising Psychology

Singapore – Raffles Singapore hosted the ASEAN Regional Union of Psychological Societies (ARUPS) Pre-congress workshops as a venue sponsor in March 2015. Conducted by renowned psychology professors across the world, the series of intriguing workshops along the theme “Professionalising Psychology: Raising the Standards of Psychology for Nation Building” have benefited many participants from diverse backgrounds to discover in-depth information about Psychology.

“The workshops were interesting and well-received by participants as the three topics catered to different aspects of research in Psychology and practical interests of the participants.” commented Dr. Monica Walet, Raffles Academic Director and Programme Director of Psychology.

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“The workshops provided insights into the equipment and research themes in this new field, as well as, interesting findings to date. The most interesting part for me was the avatar effect, which explained how the characteristics of your virtual avatar influences your behaviour up to hours after being immersed. For instance, a tall avatar makes someone feel bolder while a racially different avatar briefly makes someone more well-disposed to others from that race.” added Raffles Creative Practitioner Patrick Connolly who hosted and facilitated the workshops.

The workshop conducted by Dr. Sonia Suchday and Dr. Oscar Barbarin from USA provided insights into the “Globalisation & Well-Being: Sustainable Research” in a changing world. The second workshop on “Virtual Reality in Psychological Research and Therapy” was conducted by Dr. Grainne Kirwan from Malaysia. Professor Cecilia A. Essau from United Kingdom conducted the third workshop on “The Prevention and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents”.

“It was a delight and humbling experience for me as I was involved in the framing of the programme and workshops, and final review of the oral and poster presentations. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust and unwavering support that the council bestowed on me and the management of Raffles during the ARUPS 2015 congress.” said Dr. Monica who was part of the organising committee and took on the role of Scientific Programme Co-Chairperson.

Both Dr. Monica Walet and Patrick Connolly attended the scientific programme of ARUPS Congress 2015 that was held in March 2015 at The Chevrons. Patrick shared, “My primary gain was learning how South East Asian countries are in their relative efforts to professionalise the field of psychology, discover the organisations and key people involved, and set the probable directions to be taken in the future. This has helped me in understanding the professional landscape that my students would face in the future.”

Being the only Psychology conference focusing on South East Asian work and research, the Congress provided a platform for the sharing of research and ideas on how Psychology can be developed and maintained relevance in the development of various countries and local communities in this region.

Raffles Singapore will also be co-hosting the upcoming Regional Congress of the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) with Silver Ribbon Singapore from 1st to 3rd October 2015. Marking its Asian debut in Singapore, the Congress will focus on the innovations in mental health through holistic interventions in the Asia Pacific region.

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