National Institute of Psychology, Quaid I Azam University organized two days training workshop on Uplifting Mental Health of Socio-economically Disadvantaged Individuals. Ms. Sonia Ahmed who is a multicultural psychotherapist from Canada was the resource person for the workshop. In the workshop different challenges faced by the disadvantaged people in Pakistan for example, stigmatization, marginalization, abuse, trauma, violence, prejudice, and stereotypes were discussed. Various hand on activities such as role plays and brain storming were done to better understand the psychological dilemmas in Pakistan. Moreover, the policies and laws of Pakistan were also highlighted in the session. Participants belonged to different professions mainly clinical psychologists, academicians, therapists, speech language pathologists, counsellors, medical practitioners, shadow teachers, child psychologists, and internees from distinguished organizations in Pakistan. Assistant Professors Dr Humaira Jami, Dr NaeemAslam and Dr Haleema Saadia successfully engaged participants in the activities and discussions. Serious concerns related to implementation of advocacy acts were raised by the participants along with gaining insights into the lived experiences and challenges faced by disadvantaged communities and fostering empathy. The workshop was made successful under the visionary leadership and practical support of Professor Dr. Rubina Hanif director National Institute of Psychology in collaboration with International Organization of Migrants.
