March issue 2011

Dialogue, an interactive forum for gaining insight into human psychology, recently conducted a workshop on parental conflict and its effect on children at the Institute of Training and Consultancy, Karachi. Conducted by Dr Rakhshinda Talat Hussain, who is a former chairperson of the Department of Psychology Karachi and a senior trainer with Dialogue, and Rubina Feroz, the current chairperson of the Department of Psychology, Karachi and also a senior trainer with Dialogue, the workshop was well attended by administrators of various educational institutions, teachers, psychologists and other professionals who were interested in the topic.

According to research, fights between a couple in front of kids, or even their ignoring each other, leads to negative thoughts and distress in children about marriage and family, the effects of this lasting till about a year. How parents handle everyday marital conflicts has a significant impact on how secure their children feel which, in turn, significantly affects their future emotional adjustment. Dr Hussain, handling the initial presentation, outlined the latest research on the topic, while Rubina Feroze spoke about the development process of individuals in a conflicted family environment. With active discussions from participants, the full-day learning session was highly appreciated.

As a forum for psychology, Dialogue provides various services including the formation of support groups at Medicell in Zamzama, Karachi, counselling and testing services as well as designing workshops for various organisations dealing with different topics in the field. The purpose of all these projects is to provide participants guiding insights into their attitudes and reactions, as well as a better understanding of the behaviour and actions of other people.