I had a two month internship at Swanchetan at the end of 2006. In Sweden I am a psychology student and therefore I was excited by the opportunity to take part in the important work at Swanchetan.

Early, it occurred to me how the organisation is working at so many levels to give professional help and support to traumatized persons. In the field of trauma, Swanchetan works with different problems like sexual abuse of children, dowry-related violence, kidnapping of children and abduction, attempted suicide by teenagers, loss issues such as untimely tragic deaths in the families and trafficking of children and women.

Swanchetan is a mental health organization that embraces different areas of the society in their work, such as psychological, social and legal areas among many others. The work is in that sense multidisciplinary and is also directed to preventing torture and violence, preventing abuse, promoting safety from perpetrators and getting justice from court.

As I see it, the individual level refers to the counselling and psychological support for individuals, families and communities suffering the aftermath of trauma. At a social level the organization is engaged in offering guidance and supervision for different groups and networks as well as the work with communities.

On a societal level Swanchetan works to make a difference by cooperation and education of different institutions and organizations, both within and outside the Indian society.

By debating and spreading knowledge about issues like human rights, gender inequality, the suppression of rights for different groups in the Indian society, as well as knowledge about the process that traumatized people are facing and the need for help and justice that are required among many of these individuals, Swanchetan makes an impact on a greater level.

For me it has been very inspiring to see the engagement and the spirit of social entrepreneurship that exist within the organization. I have seen a dedication to change structural oppression and to obtain redress for humans that have experienced trauma and abuse.

By taking the perspective of the victim, aspects of social conventions, norms and the legal system are citied. The engagement in Human rights is central and there is a willingness to make a permanent change.

Another experience for me was the openness and willingness to let me take part in and learn from the daily work as much as possible. There was also a curiosity of my cultural understanding that led to many discussions and also some reflections about differences among societies.

As I understand it was a way to stimulate awareness and critical reflection within the organization and the working group as well as for me. The openness was also shown in other ways.

I found an attitude towards showing emotions that rose from the work with clients. I found that Swanchetan tried to bring up the issues about giving people opportunity to heal and find reconciliation as well as to claim justice both for individuals and communities that had undergone trauma as a way to prevent development of more violence and abuse.

My last reflection considers research. While I was at Swanchetan they where involved in several research projects. I think that the research is important, not only to get better knowledge of rehabilitation for victims but also to contribute to knowledge within the field of trauma.

Most of the research that is carried out in the field is directed by a western perspective which gives a certain imbalance in the understanding and conception of trauma. I think that studies in different societies and cultures are necessary for trauma and its effects to be understood in a more modulated and comprehensive way.    Collapse

Each day seems to be a new learning experience here in Swanchetan. The discussions are enlightening and the helpful and appreciative attitude of team members has touched me.   Read More

Each day seems to be a new learning experience here in Swanchetan. The discussions are enlightening and the helpful and appreciative attitude of team members has touched me.

As I write, I realize that I will forever cherish the experiences and learning’s that I have had here.

From my experience at Swanchetan of observing survivors of trauma, I have felt that working with trauma confronts us with essence of human suffering, with ‘man’s inhumanity to man’.

I have felt vulnerable that abuse can even happen to me or to someone close to me – a bitter truth that I had kept out of conscious awareness till now. Such a feeling was very uncomfortable for me, but I realized the importance of being VIGILANT.

I also learnt that there are a lot of incest cases happening around but our society somehow does not want to acknowledge them. It is very important that we spread awareness about such issues so that children, who are victims of incest, are able to recognize what is happening to them so that they can talk about it. Also, awareness would help parents not to deny such cases.

In the end, I would just say that I would miss Swanchetan. This internship seems to have been completed quite fast, owing to the immense amount of learning here. And now, it seems that its time to take those learning’s with me, apply them wherever I can – a time for new beginnings, I guess…….    Collapse

Contrary to my expectations the structure of organization was not hierarchical and it felt like home.   Read More

Contrary to my expectations the structure of organization was not hierarchical and it felt like home.

As part of my sessions here, I understood the dynamics between people. I understood how life can take a 360 turn so fast. I learnt not to take things for granted or get used to things which might not remain forever.

I have learnt to expand my world view and not just limit it to my life and situations. What I witnessed has left an indelible mark on my psyche.

In Swanchetan I had adventurous, thrilling and memorable days which made me feel more confident and I felt that no matter what the circumstances, I can manage and achieve my goals.

Swanchetan means self discovery and I wonder how much of myself or shall I say how many hidden selves of mine have I found in the last 50 days of journey here. I know I have evolved as a person and as a counsellor and I hope this evolution would continue each day of my life and never stagnate.

The experience here has been a life changing one, the prism through which I used to look at life earlier has completely transformed. I have become less cynical and more patient and tolerant with ambiguity. I smile a lot more now.

I have become more confident not just as a counsellor but also as a person with many stereotypes broken and myths dispelled and a completely transformed lens to look at life.

I guess I have seen too much of reality for 50 days. Though the reality is not just harsh, my faith that there is something positive in life and people has been reaffirmed. Thus I have seen the worst and perhaps the best of human nature in my 50 days here.

Such wide variety and diversified cases, I am thankful to God to give me this golden opportunity of meeting such amazing people and touching so many lives and learning so much in such a short span. The lessons learnt are so many that I hope I would be able to retain them.    Collapse

My experience with Swanchetan has been the most enriching one till date. I have been associated with Swanchetan since May ’08. Over these months, I have a learnt a lot and seen myself grow as a person.   Read More

My experience with Swanchetan has been the most enriching one till date. I have been associated with Swanchetan since May ’08. Over these months, I have a learnt a lot and seen myself grow as a person.

Starting from reading reports that others had made to observing counseling sessions to taking part in sessions, the workload increased slowly and gradually, such that I never felt overwhelmed or under-prepared.

All my apprehensions, stemming from never having worked before, were soon laid to rest at Swanchetan. It was during the counseling sessions with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence that I saw things I had read about in textbooks put into practice.

One of the first projects I was involved in was the Missing Children Project. It was a research project aiming to study the phenomenon of missing children through interaction with their families.

As a part of the pilot study, we visited various communities to meet such families, and in some cases, children who had been recovered or had returned home. This, like most of my work at Swanchetan, was a first-of-its-kind experience for me.

I realized that it is one thing to interact with people when they come to you, and quite another to go to their homes and get them to talk. No two days were alike and it took quite an effort to locate the addresses. However, once we located the parents and they opened up about their feelings, it was totally worth the effort.

As a part of this project, I got acquainted with the community-work aspect of psychology and the various challenges involved in it.

Apart from this, I was also given the opportunity to work on other projects like the one on Ethnic Violence, and the one with the victims of Human Trafficking and Sexual Assault.

As a part of the latter, I went on a trip to rural areas in Uttar Pradesh. Here I got to interact with victims of sexual assault and their families. It was a unique experience and helped me to gauge the universality of the trauma caused by sexual assault.

Presently there is an ongoing study with victims of the Delhi bomb blasts which aims to identify individual as well as community level interventions that would aid the survivors to overcome the trauma and fear of a terrorist attack.

Overall, my experience at Swanchetan has been very fulfilling in terms of the learning and growth opportunities. The very nature of work here, i.e. reaching out to victims of trauma, is something that is demanding and at the same time, extremely fulfilling.

It is here that I discovered the joy of reaching out to someone; that sometimes mere presence is more effective than a thousand words. I got to interact and work with people from varied backgrounds.

Another thing I really appreciate about this place is that my supervisors and colleagues have always been open to queries and doubts.

My awareness of things such as the socio-legal aspects of current events and the psycho-social repercussions of the same has increased, all thanks to my internship at Swanchetan!

I am glad I chose this organization for my internship and got the chance to get acquainted with psychology and social work in real life settings.    Collapse

"…..Swanchetan --- A different experience….."

I genuinely appreciate the support and expertise of the entire team in the organisation which gave me immense pleasure to work together.    Read More

“….I genuinely appreciate the support and expertise of the entire team in the organisation which gave me immense pleasure to work together. I will treasure different learning at different levels of my growth in your organisation. Your feedbacks and encouragements will definitely be carried forward in my further developments in any field I urge to work. I will remain grateful for opportunities you and your team have provided me in my period of working here….”    Collapse

I thank you for your support and faith in my abilities. My experience of working here was immensely enriching and satisfying and will carry forward skills and knowledge I gained here to my later endeavours.   Read More

“…..I thank you for your support and faith in my abilities. My experience of working here was immensely enriching and satisfying and will carry forward skills and knowledge I gained here to my later endeavours. Besides, I had a great working environment and shared a wonderful rapport with colleagues. I shall definitely cherish all experiences and memories of this organization…”    Collapse

Working for Swanchetan has been a wonderful experience. I could not ask for a better group of colleagues.   Read More

“….Working for Swanchetan has been a wonderful experience. I could not ask for a better group of colleagues. I have grown in many ways here and will always treasure the opportunities provided for me by Swanchetan. I wish to congratulate you for the good work done here. I have truly believed in wonderful work done by this Society and wish every good fortune and prosperity for Swanchetan. May the organization grow and keep up the good work for years to come. I am sure time is not far when I see organization contributing from an international banner, a vision I truly share with other members of the Society….”    Collapse

“….I am thankful to the opportunity and environment provided by Swanchetan and every moment of mine with organisation would remain as fond memories. I enjoyed my association with Swanchetan….”