At the ‘Navigating The Future: Emerging Psychological Trends in Education and Healthcare’ conducted by the Department of Applied Psychology and Behavioral Research at the Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed (JBAS) College for Women on Tuesday, eminent speakers spoke on psychological trends, solution-focused therapy, evolving approaches to mental healthcare and other related topics.

At the inaugural session, J. Radhakrishnan, Director of the Anna Administrative Staff College and Director General of Training, spoke about building resilient healthcare systems, lessons from COVID-19, and mental health from a bureaucratic perspective. “Whether responding to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, dengue outbreaks, the COVID-19 pandemic, or other public emergencies, one lesson has remained constant which is about how resilience is built before a crisis, tested during a crisis, and strengthened after a crisis,” he said.

He also spoke about how mental health is no longer a peripheral concern but has become central to public health, social development, education, productivity, and national resilience. “Mental healthcare in Tamil Nadu has progressively shifted from institution-based care towards community-centred recovery. A notable example is the Emergency Care and Recovery Centre (ECRC) model, which provides rescue, treatment, rehabilitation, and social reintegration for homeless persons with mental illness,” he said.

Amthul Azeez, principal and correspondent of JBAS spoke about the influence of Artificial Intelligence. “We keep hearing about AI everywhere, but it should not be AI that controls us. It should be the other way round with our human intelligence guiding its use, not just for psychology but in every field,” she said.

During the inaugural session of the two-day seminar, Dr. Savithri Krishnan Endowment lecture was also instituted in honour of the late senior lecturer at the college Savithri Krishnan, who laid the foundation of its Department of Psychology.

The endowment was funded by Qurrath Jameela, chancellor, and Mariam Abdur Rahman, trustee, at the B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology.

The keynote address on emerging psychological trends, with examples from different generational cohorts was delivered by Bradley A. Janey, professor of Counselor Education at Marywood University.

Published - August 04, 2026 07:51 pm IST