There will be a Special Lecture for all IE classes on the topic of how to deal with stress and mental hardships by Ms. Vickie Skorji of TELL at 2nd period (from 11:00 AM) on Tuesday, October 31. As the presentation room is large (Room 931), any interested party may feel free to attend the lecture even if they do not have an IE class to bring with them.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, most of us have been under even greater stress than in normal circumstances. The incidence of “futoko” (school refusal) has been increasing and even at the university level, more students are experiencing disruptions to their education and social life due to stress, family problems, issues with relationships, and mental conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Vickie Skorji, the Lifeline Director of TELL–an organization that has provided free crisis counseling and information over the phone and through chat for members of the foreign and Japanese communities since 1973–will share some effective ways to manage stress and to identify signs that those around us are distressed and may need help. The talk will touch upon…
•Stresses that are unique to college life
•Cultural adjustment issues
•Techniques to help manage stress
•How we can help friends who may be in crisis
•The support and resources we can tap into.
•How TELL can help
We strongly encourage all Core and IE Seminar teachers who have classes on Tuesday to bring their groups to this event. Help your students prepare for the talk by referring them to these resources offered by TELL.
EVENT: Lecture and workshop on effective ways of dealing with stress
TITLE: Constructive Ways to Manage Stress and Life Crises
WHERE: Aoyama Gakuin University (Aoyama Campus): Building 9, Room 931
WHEN: Tuesday 31 October 2023; from 2nd period (from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM)
SPEAKER: Vickie Skorji (TELL Lifeline Director)
Please have your students go DIRECTLY to the lecture room. It is disruptive to the speaker when streams of students arrive while a talk is in progress.
We have a large venue for this talk, so please pass the word to people in other departments and, if you happen to be teaching a class for another department at the time of this lecture, and would like to attend with your students, you may do so. Please let Joseph Dias know, though, so he can make certain there is sufficient capacity.
Speaker Introduction
Vickie Skorji
TELL Lifeline Director
Mrs Vickie Skorji completed her Bachelor of Behavioral Sciences with honors from La Trobe University, Australia in 1995, and a Masters in Counseling from Monash University. She has specialist training in neuropsychology and Acquired Brain Injury in both hospital and rehabilitation settings. Prior to moving to Hong Kong and Tokyo, she managed an Acquired Brain Injury Support Service in Australia, supporting families and individuals with a variety of neurological conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke and migraine. She has developed and run carer education training courses, carer weekend retreats and published a resource book for carers of people with neurological conditions or Acquired Brain Injury. She has developed and given both workplace and community presentations on carer needs, stress management and stroke prevention. More recently her interests and presentations have included cultural adjustment, adolescent issues in Japan, work life balance and suicide prevention.
Click on the above image to access an article introducing Vickie Skorji in the magazine Savvy Tokyo. Another interesting article that will help you prepare for the talk appeared on the website, Zenbird: Interview with TELL: Japan’s need for higher quality mental health care.
