 Hello everyone, today I am in a conversation with Madam Temunga Rebunukumar. She is a clinical psychologist and founder of the club room clinic in Gohima. She is among the pioneering psychologists in Nampen. So thank you so much Madam for giving us your time and accepting our invitation for this interview. Despite your busy schedule, I'm very happy that you can make it up to this. So without any further ado, let's go with our interview. So let me ask the first question. As a woman opting for a career path which was less explored and taken up in our society, can you enlighten us on few challenges and obstacles which caused the journey? The biggest challenge for me was having no sense of supervision, being in the form of a senior or a peer. It was definitely a lonely profession, I always say that. Most times I feel like I was grouping in the dark and with the myriad of cases that came to me. Fresh out of training with zero experience, I most times had to figure things out on my own. I had no one I could ask questions to and that was quite unsettling for me. It was very challenging. I always felt that I need to have a solution or I always need to help them in whatever way that I can. And so that weighed heavy on me. The other was a lack of structure at the hospital with regard to my field of work. So to start from scratch with zero experience was a steep learning curve. So there were people in the hospital looking up to me saying that, okay, she's the new psychologist now, clinical psychologist. I'm too soon to know how to go about. But for me it was so new and I felt so incompetent. I felt like, oh my gosh, can I ever do well? And all that came in. So there was a huge challenge as well. For someone who was also vertically very challenged. So I'm a little small in stature. So that aspect was also another obstacle. I may add, I will have the patient or the caregiver walk in assuming that I'm a student. Thankfully, not everyone did. This also interfered with the treatment process. And it definitely took longer for me to be able to build rapport with the client or with a patient, which for clinical work is a foundation. So just read a few challenges that I can mention. Thank you so much. Of course, there are many challenges being a psychologist and being a very new subject matter for many of the people here. So I'm glad to hear that. So next question I would like to ask is, as one of the first men in clinical psychology, especially in our state, and having a private clinic, can you share a few things about people's perception about the profession? Okay. Psychology as a subject in our land started from the study for the highest secondary level only in the year 2015, 16 if I'm not mistaken. So although yes, bits of it has been studied under the discipline of education as a separate subject. It is a relatively new field for us. So for many, it was a lack of being informed and just the not knowing. Also, mental health issues is always understood in the extreme, right? So which has predisposed many to see anything with regard to mental as highly negative. It's funny how sometimes some people's perception make me feel like I'm like a walking extreme machine. It's common for people to tell me things like, oh, we need to be careful when Atem is around because I'm sure, you know, she can read our minds or love and say, be careful you will become one of them eventually. Or whenever people I know used to see me writing to or back from work on the staff van that had mental hospital written on it, it will always draw out some laughter. So of course, one need not be offended of such things because as I said, many times it springs out from not being well informed about this field. But it's also what pondering on why is it that we find such things funny. Yeah. Yeah, of course, I would also like to add that not only being a professional, but even for me being as a student, we still get those kinds of like, you're studying psychology, so we need to be careful around you and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, true. So find the next question. The societal judgments, stereotypes and cultural values play a role in women's mental health. The answer to that is a definite yes. Speaking in the context of Nang Lan, I think we asked this question to the women. The answer would be a resounding yes. However, the fact that mental health itself is fully understood. The reality is that many do not even recognize the pressures and expectations that they live under. So going about the daily affairs at the great cost of the mental health in a patriarchal society like ours. Women have been conditioned to bear the weight of the many expectations from the role as daughters, sisters, wives or mothers, uncomplainingly in silence. So many choose to go robotically go through the motions of life. They choose to go through robotically the motions of life. They're stoically, you know, care for the family. And for those working, reporting to work, pretending everything is okay. So yes. Okay, going this question is a bit how to say let's go back in time. So during the inner creation of the clinic classroom in the year 2013, you have stated, I've always wanted to open the clinic, but I was scared to take a leap of faith. So what exactly was the fear you have mentioned here? Wow, that's like eight years back. So it's crazy how fast time flies. There were many things that that made me want to start the classroom. Say I felt I had a responsibility to correct the resistance or stigma towards anything to the mental health, and just a general empathy towards seeking help and intervention. Yeah, so as with anyone pursuing their passion, something that also weighed heavily on my heart was a question of uncertainty, like I mentioned, of whether I would be able to sustain the space. Would people come to seek help? Would people even take me seriously? So after all my years of studying my parents' investment in my education, my fear was if I was making the right decision. However, despite all the doubts, I knew for a fact that there was a desperate need for creating more accessibility to mental health care. And here was a small door of opportunity for me to respond to that need. By then I had been working at the State Mental Health Institute as a visiting consultant. It was the third year for me. So it was simply known as the mental hospital back then. So you can imagine how uninviting the name itself was. So I saw that people seek treatment as a last resort. So I wanted a cloud room to be accessible. I wanted it to be a non-threatening or warm space, things that can be found lacking in hospitals and institutions. So that was what it was. I'm very glad to hear about it and your journey with cloud room. Thank you. So going to the next question. What do you think is the scope of psychology here in England? What can be the main challenges faced by the people obtained from the psychologist? I would first like to say that there is a wide scope of psychology with regard to all walks of life. Ranging from mental well-being, personal and professional development, medical science, nursing, family and relationships and beyond. So psychology is a wide field. I'm one part of the field that is clinical psychology and I can speak from that. So I would like to be optimistic and say that the scope is promising. So in recent years it's so encouraging to see various stakeholders recognizing the need. For instance, churches taking in this aspect as a very integral part of doing life. For example, the school, the educational system. So if you look at it that way, there's a lot of job opportunity to prospect later on, be it teaching the subject or bring a counselor into school. Or even with a juvenile centers prison, just a lot of avenues. So psychology is a multidisciplinary thing in nature. So in order to bring about holistic change, for example in clinical psychology, we need to work alongside psychiatrists, neurologists or special educators, speech therapists or occupational therapists to name a few. So it is multidisciplinary in nature and that we need to be aware of. And the challenges for a student can be, you know, because getting to college can be difficult in our land because there are not many colleges that provide psychology. You know, like we mentioned, because it's a new subject in itself here. And also it can come with fighting certain barriers. So it can be fighting the external barrier, external barrier with the lack of job creation, you know, the lack of awareness for which, you know, many people don't offer the subject. And the internal barrier can be coming from oneself. It can be parents saying that, you know, I mean, that's, you know, why do this? And so it can also hamper into the decision making. So I feel that, you know, those can be the challenges that students might face in terms of sustainability as well. Yeah. Because, as you say, there's not much colleges that offer psychology as a major subject. So there are only a few here in our land. And then there's also, they started psychology as a subject. I mean, even on this subject only last year. So I'm also one of the first page of psychology partner here. Wow. There's an opportunity for you to have the opportunity and study psychology as my major subject. And so next question is, is education and obtaining various training important in the field of psychology or experience? Yes, absolutely. Like all fields, psychology is also ever changing. So as with any other profession, the need to stay updated with new research and new knowledge is so important. I really feel that sometimes and most times familiarity blind us. And so when we get very familiar with something, we just get blinded by a lot of respect of it. But when we allow ourselves to have ongoing training and learning, it just opened up ourselves to so much more possibilities out there. So yes, I would say that absolutely. Yeah. Thank you. So next question is, what are the possible avenues for women and the youth with reference to females as a professional psychology? Okay. The field of psychology is increasingly becoming a women dominated field. So like I said, remember, like in my masters, there were three men out of the 90 females there. So research site that, you know, there's possibilities because psychology is more like a life oriented field. So women may be more drawn towards that. The other aspect is, you know, men traditionally being the main breadwinners of the family may not see psychology as a very viable, sustainable profession. Especially when you're looking at a profession in Naglain as well, since it's just starting off when we speak about financial sustainability as well. Since there's no creation opposed, it can get quite, you know, challenging. So these are the aspects that might, you know, make it a little bit more for the other gender to be part of this profession. But while I really feel that in the field of psychology, while women are doing well in this field or any other field for that matter, it's a cause of celebration. My personal view is that the lack of diversity always has a downside. Because men and women have the capabilities to bring diverse insights to the table, even in the practice of psychology, but men and women are needed. So as much as women are more inclined towards it, I would encourage more men to also join this because there are men also who need counseling. And most times, in my experience, I've also seen that, you know, men are more uncomfortable to come and speak to women. And so, yeah, it'd be good to have, like, you know, both the genders working in actively in this field. Thank you so much. I hope the question answers your question, yeah. Okay, so next question is, what are some of the few drawbacks of practicing in politics? In response to the earlier question on the scope of psychology, I had mentioned the various possible job opportunities that this field can provide. However, in the current scenario, to put it positively, our state is still in the process of getting there. So at the moment, one challenge of practicing is that job opportunities to practice are still in the process of being created. Besides that, I would say that a whole stigma around anything to do with mental health can be in detriment. After all, we can only practice if there are people who are open and vulnerable enough to seek help. Thank you. So next question is, can you mention a few changes you see compared to the initial beginning of a clinic and people approach today? I'm so glad to say that there has been a big difference in the scenario a few years ago and the scenario today. So for instance, even just a few years back, the clients I would meet were mostly ones who had been referred to me by schools or sent by psychiatrists. But today I have people who have willfully chosen to seek help, say people who are struggling to cope with work stress or young people who are facing the challenges of transitioning from city life back to being home to their parents, homes, etc. So people's attitudes are changing. And that's such a positive thing that I would want to highlight. Of course, there's still a long way to go, but these are all good changes. I'm so glad to hear about how people from different people that come to your clinic for counseling to be a better self. So next question would be the last question. So the question is, would you like to suggest a few recommendations or advice to the upcoming psychologist? I feel I have a long way to go to come to the point of giving advice. Yeah, but from my own experience, I would say that if you are a student of psychology interested in practicing clinical work like I am, at least get an MFIL degree done because without which you cannot practice as a licensed psychologist, right? So for me, I would like to encourage that because we're just a handful of us here in Avalon at the moment who have done the MFIL and practicing as a clinical psychologist. So we would need more people on board. And, you know, if you're interested in clinical work and advice you to get your MFIL degree done besides that, practicing as a clinical psychologist, being a relatively new field in our state has been like, I mean, saying that over and over again. The journey may have a lot of challenges, personal, familial, societal, but if we are truly passionate about the call, we have to stay committed. So persistence is key and the willingness to be vulnerable ourselves and take that risk. So there are some days when I feel, when I still do face moments or days of self-doubt, questioning whether if I'm making any difference at all. If I'm being of any help, sometimes I feel so helpless listening to the kinds of stories that my clients tell me, making me feel so ill-equipped. But then what keeps me going is that I tell myself that I don't have necessarily had to give them all the answers to their questions or the solution to their problems. Maybe at that moment, the help I give maybe something seemingly inconsequential as just quietly offering a listening ear. So I remind myself to be intentional. I remind myself to be responsible to the call and to be faithful and to continue honing my skills and to continue learning as I continue my practice. Thank you so much for the advice. I hope people, viewers listening to our podcast conversation will be very much pleased by your advice. So with that, we can wrap up this interview. So thank you so much again for giving us a precious time. If you have anything to add, you can share. I know. Thank you so much for having me. I feel very excited when I sit down with future psychologists in the making, doing psychology. I always get excited because like I said, I was relatively a loner when it came to this profession. But now that there are a lot of people joining and there are a lot of people taking interest and being passionate about this, I'm very excited. So college has this subject that they're providing. And so I really hope that in the coming years with all your participation, you know, that we do see mental health issues being addressed in a totally different light. And so, you know, encourage anyone who's interested to take this up. Then we just hope to see this grow. We hope that we will normalize mental health issues. Talk about it more amongst ourselves because that's where the stigma starts and that's where the stigma can end. So it starts with us. So yeah, I would like to say that. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much. It was an insightful session. I hope we can meet in some day, meet in person and have more of our such discussions. I would love that. Yeah. Maybe in the near future, again, we may call you, we may give you a call for such interviews again. Thank you so much. Yeah, thanks. Thank you. Thank you.