On October 22 and 23, 2024, introductory meetings with a psychologist were held for first-year students of the Schools of “Pharmacy” and “General Medicine.” Students from groups 101 and 102 with the state language of instruction, group 101 for dual-degree pharmacy, group 103 for pharmacy with Russian as the language of instruction, and group 139 for “General Medicine” participated in these meetings. A total of 54 students attended.

During the meeting, students were introduced to the psychologist’s work plan, the supportive activities scheduled for the academic year, and the questions they could seek consultation on. Following the introductory part, a psychological training session titled “Let’s Get Acquainted” was conducted, aimed at helping students get to know each other, strengthening group cohesion, and developing emotional intelligence.

The training included several stages. In the first stage, during the exercise “Complete the Sentence,” students shared their reasons for choosing their specialties and their visions of future professions, which contributed to a better understanding of their educational goals and interests. They then learned about the concept of emotions and emotional intelligence and tried several psychological exercises in the formats of art therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and body-oriented therapy. Breathing exercises, meditations, and other techniques for stress relief were offered.

In the creative activation stage, participants took part in the exercise “Collective Drawing.” Students chose relevant societal issues, created drawings on the chosen topics sequentially, and then presented them to the group, proposing solutions to the problems.

The meetings were successful, with students showing a high level of interest in the activities and expressing a desire to hold similar training sessions more frequently.

Senior Methodologist-Psychologist of the Center for Social and Educational Work Sarbassova K.Q.