The International Undergraduate Program of the Faculty of Psychology UGM recently held a two-day Cross-Cultural Understanding (CCU) orientation to welcome its incoming exchange students. Designed to ease their transition into a new academic and cultural environment, the program thoughtfully balanced practical preparation with an immersive introduction to Indonesian life, giving students both the information and the sense of belonging they would need for the months ahead.
Heavy rainfall in November 2025 triggered widespread floods and landslides across Aceh Province, affecting thousands of families. Schools were suspended, infrastructure was damaged, and access to clean water and healthcare became limited. Beyond the physical destruction, the disaster also left significant psychological and social impacts on communities.
During the lecture, Al Fadhil shared firsthand experiences from emergency response efforts, including distributing food, clean water, and medicine to isolated areas such as Aceh Tamiang. With damaged roads and limited access, some aid had to be delivered by sea before continuing by land. Power outages, weak communication networks, and limited health facilities made the situation even more challenging.
The session also introduced the cluster approach in disaster management, where sectors such as shelter, health, water and sanitation, protection, and psychosocial support coordinate under a structured system. Students learned that effective humanitarian response relies on collaboration between government institutions, non-governmental organizations, and community actors.
Rapid needs assessment was another key topic. By combining interviews with local leaders, health workers, and vulnerable groups with field observations and official reports, humanitarian teams can identify urgent priorities such as clean water, medical services, shelter, and psychosocial support.
A highlight of the lecture was the integration of mobile health services with structured psychoeducation programmes. The mobile clinic model brings essential healthcare directly to evacuation sites and remote villages. Services include medical consultations, treatment of common illnesses, maternal and child health care, and distribution of essential medicines. By reducing access barriers, the programme ensures timely and equitable care.
Alongside medical services, psychoeducation sessions are conducted for children, women, and caregivers. These sessions focus on understanding stress reactions, coping with trauma, parenting during crisis situations, and practicing self-care. Safe spaces and child-friendly activities help restore a sense of safety and normalcy, especially for children who are particularly vulnerable to psychological distress.
For students of Community Empowerment and Psychoeducation, the lecture served as a reminder that empowerment is about providing material assistance, strengthening resilience, and upholding human dignity. By connecting classroom concepts with real humanitarian practice, the session helped deepen students’ understanding of the important role psychology plays in disaster response and community recovery.
Writer: Thessalonica Faith Hill Joseph Kurnia
A new semester means new faces on campus, and this time, one of them has come all the way from Myanmar to join the IUP Psychology program! Her name is Julia and she is here to explore a new country, meet new people, and experience student life in Indonesia.
Julia chose Indonesia because of its rich diversity, filled with culture and traditions. She mentioned that the people here are friendly and some of our customs such as the way we show respect to elders, holding our hands in front of our chest as a form of greeting or showing gratitude reminds her of Myanmar.
Being a child psychologist has always been Naomi’s passion and future goal, so when she came across Career Center’s internship offer, she immediately applied and submitted all the required documents until she reached the interview phase, which she successfully passed. During her internship, Naomi had a lot of experience and direct exposure to the hands-on practice of child psychology that she did not get to learn inside the classroom, specifically on handling various IQ administration tests (such as Weschler’s Intelligence Scale for Children, WPPSI, Snijder Oomen Non-verbal Testing).
Naomi also reflects that she got to learn a lot about discovering new modes of communication with children during each session, and how to use the right tools that are appropriate for each child’s condition. In addition to that, she realized that being an intern really helped her observe and understand the subtle dynamics offered in an actual hospital, which includes how psychologists and fellow health practitioners work together in diagnosing a child’s condition and finding the right strategies to tackle the problem. For Naomi, however, one of the biggest lessons she learned from her internship program is how to be much more patient, especially when it comes to dealing with children as clients.
When asked about what she would say to her juniors and future IUP psychology students, Naomi mentioned, “There are lots of alternatives when it comes to your education plan. Just remember to stay true to your goals rather than surrender to the fear of missing out, because that’s what I felt when everyone went for an exchange program while I did not. You do you, guys!”.
Author: Nabila
The Psychology Department at State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, conducted a writing competition for the year 2023. The writings are incorporated in a journal titled Jurnal Psikologi Integratif. One of the IUP Psychology students batch 2019, Beatrice Febe Fedolina, with guidance from Mrs. Edilburga Wulan Saptandari as her supervisor, participated in the competition and successfully won the 2nd Best Article. The title of her article is “Perceived Social Support as a Predictor of Acculturative Stress