Since last Thursday, August 31, victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, psychological violence, sexual harassment, drug use, as well as children with mental disorders such as Dawn syndrome, autism, among others, have been able to count on a Psychological Practice Center at the Polytechnic University in Maputo City.

The center, which will operate at the Instituto Superior de Gestão, Ciências e Tecnologias (ISGCT), an organic unit of the Polytechnic University, includes qualified professionals, accompanied by trainee students in the final stages of their psychology course.

At the opening ceremony of the unit, the director general of ISGCT, Inocente Vasco Mutimucuio, said that the Psychological Practices Center came about as part of the curriculum review, with the aim of creating spaces and opportunities to carry out practices that help develop skills in students.

"We hope they use this space well and start thinking loudly and boldly. This space should be loud, it should be heard and it should be used by the student community, the surrounding community and the whole city of Maputo," recommended Inocente Mutimucuio.

For his part, the coordinator of the Center for Psychological Practices, Hachimo Chagane, explained that the initiative was part of the university rector Narciso Matos' instructions to set up a psychosocial intervention project to deal with frequent occurrences.

"The center was created to respond to some of the incidents that were occurring here at our university, such as drug use, sexual harassment, difficulties in dealing with the consequences of the transition from secondary to higher education and integration, apathy, lack of motivation and lack of interest in studies, the impact of experiences and family dynamics, students with epilepsy and other psychologically altered problems," explained Hachimo Chagane.

Shanny Utenga, a student and trainee at the Polytechnic University's Center for Psychological Practice, said that the opening of the facility was the conclusion of a project aimed at offering psychological and therapeutic support to people in need.

"This center for psychological practices also represents a space to promote the dissemination of knowledge and training in the field of psychology," concluded Shanny Utenga.

It should be noted that during the opening of the Psychological Practices Center, workshops and lectures were held with the aim of broadening and enriching the knowledge not only of working professionals, but also of the community in general.