Session 3 of Lay Counseling Traininglast September 12, 2026

 

Key Outcomes

The session focused on the five aspects of counseling (I-I-A-M-A) and the critical importance of active listening over giving advice. Participants practiced listening skills in breakout rooms and discussed the role of the Holy Spirit and self-awareness in the counseling process 123.

The Five Aspects of Counseling (I-I-A-M-A)

• Identification: Connecting with the counselee through compassionate understanding and identifying the real issues, while breaking down defense mechanisms like rationalization 145.
• Information: Providing insights or clarifications to correct wrong core beliefs, provided the counselor first asks for permission to show respect 167.
• Application: Guiding the counselee to apply truths personally to their specific situation, emphasizing that change must start with the counselor first 18.
• Motivation: Focusing on character development and using a gain-loss scale to help the counselee weigh the consequences of their decisions 1910.
• Affirmation: Validating the counselee's positive actions or traits to provide a corrective emotional experience, especially for those who lacked affirmation in childhood 111.

Effective Listening Principles

• Role of the Counselor: The counselor should act as a guide and listener, not a problem solver; in a one-hour session, the counselor should ideally speak for only about 10 minutes 212.

• Seven Steps to Listening:

  • Give up control and avoid distractions (e.g., cell phones) 2.
  • Suspend judgment and avoid jumping to conclusions 12.
  • Listen for feelings and dominant concerns 12.
  • Provide feedback through paraphrasing, mirroring, and summarizing 12.
• Emotional Validation: Counselors should "weep with those who weep" and avoid minimizing pain with clichés, as suppressed emotions can lead to physical illness 1314.

Counseling Guidelines and Ethics

• Self-Disclosure: Counselors may share personal pains to build a therapeutic alliance and provide hope, but must not take the spotlight away from the counselee 1516.
• Professional Boundaries: Counselors are encouraged to maintain a "Teflon" emotional barrier (psychological raincoat) to avoid absorbing the counselee's negative emotions and to remain a source of strength 1718.
• Handling Uncertainty: When a counselor does not know what to say, they are encouraged to pray silently for the Holy Spirit to provide the right words 3.
• Transformation Formula: Healing is defined as Awareness + Acceptance + Direction / Time, noting that while the first three are within the counselor's influence, time belongs to God 19.

Action Items

• Participants: Review recordings of missed sessions via Ma'am Chinke 20.
• Participants: Continue processing self-awareness and emotional issues through Modules 3 to 8 21.

ARISE Program International Lecture Series in Economics and Econometrics

 

Key Outcomes

The session provided a comprehensive academic overview of international trade policies, focusing on the theoretical impact of tariffs and quotas on national welfare and their practical application in Indonesia's fisheries sector 12. Students learned to distinguish between internal and external economies of scale and analyzed how trade interventions create deadweight loss through production and consumption distortions 34.

Economies of Scale and Trade

• Internal vs. External Economies: Internal economies of scale refer to cost reductions within a single firm as it increases production, while external economies occur when the entire industry's average costs decrease as the industry expands 3.
• Increasing Returns to Scale (IRS): Occurs when an increase in production inputs results in a proportionally larger increase in output 5.

• Global Sourcing Strategies:

  • Outsourcing: Purchasing parts or components from abroad to reduce costs 6.
  • Offshoring: Establishing a firm's own production plants in foreign countries to leverage lower labor costs or better scale 7.
• Intra-Industry Trade: The exchange of differentiated products within the same industry (e.g., different brands of cars) to cater to diverse consumer preferences 89.

Trade Policy Instruments

• Tariffs: Taxes on imports that raise domestic prices, reduce import volumes, and generate government revenue 10.
• Quotas: Direct limits on the quantity of a good that can be imported 10.

• Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs):

  • SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary): Measures protecting human, animal, or plant health, common in agriculture and fisheries 1112.
  • TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade): Requirements regarding product standards, labeling, and certification 12.
  • Other Measures: Anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard measures, and embargoes 13.

Welfare Analysis and Deadweight Loss

• Consumer and Producer Surplus: Consumer surplus is the difference between willingness to pay and actual price; producer surplus is the difference between market price and minimum acceptable price 1415.
• Free Trade Impact: In a "small country" (price taker), free trade increases overall national welfare by expanding consumer surplus, even if domestic producers lose 1617.

• Deadweight Loss (DWL): Tariffs create efficiency losses (DWL) by:

  • Production Distortion: Encouraging inefficient domestic production of goods that could be imported more cheaply 418.
  • Consumption Distortion: Forcing consumers to reduce consumption due to higher prices 418.

Application: Indonesia's Fisheries Sector

• Strategic Objectives: Indonesia aims to enhance export competitiveness, ensure marine resource sustainability, and support the livelihoods of small-scale coastal communities 1920.
• Key Commodities: Major exports include shrimp, tuna, crab, and seaweed 21.
• Policy Balance: Trade policies must balance economic growth with biological sustainability to prevent the decline of future production 19.
• Compliance: Market access depends not only on price but on meeting health, safety, and traceability certifications 20.

Open Questions

• Cultural/Religious Standards as NTMs: A discussion clarified that requirements like Halal certification are legitimate non-tariff measures if transparent, but become non-tariff barriers if they are discriminatory or unnecessarily burdensome 2223.

47th USeP Commencement Exercises last September 10-11, 2026