UIN Maliki Sharia Faculty Trains Professional Counselors from the Community

SHARIA – On Thursday, June 9, 2022, the Family Corner team from the Sharia Faculty gathered at the Dau district office hall in Malang Regency. At exactly 8:00 AM, the Village-Based Counselor Training for Family Resilience Cadres in Dau District, Malang Regency, commenced. The event was officially opened by the Dau District Head and attended by key community figures from various villages within the Dau district.

The training featured Dr. Hj. Erfaniah Zuhriah, M.H. (lecturer at the Sharia Faculty of UIN Maliki Malang) and Dr. Yuliati Khofifah, M.Psi. (lecturer at Universitas Negeri Malang) as speakers. Dr. Erfaniah is an expert in gender and family studies, while Dr. Yuliati specializes in counseling and psychology. They provided Training of Trainers (ToT) materials as resources for cadres, representatives from women’s organizations, Family Welfare Program (PKK), and community members participating in the training. Six key topics were covered during the event: (1) Mapping Family Problems, (2) The Urgency of Stakeholder Collaboration in Addressing Family Conflicts, (3) The Scope and Initial Steps for Establishing and Socializing Family Counselors, (4) The Importance and Techniques of Village-Based Family Counseling, (5) Establishing a Harmonious Family Ecosystem Post-Conflict, and (6) Patterns for Supporting Families in Crisis.

According to Dr. Erfaniah, this event is an implementation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ concept to realize family resilience in Indonesia. “So far, mediation activities in courts have always been the ultimate attempt to mediate family issues. This has resulted in many mediation processes failing. Therefore, an initial problem-solving platform is needed to minimize the divorce rate. This activity is a bridge to achieving that goal. These cadres are trained to become family counselors and will later serve in ‘sakinah corners’ or family corners at the district and village levels.”

The event, which was also attended by the Dean of the Sharia Faculty, ran smoothly and concluded at 12:00 PM WIB. The prospective counselors participated enthusiastically in all the activities and practical sessions. Additionally, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Dau district as a form of collaboration. The event concluded with a presentation of the follow-up plan aimed at optimizing ‘sakinah corners,’ which are still rare in villages.