Anugraha is a community where students, faculty, and staff are engaged as partners in a quality education journey. The training here is designed to impart human, spiritual and intellectual formation according to the Indian situation. The following courses are highly practical, active and experiential. These programs are appropriate for all individuals.

Every person who is concerned about personal and community growth is a candidate for this course. The few days of dynamic instruction, activities, practical projects, laughter, and learning will be of immense help to religious, priests, the lay, formators, trainers, superiors, teachers and administrators.

History of Anugraha

The word Anugraha means “Grace of God”. In fact, the history of Anugraha proves that it is the Grace of God that has been guiding and facilitating our ministry in the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy.

A month long counselling training program was designed and conducted by Rev. Fr. John Antony, OFM Cap., the founder of Anugraha,  in 1989 for the benefit of Capuchin deacons at Amalashram, Trichy. On seeing its usefulness for ministry, it was decided in
the following year to offer this course to priests and nuns at large. Hence, the venue was shifted to Assisi Ashram, Pampanvilai, Nagercoil, in Kannyakumari District.

The course started as one month certificate course. Two other capuchin priests Fr.Arockiam and I. Jospeh joined the staff team and the course eventually developed into “Advanced Counsellor Training program” and as a “Diploma program” with three units. Thus a three unit counsellor training program was conducted every year during the month of August.

In the year, 2001, the program was shifted to Anugraha, Nochiodaipatty, in Dindigul. From that time on, it was offered during three months of the year, that is, January, May and September. Further, Anugraha began to offer various short term programs such as:

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Healing the Inner Child

Family Enrichment program for the couples

Inner Journey retreat

Graphology

Expressive arts therapy

Yoga spirituality

Body language

Positive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology, etc.

Anugraha has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Toronto Spirituality Centre in the year 2004 and thus the programme is internationally accepted. Anugraha also has an MOU with a few colleges in Tamilnadu, such as Madurai Institute of Social Sciences in Madurai, Jeyaraj Annapackiam College in Periyakulam, Lady Doak College in Madurai, St. Mary’s college in Tuticorin, Holy Cross College,in Trichy and Anugraha Institute of Social Sciences, Dindigul. Since 2015, Anugraha has been offering the one month Counsellor Training program for four months in a year: January, May, August and October. In the year 2017 Unit 4, Diploma with Internship was introduced as the final stage of learning counselling and psychotherapy.

It was Anugraha’s dream to offer a Master’s programme in Counselling and Psychotherapy, and this dream was realized in the year 2010, when Anugraha Institute of Social Sciences was founded, which was affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University. It offers B Sc in Psychology, PG Diploma in counselling and psychotherapy, and  M Sc in Counselling and Psychotherapy. From 2015 onwards, Anugraha has been offering M Phil in Counselling & psychotherapy, and from 2018, Anugraha College has been elevated as a research centre, offering Ph D programmes .

The year 2018 has been a year of grace for our Anugraha, starting with Anugraha Centre securing affiliation with Alagappa University in Karaikudy. Anugraha Centre now offers a Masters programme in Applied Psychology (with four specializations); further the university has recognized two certificate courses, such as, Family Therapy and Healing the Inner Child. In the same year, we also started the Formators’ programme for those who intend to be formators of priestly and religious candidates, as well as for those seeking personal growth. In the same year, Anugraha was accredited with ISO-2001-2015 by Crown International Quality Certifications Private Limited, India, for its International quality standards.

It is our dream to have a Post Psychiatric Care centre at Anugraha. May the Lord Almighty grant us the grace to realize our dream. Anugraha with its motto, “Touch to re-create” continues to be guided by the providence of the Lord.  Anugraha strives not to be an institution but a home after the model of Franciscan brotherhood and joy. Anugraha is not an institution but a dream that everyone need to be recreated.   Anugraha continues its journey and its history is not formed by the number of years but by the students like you who had crossed its corridors. Welcome to Anugraha and Anugraha is yours to discover. We warmly welcome you as part of this Anugraha family!

Psychology Quotes:

That as quality is a continuous year-round process, a high level of work ethics in the college is essential to pursue excellence. That understanding the details of quality measures in all aspects of functioning of the college at all levels is crucial for wider participation.

That the college as an academic institution has a responsibility not only to the students, staffs, parents, and other stakeholders but also to the society.

That education should not be equated with mechanical learning process and student development is a comprehensive and holistic process.

That students as youth constitute an important force to shape the development of the region, the state and the country.

That there could be differences in various types of endowments in the students and their families and that educational institutions’ responsibility is to contribute to amelioration of man-made and other inequities in the society.

Those staffs are not mere dispensers of knowledge but are also producers and managers of knowledge.