Boosting Housewives’ Psychological Wellbeing, UMS Psychology Team Holds Gratitude Training in Wonogiri
[Repost] Surakarta, 11 July 2026 – The Community Service Team from the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) has once again run a community empowerment programme for a group of housewives and micro-business owners in Wonogiri, through a Gratitude Training session held on Friday (10/7/2026). This activity builds on an earlier mentoring programme aimed at improving the community’s psychological wellbeing through a combined psychological and spiritual approach.
The training took place at the home of Iti Sapaah in Kerdu Kepik, Wonogiri, and was attended by 23 participants, comprising 13 members of the Manjung Sakinah Family Group (KKS) and 10 members of the Kerdu Kepik KKS. The programme was designed as a straightforward psychological intervention to help mothers manage the pressures of daily life while strengthening their mental health.
The Head of the Faculty of Psychology’s Community Service Team, Prof. Dr. Sri Lestari, S.Psi., M.Si., Psikolog., led the first three sessions of the training. During these sessions, participants were guided towards a deeper understanding of what gratitude truly means, and learned how to turn negative thought patterns into more positive ones by recognising the various blessings they had received.
Through group discussion, participants were asked to map out the different forms of blessing in their lives, whether received directly from Allah SWT or through the kindness of others. The exercise was intended to foster an awareness that everyday life is, in fact, filled with good things that often go unnoticed.
“To help embed this habit, we also set the participants a simple independent task: keeping a gratitude journal. We asked the mothers to consistently write down at least three positive blessings received each day, for a full week running,” explained Sri Lestari on Monday (20/7/2026).
The following session was led by Asiyah Khoirun Nisa’, S.Psi., Psikolog, who introduced dhikr-based relaxation as a technique for cultivating gratitude while also helping to ease mental strain. Participants were likewise encouraged to practise expressing thanks to one another, as a way of acknowledging the kindness shown to them by those around them.
The atmosphere throughout the training was warm and engaging. Compared with the earlier outreach sessions, participants appeared noticeably more confident when taking part in discussions and sharing their views before the group.
There were also touching moments during the session, as participants took turns expressing their gratitude to fellow KKS members. Several were moved to tears of joy as feelings they had long kept to themselves were finally spoken aloud, accompanied by smiles and warm embraces all round.
The success of the event was further underpinned by close collaboration between lecturers and students from across different study programmes. A student team from the UMS Faculty of Psychology, comprising Muhammad Adrian Habibie and Brilian Mustika Ayu Maharani, together with Lintang Nur Apriliani from the UMS Chemical Engineering Study Programme, served as co-facilitators for the group discussions, assisted with the completion of questionnaires, and documented the entire event.
The programme was also supported by Nining Sholikhah, S.E., M.Si., from the Business Management Study Programme at Politeknik Pratama Mulia Surakarta, along with Dr. Siti Fatimah, S.Si., M.Sc., from the UMS Chemical Engineering Study Programme.
The programme received a warm welcome from those who took part. A representative of the Kerdu Kepik KKS, Ibu Siti, said the training had brought her genuine, tangible benefits.
“This training has been enormously helpful for me. We’re very grateful to Ibu Tari and the team, and we’re thoroughly pleased with the whole event. We do hope there will be more training like this in future,” she said.
Similar praise came from Ibu Ambar, representing the Manjung KKS. She felt the training had opened up a fresh perspective on the importance of being grateful for even the smallest things in life.
“On behalf of our friends from the Manjung KKS, we’d like to offer our heartfelt thanks for today’s training. It turns out that even the smallest things can be something we’re grateful for. This event has really broadened our knowledge and our experience,” she remarked.
Through this ongoing community service programme, the UMS Faculty of Psychology hopes that KKS members in Wonogiri will not only become more economically empowered through sound business management, but will also build strong psychological resilience to face the challenges of daily life, by making gratitude a lasting habit. (Brilian/Fika/Humas)