Introduction: Say a Little about Yourself! {by 5/25}
Yes, this is a bit cheesy, but it’s been awhile and we need to break the ice. Please answer the following about yourself: (1) Name? (2) Where did you do your internship? How was it? (3) What has been your most adaptive coping skill at your internship? (4) What are your thoughts about graduating soon, getting a job, and later getting licensed?
Your original post should be posted by 5/25. Post your two replies no later than 5/27. *Please remember to click the “reply” button when posting a reply. This makes it easier for the reader to follow the blog postings.
*Strong suggestion: Write all your blogs on a separate document. Then, copy and paste it. This will make your life easier and less stressful in case something “wacky” happens with technology.
*Your first post may not immediately appear on my website. I have strong spam filters. So, I may have to approve your first post before it is visible. I should only have to do this once unless you post with a different name and/or email address.
Dr. Adam M Volungis 
May 16, 2023 @ 12:03:18
Hi everyone,
My name is Madelyn Haas. I did my internship at Umass Memorial Health – Harrington Hospital in Southbridge, MA. I interned in their Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP). Overall, I enjoyed my time at Harrington. Interning at a PHP was a unique experience that allowed me to greatly build upon my group counseling skills. It also allowed a lot of supervision because I worked closely with an MD, a NP, and clinicians (LMHC & LICSW). Although I enjoyed it a lot and grew from it, I am looking forward to working in an outpatient setting with clients one on one.
During my internship, I would say my most adaptive coping skill was using mindfulness techniques. If I was having a bad day, I would focus on one task at hand, and this helped me decompress and calm down greatly. I also found it helpful to share my experiences and difficulties with my internship classmates and professors as well.
I am incredibly excited to graduate and get a job. I do love attending classes and learning, but I do feel ready to enter the workforce, especially after my internship. That being said, I am also nervous about the upcoming licensure process and finding a job. My internship was in a PHP, so I will have to continue learning how to work with clients in a one on one outpatient setting. There are a lot of big changes coming up in my life, and I am equally excited and nervous.
May 18, 2023 @ 14:32:05
Hi Madelyn,
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed your internship. I imagine it was very interesting and insightful to get input from an MD and NP as well as clinicians. It also sounds like you got great group experience, which is very valuable. I also found sharing my difficulties with classmates and professors to be very helpful. It was nice to know that we weren’t going through our internships alone. I am also looking forward to graduating and getting a job. We are almost there! Looking forward to seeing you in class again!
Tressa
May 23, 2023 @ 10:27:01
Hi Madelyn,
It was great to hear about your internship during our classes last semester, and I am glad to hear that it was a unique experience where you learned many skills. I remember you talking about how often you were working with high-risk patients, especially suicidal patients. While this must have been exhausting and draining, it’s great that you got that experience so early in your career. However, I think you will enjoy the outpatient setting; it has high-risk patients, but not everyone is, and you get to practice many different skills and styles.
I really can relate to your experience of excitement for the future and anxiety. I feel like we have already come so far and learned so much; it’s so exciting to think about what we will learn or do next. However, being a student has been our identity for so long that it’s weird to think about not being a student.
May 24, 2023 @ 11:35:25
Hey Madelyn,
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed your time at your internship. I enjoyed the part of your post in which you practiced mindfulness techniques to help decompress. I relate to that strongly in the same way that I would read during time in between clients in order to take my mind off certain situations and allow myself to decompress before I started back in with another session with a client. Taking this time in between sessions to restore some mindfulness within the self is a great way to relax and become ready again for your next session.
May 18, 2023 @ 14:28:46
Hi Everyone,
My name is Tressa Novack. I did my internship at Spectrum Health Systems on Lincoln Street. I originally chose to do my internship here because I had an interest in substance abuse and possibly working in the prison system in the future. I no longer feel this way. I feel I did not get to develop my CBT skills as much as I would have liked. Many of my clients were dealing with significant crises that made it difficult to try to engage in the typical process of CBT. For example, some of my clients were homeless and understandably were in crisis mode because of this. Rather than conduct typical CBT my focus was on helping these clients find stable housing and getting other basic needs met. Many of my clients were still actively using opioids and cocaine and frequently no showed appointments. It was difficult to build consistency between sessions because of this as things would change significantly in my clients’ lives between sessions. For almost the majority of my internship appointments were conducted over the phone and I found that many clients did not open up or were not as engaged over the phone as they were when we made the move to in person and video appointments in April. While this was frustrating, I had to work on my probing skills and building rapport. I also improved in my ability to be assertive. I did have a very positive experience with leading a group. I led a group from January to the beginning of May and found that I really enjoyed it, and that I was successful in engaging the group members. I got to see one of my clients who I had very good rapport with become abstinent for their child, which was an amazing experience. I had a few very consistent clients who I was able to work with on clarifying goals, provide psychoeducation on depression and stages of change, and teach calming skills.
I definitely struggled with managing stress and anxiety at my internship. Something that was helpful was reminding myself that I was not an expert and that I was there to learn. Between clients or if I was having no shows I would make sure all of my documentation was up to date for the day. I would also reach out to the supervisors and see if there were any clients I could assist. There often were people needing help and I would make phone calls to assist clients with their needs, which was often very well received by the clients.
I am excited to graduate soon and finally be done with what feels like a very long educational journey. I am not too worried about finding a job. I am looking forward to further developing my CBT skills. I am viewing this time before licensure as an opportunity to continue to training and receiving supervision. I would like to do something outpatient again and work for an agency that is not substance abuse centered. I fully understand that substance abuse will come up wherever I work, but I am looking forward to interacting with more clients who struggling with depression and anxiety and using more of the skills learned in the classroom. I definitely want to get licensed. I find the amount of hours and time needed towards licensure to be a little daunting, but I am sure it will fly by just as graduate school has.
May 22, 2023 @ 15:00:59
Hi Tressa,
I appreciate the honesty of your post. Although I didn’t work with primarily substance use, I would have some patients who suffered from it, and it was incredibly difficult to navigate therapeutically. I also relate to the frustrating feeling of not being able to use our CBT skills. As I worked in a short-term Partial Hospitalization Program, I hardly had time to get to use my CBT skills which was sad. When I was able to, I tried to lead groups that focused on CBT skills (e.g., cognitive distortions, pleasant activity scheduling, etc.).
I am glad to hear, however, that your experience running a group was positive! One of my favorite parts of my internship was running groups. It can be incredibly engaging and fulfilling. I hope we both find jobs in the future in which we can use our CBT skills!
-Madelyn Haas
May 27, 2023 @ 12:21:57
Hi Tressa,
I really appreciate that you pointed out that it is very challenging to do good therapy if the client is constantly and crisis and is unable to get their basic needs met. I am glad that you were eventually able to transition away from conducting sessions over the phone as I imagine it must be very difficult to conduct sessions over the phone because the client may not fully focused on the session and you cannot use visual tools as easily. I know your internship was very challenging, and I am glad you were able to have a few positive experiences with clients. I am confident that, even though you did not get to practice your CBT skills as much as you would’ve hoped, that you will be able to successfully utilize them as you move forward in your career.
I also had to remind myself often that the purpose of the internship was to learn and that I was not expected to be an expert. I totally understand that this only goes so far with managing stress and anxiety because it often feels as though our clients (or the clients’ parents) expect us to be experts. I appreciate how you are viewing the time prior to licensure and I am confident you will find a job that is a good fit.
May 18, 2023 @ 16:20:44
My Name is Vanessa Nichols. I completed my internship at Spectrum health systems on Lincoln Street. I started working at Spectrum per diem since my internship ended. I enjoyed my internship at Spectrum. I like the fast pace and that there is always something to do. I got a lot of different training for different disorders but also for resources like inpatient stays, detox, housing, sober living, employment, education, etc. I enjoyed working with this population.
I loved the outpatient setting.; I loved working long-term with the patient. I felt like I could dive deep and work on many different things, including PTSD and exposure to panic attacks. I think the one downside Is this population can be exhausting. Many patients are high risk due to active use; others are high risk for active use and homelessness, DV, etc. It can be draining if not balanced properly (some days even when properly balanced). I think my best coping skill was my time management. I ensured not to overbook myself and be aware of the patients I was booking and when. I tried to make sure I didn’t get all my high-risk patients on the same day, and I made sure they were not my first or last appointment for the day. This is not always doable, but it was beneficial when I was able to manage this.
I am very excited to move forward. I am getting burnt out from school, doing homework, and reading all the time. I feel anxious about licensure because I know what I need to do, but I also have no clue how to get licensed. Not going to lie (and I’m sure I’ll regret saying this later), but I am ready just to be working at this point.
May 22, 2023 @ 14:53:49
Hi Vanessa,
I can really relate to your post. Although we worked in completely different settings (primary mental health PHP vs outpatient recovery services), I feel as though there are some similarities. We both worked with incredibly high risk populations. Working with high risk populations can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be exhausting and stressful. I am glad you have enjoyed your internship enough to stay on per diem!
As for school and future employment, I really relate to the combined desire to be out of school but the anxiety about the licensure process. I enjoy education, but I am getting a little burnt out myself as well. But, hey, we are almost there!
-Madelyn Haas
May 22, 2023 @ 16:02:10
Hi Vanessa,
I’m happy to hear that you had such a great experience at Spectrum. I think one of the great things about the internship experience is that we get to figure out what our interests are, and I think we are often surprised. For some, we learn that we are exactly where we want to be and for others we learn that our interests might lie somewhere else. I’m glad that you found Spectrum to be a great place for you.
I can completely relate to your feelings about school. We have been going nonstop for almost two years. I definitely feel burnt out too! The licensure process definitely seems daunting. I think this class will help us figure out how to navigate that a bit. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Tressa
May 22, 2023 @ 16:34:10
Hey Vanessa!
I can relate to multiple parts of your post.
Time management for me is also so important! Not overbooking or taking on more you can handle is crucial in this field so we can show up as our best selves for our clients and not struggling to make it through the day.
Also, I am right there with you in the sense of just wanting to get a job. I am also burnt out from school and I am excited for the change of pace when starting a job.
May 22, 2023 @ 16:12:25
Hey everyone!
My name is Victoria Cestodio. I did my internship at Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services. I absolutely loved it at SYFS. I had a great supervisor and great colleagues overall. My time at SYFS has led me to have more confidence in my abilities as a clinician. I also learned that I did like working in an outpatient setting. It also confirmed to me that I do love working with kids and also was surprised that I liked working with adolescents and seniors. I had experience with individual treatment and also group treatment which was also beneficial.
My most adaptive skill I used at my internship was seeking help from different supporters (colleagues, supervisors, professors, friends, family, etc.). In my internship I learned the importance of asking for help that much more and asking questions. I had a great supervisor that encouraged me to ask questions and ask for help when I needed it. Having great social support was something that helped me throughout my internship, and also SELF CARE!
I am very excited to graduate! This program has flown by, but I am also ready to graduate and have a job in the field. I feel like I am prepared too, which is a comforting feeling. Licensure definitely seems daunting and intimidating (especially the exam). However, I think it will all go smoothly!
May 23, 2023 @ 10:18:26
Hi Victoria,
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed your internship. I agree about outpatient. I really enjoyed having a long-term relationship with these patients and really getting to use our skills and tools to dive deep into problems.
I think asking for help or feeling confident enough to ask questions is an often overlooked skill. It relates to the imposter syndrome or the fear that I should know this. This can be hard for many people, especially when starting a new job. It’s great that you used this skill and weren’t afraid.
I really related to your post.
May 24, 2023 @ 11:31:53
Hey Victoria,
Glad to see you enjoyed your time at your internship. I think you made a great point about coping skills and what actions you took were effective during your time at your internship. It’s always better, especially in this profession, to make sure you air any concerns or worries about any client situations with peers so that you can gain different perspectives on how to handle certain situations instead of trying to manage everything yourself. Always better to ask questions and learn than to guess. And as I mentioned in my post, looking towards the future can be daunting (licensure), so it’s important to takes things one step at a time until the appropriate time comes to start preparing for that next step.
May 22, 2023 @ 16:50:50
Hi Madelynn,
It sounds like your experience was very unique, and it sounds like you took a lot away from that environment and setting. I think having that experience will only make you a better clinician when you are in an outpatient setting working one on one with the clients.
I really like how you focused on mindfulness in your internship. I feel like I talked about mindfulness a lot in my sessions with my clients and sometimes when I would start to feel overwhelmed or anxious I would use some techniques myself too.
Licensure also scares me, but I think once we start studying and getting our hours it will feel less intimidating!
May 24, 2023 @ 11:28:27
My name is Will Roche. I completed my internship at the Counseling and Assessment Clinic of Worcester. My position was an outpatient clinician for adults with a variety of mental health concerns. Overall, I had a great experience working at CAC. So much so, that I was offered a full-time employment for the position I had currently been working during my internship, so I was able to maintain the clients that I already had and continue building a therapeutic relationship with them, which I am thankful for. During my time at CAC I have learned greatly about intake processes, the financial/insurance side of the business and learned greatly about the different dynamics of building these therapeutic relationships with a vast variety of people.
I think one of my favorite coping skills for myself was reading as a relaxation technique. If I had an hour between two clients, I would often spend that hour waiting for the next client constantly watching the client. By incorporating reading into my daily routine, it help me relieve some of that waiting anxiety and focus on something else for a certain period of time before it was time to prepare for my next client. I found myself in those situations often, so having reading as a relaxing coping skill helped immensely.
I’m am looking forward to graduating from Assumption and moving back into the real world. I am apprehensive about the future in obtaining my license to become an LMHC, but I remind myself to take things one step at a time. I look forward to continue working at CAC as the management at the agency is very flexible and kind, which I have greatly appreciated during my time there. I am excited to see what the future brings.
May 24, 2023 @ 18:01:09
Hi Will,
It sounds like you had such a great experience, especially considering that they offered you a full time position. Congratulations! Already having that internship experience and having therapeutic rapport with your clients will go a long way in your career.
Relaxation techniques are always great to consider as a coping skill. Especially working in this field, it is easy to feel stressed and anxious which makes relaxing so important to factor in set time aside for yourself during a busy work week. I like how you remind yourself to take things one step at a time and that is something I need to keep in mind as I tend to overthink about the future a lot. Also, I would like to gain an LMHC and am a bit anxious about the exam too but am still excited to see what the future holds!
May 27, 2023 @ 18:31:06
Hi Will,
I’m glad to hear that your internship was such a positive experience for you! It sounds like you were able to learn a lot of practical information about working in mental health in addition to improving your clinical skills. I also read a lot during my internship year and found that it was very helpful for me. Counseling is a challenging field and being able to get your mind off things for even an hour or two can make life a lot easier. I hope CAC continues to serve you well!
May 24, 2023 @ 16:54:17
Hi everyone,
My name is Emily Dahill, and I did my practicum at Spectrum Health Systems (Framingham) and my internship at Seven Hills Behavioral Health. I enjoyed my experiences at both sites. I decided to switch to Seven Hills because I recognized I am primarily interested in working with children and families. My internship at Seven Hills was a wonderful experience, and I was able to learn a lot. I felt well supported throughout the internship by my supervisor, other interns, and other clinicians at the agency. I really enjoyed getting to work with a wide range of ages. My youngest client was 6 and my oldest was 21. I was somewhat surprised that I really enjoyed getting to work with parents and with families as a group. I am not sure I have a preference within that age range as I enjoyed the variety between the sessions.
My most adaptive coping skill at my internship was utilizing the support available to me. Even if my direct supervisor was not available, other supervisors and clinicians were always available and willing to help. Utilizing this and taking the time to get to know other clinicians and interns in the building helped me feel more supported and more connected at my internship.
I am looking forward to graduating soon! I am also very excited to get a job in the field. I think my biggest struggle in that area is that I am still interested in a wide variety of populations and settings, so it is difficult to narrow down what I want to do. I also look forward to getting licensed, although I am nervous about the responsibility that comes along with that. Right now, I feel that even when I do get licensed, I would like to continue to get supervision in some capacity.
May 24, 2023 @ 18:13:14
Hi Emily,
It sounds like you had a great experience by working for two different companies. That must have been a big help in deciding which age group you would like to focus on for the future! I love the coping skill you used. It is important to recognize that you are never alone at a job site, so asking for help is crucial so that way you are not confused or ever questioning your ability. This is also a great opportunity to build relationships with the people that you work with.
Continuing to put yourself out there and get familiar in different settings will help you narrow down your options. Don’t stress it because you still have time and a lot of us are in similar situations as you!
May 24, 2023 @ 17:41:30
My name is Lauren Pereira. I completed my internship at Children’s Friend and Service in Providence, RI. It was a great fit for me because I have always been set on working with young children. Overall, I was able to learn new techniques and strategies that are more appropriate to use with younger age groups. I also had the opportunity to work with well-rounded Clinicians who I still keep in touch with. I was able to experience working in the students’ classrooms where they need extra supports as well as seeing them individually and around family. Not only did I build therapeutic rapport with the children, but I also built rapport with many parents and teachers, as we all want the same end goal for these kids. Because of this opportunity, I feel more confident in my field of work and I gained more the ability to work more independently while establishing good supports for these children.
I would say that my most adaptive coping skill has been my organization along with time management. Within my internship, there were several different sites that I would go to each week. Some of my clients were located in different areas. Therefore, I knew I had to stay organized and create set schedules so that I would not be anxious or stressed throughout my days. I had blocked off set times in my weekly calendar for meetings and I managed to create a schedule for each week so that I would be at a different site each day and I would not need to be driving back and forth to see children from different locations in one day. I stuck to this schedule for the entirety of internship and it has helped me focus more on tasks that need to get done in the moment rather than stress about what needs to get done on different days.
I am optimistic for the future and am very excited to graduate! Looking back, this graduate program went by quickly but I am also ready to be done with all of the papers and presentations. I am excited to start a career in this field and experience more opportunities. Luckily, I am less nervous, as I gained more knowledge and confidence this year. I am definitely still a bit nervous about the licensure piece as I want to obtain my LMHC. It will be important to find a reliable supervisor to work under. I am nervous about taking the exam, but it is a normal feeling to have. Ultimately, it is all doable and I am excited to see what the future holds!
May 26, 2023 @ 10:16:48
Hi Lauren,
I am so glad you had such a nice experience at your internship. I too got to work alongside teachers and other support staff in a classroom setting and found it very beneficial to each clients treatment progress. I agree that time management is such an important aspect of this work and without it you are left feeling scrambled and cannot give your clients your all. I made sure to write down my weekly schedule ahead of time too so that I would have a clear outline of what I was walking into each week. Also like you said, being nervous for the exam is totally normal (especially since this is something we have not been exposed to yet), but we have spent so much time practicing and studying these skills so we will be okay!
May 27, 2023 @ 12:34:24
Hi Lauren,
I am so glad your internship was such a great fit for you and that you were able to form so many positive relationships as a result. Working with children in the classroom seems like a good experience too. I imagine that facilitated the development of relationships with the children’s parents, and especially their teachers.
I am glad you were able to master organization and time management throughout your internship and it sounds like that was especially important due to all of the travel involved. This is a great skill for any site you end up at.
It is awesome that you feel so much less nervous now, and I am excited for you too!
May 24, 2023 @ 18:01:47
Hi everyone, this is Monika.
I hope everyone had a fantastic break and enjoyed some time off. I just completed my internship at Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services and it has truly been an incredible journey filled with growth and self-discovery. I was a bit anxious going into the internship especially because I was going to work with a population that I never did before. But all those worries quicky faded as it was such a supportive environment to work in. We were a total of 9 interns, the collaborative atmosphere allowed us to share insights, resources, and help each other out and not just from our supervisor.
Throughout my internship, I had the chance to explore therapeutic approaches other than CBT. I learned a little about motivational interviewing, DBT, SFBT, play therapy and adapting a more client centered approach. The best part was that I got the chance to apply everything I was learning in class to real-world scenarios and clients. It helped me solidify my understanding and improve my confidence. I worked with a population of wide age range and surprisingly I didn’t enjoy working with adults as much as I thought I would. But it was my first time in an outpatient setting and I loved it, I realized this is something I want to continue doing at least in my near future. I also want to keep working with kids and teenagers. My most adaptive coping skills have been, exercising (with a quick meditation at the end) everyday without fail, even though initially I didn’t feel like doing it everyday! Also for me another coping skill would be becoming a pro at time management (this gave me enough time to plan ahead, not feel anxious and not overwhelm myself with school, internship and personal life). Even though I have loved my time at Assumption and learned a lot, I am looking forward to graduating soon.
I am really excited to start working full time and get rid of my student loans. I am a little nervous about getting a job because I need a Work Visa sponsorship and there aren’t a lot of jobs out there that do that. I am not nervous about the licensing procedure because I know I will have some control over it, just finding a job will be a task for me. But I have planned ahead and I know what I need to do, just focusing on one day at at time.
May 26, 2023 @ 10:08:41
Hi Monika,
I really like that you were provided with the opportunity to practice so many therapeutic techniques at your internship, as it is important to know how to use other treatment approaches. However, it sounds like it was difficult working alongside your supervisor. With this said, this experience most likely gave you a good idea of the type of clinicians you would like to surround yourself with in the future.
I like that you are trying to incorporate more pleasurable activities into your life as I have noticed that this is a good coping skill for myself as well (and I am also trying to read more). It can be really hard to force yourself to do additional activities when you get home after a long day (other than just zoning out on your phone), but it is so important to do.
May 27, 2023 @ 18:22:40
Hi Monika,
Congrats on finishing your internship!! I think being nervous about working with a new population makes a lot of sense and I am glad that you were met with such a collaborative environment to support you during the past year. I really admire the discipline it must’ve taken to meditate daily. I’ve benefited from meditation in the past but struggle to set aside time for it on a daily basis. I also strongly relate to the weight of having student loans while not working full time, especially with the recent push in the media towards charging retroactive interest. I wish you the best of luck finding a position that can support you post graduation!
May 25, 2023 @ 13:02:57
Hi! My name is Cassandra Miller and I did my internship at Glenwood Elementary School in Rutland, MA. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to work as a school adjustment counselor and at some point in the future I may pursue another school setting. I also feel as though the kids brought a certain joy to counseling due to their creative and open-minded nature. Additionally, I feel that there is something to be said for getting to provide younger kids with a therapeutic tool set (so to speak) when their brains are still malleable and undergoing so much significant development. My most adaptive coping skill at my internship was deep breathing when I was feeling stressed, as well as imagining myself letting go of any emotional baggage as soon as I left the doors of the school.
When thinking about graduation being around the corner my initial reaction is one of excitement and relief. It is crazy to think that I have been in school for 19 years of my life and being finally ready to step out into the real “adult world” feels a little nerve-racking (but also in a good way). When thinking about future employment I have a lot of questions about the next steps to take and where I would be a good fit; especially being a new counselor and not being sure of the exact demographic I want to work with. I am a planner so not having the exact answers right now can feel a little overwhelming and scary, especially since my bank account is very low following the internship year. However, I think this class will be very helpful in providing us with some additional direction and I am excited to start this process. As far as licensing goes, I want to try and fit the requirements for both a School Adjustment Counselor and LMHC which can be a little tricky as the requirements are different for each. I am trying to do what I can in the present and gather as much information as I can!
May 27, 2023 @ 11:11:38
Hi Cassandra,
Congratulations on completing your internship at Glenwood Elementary School! It’s amazing to hear how much you enjoyed working as a school adjustment counselor and found joy in counseling the kids. As graduation approaches, it’s normal to feel a mix of excitement and nerves about entering the “adult world.” I also feel like I have been in school all my life and I am finally ready to start working. I love your adaptive coping skill, I have been trying to incorporate meditation and breathing in my daily routine and have experienced the benefits. Best of luck in your future endeavors as you gather information and explore different paths.
May 25, 2023 @ 16:42:07
Hi Everyone,
My name is Sandra Karic and I did my internship at Spectrum Health Systems. I have mixed feelings about my experience at my internship. On one hand, I really enjoyed building a relationship with my patients. I liked working with patients to identify triggers and problem solving to avoid these triggers or helping people generate coping strategies to respond to them. However I had frequent disagreements with my supervisor’s approach to counseling which was very frustrating. My supervisor was a big proponent of utilizing clinical intuition and liked to run groups on the fly, whereas I prefer having some sort of plan, especially for groups. I also did not like holding patients’ doses unless every other intervention had failed, while my supervisor was quick to recommend holding doses. Although she was very nice, I think our frameworks for counseling were not the most compatible.
I think my most adaptive coping skills were increasing pleasurable activities and reaching out to others for support. I started reading for pleasure again during my internship and increased how much I was socializing. Initially, I had been a bit of a recluse because my internship was so draining, but I found that even getting a coffee with a friend throughout the week significantly improved my mental health (turns out behavior activation is indeed effective). I also benefited from talking about my frustrations with supervision in the internship class and receiving validation from the professor/my classmates.
I am excited to be done with school soon, but I am stressed about finding a job post-graduation. I have no idea what population or setting I want to work in. I liked substance use, but I had too many gripes with my internship experience to want to return to that specific location. I am hoping to explore my options in the next couple months, but I mostly feel at a loss for what to pursue. Honestly at this point I am more concerned about the oral exam and finding a job than I am about getting licensed.
May 27, 2023 @ 15:53:19
Hey Sandra,
I can understand how having mixed feelings about your internship experience can be challenging. It’s fantastic that you enjoyed building relationships with your clients and helping them identify triggers and developing coping strategies. I can understand, it can be frustrating when there are disagreements with supervisors, especially regarding counseling approaches and interventions.
I’m glad to hear that you found adaptive coping skills that helped you during your internship, such as reading and reaching out for support. As graduation approaches, it’s completely normal to feel stressed about finding a job and unsure about the population or setting you want to work with. Remember, many of us are in the same boat, and it’s okay to feel a bit lost at this stage. Stay positive, keep exploring, and trust that the right path will unfold for you. Good luck with your oral exam and job search – you’ve got this!
May 26, 2023 @ 10:11:35
Hi Sandra,
(for some reason I added this under Monika when I was talking about Sandra)
I really like that you were provided with the opportunity to practice so many therapeutic techniques at your internship, as it is important to know how to use other treatment approaches. However, it sounds like it was difficult working alongside your supervisor. With this said, this experience most likely gave you a good idea of the type of clinicians you would like to surround yourself with in the future.
I like that you are trying to incorporate more pleasurable activities into your life as I have noticed that this is a good coping skill for myself as well (and I am also trying to read more). It can be really hard to force yourself to do additional activities when you get home after a long day (other than just zoning out on your phone), but it is so important to do.
May 27, 2023 @ 18:10:31
Hello I’m Pilar Betts!
My internship was at a small outpatient clinic in Connecticut called Community Matters. I worked in the Children’s Clinic and worked with children ages 5- 16 and their families. Going into the internship I was hoping to work with teens and young adults or even a college counseling center. Upon finding my internship I was open to work with a range of ages to see what population I work best with. I really enjoyed working with my clients and forming a therapeutic relationship with them. I also learned a lot about my style and was able to discover what works for me and what doesn’t. I discovered that the youngest I will work with in the future is 7 and still plan to mainly work with teens.
In all honesty, during internship was exhausting because I was back and forth between Worcester and Connecticut and was feeling burnt out constantly. Living on campus and going to classes, and being an RA. However in a way being with my clients was my coping skill because I enjoyed doing therapy. My coping skill is usually spending time with my family as much as I can while I am home but since I was doing internship for the time I was home I didn’t really have much of that time. With that being said I can’t wait to graduate to be honest so I can just be in one state full time and be close to my family and friends.
I’m excited to be graduating. I really enjoyed actually doing therapy. It became a huge part of my life for almost a whole year so I’m excited to get back to it and help more clients. I am nervous for the next step of licensure and taking the exam but any test is nerve wrecking and I know I can get through it.