Internship Assessment: Counselor of Domestic and Substance Abuse Victims

Most of my professional life to date has focused on working with people with disabilities and in helping them identify and achieve their goals. As an occupational therapist, I had coursework in psychology, but no formal training in counseling. My ability to help my patients reach their highest potential really depended on my professional relationship, or what as therapists we referred to as “therapeutic use of self”. I certainly learned and used specific techniques and assessments over the years to help me achieve better outcomes, but never identified with any specific theory as the framework of my interactions. I recognize there were times when my personality and my skills were a great match and other times when I felt like I just couldn’t figure out the right approach. Thankfully for much of my career, I worked with an interdisciplinary team that included some very skilled psychologists, so I always had the ability to consult.

I would like to pursue counseling as my career and become a successful leader in the field. I have always had a passion to assist people in emotional distress. As a qualified professional in the counseling field, I would be able to identify their problems as well as offer them the most appropriate solutions that may help them deal with their situations. However, working as a professional counselor requires that I possess the relevant skills and knowledge that would enable me to offer quality services in which I think that I can obtain the skills at Capella University. As a

The situation that brought me from my first internship to the second one was frustrating and difficult. Nonetheless, it provided me with beneficial learning experiences for my career and life in general. One of the silver linings of interning at these two considerably different internship experiences was increasing my knowledge of two different types of business. The first of these areas was in the Non-Profit organization at PACS, where their mission is to empower individuals who are struggling. The nonprofit industry has always deeply interested me, and what I learned at PACS only fueled that interest. The time I spent at PACS was brief and ended abruptly. Nonetheless, I learned valuable and significant information and gained an understanding of the various business characteristics that are essential in nonprofit organizations.

It was during my senior year of college that I decided I wanted to become a school counselor. Up until my senior year in college at Penn State I did not know where I wanted to take my career but I knew I wanted to work in a school setting and I knew that I wanted to work with kids. When it came time to choose an internship site for my last semester, I chose an alternative school called Buxmont Academy in Bethlehem where I would be shadowing two of their school counselors as well as engaging with the students themselves. I got to work with these children on a more personal level, gaining an understanding of their emotions, experiences, and difficulties, as most of these children came from broken homes, and drug and alcohol related settings. I am interested in becoming a school counselor because I want to help. When I become a counselor I want to make a difference in a child’s life whether that be by simply giving them support that they might not have in their lives or helping them make changes to better themselves and their futures. A counselor has such an important role in helping to shape young children and that is something that I want to be a part of.

The process of finding an internship was very stressful for me. I honestly had no idea where to start or even what I was interested in. It took me many weeks to do research into different facilities that had internships available. After calling tons of organizations I finally interviewed at one that felt right for me. The interview took place with Laura Crain, who I also interviewed for this essay. The internship is at the McHenry County Substance Abuse Coalition.

An internship can also heighten the awareness of community issues, motivates to create opportunities, embrace new ideas, and give direction to positive change. A successful internship can provide valuable information in making decisions about the direction of future studies or employment. An internship is an opportunity to not only use and develop industry-related knowledge and skills, but also to enhance some of the skills that are transferable to any professional work setting. For some people, the internship is the first introduction to the world of work. No matter where the skills and understanding of professionalism lie, internship is a chance to develop them even further.

Interning at the FBI is one of my most meaningful experiences because it gave me the opportunity to serve in my community, learn how to effectively communicate between the intelligence community and the outside community, as well as strengthened my leadership skills.

As the internship program and the training intended, I have learned much related to my major, Criminal Justice. This internship helped me to acknowledge that qualified, knowledgeable professionals are needed by our complex society to define, administer, and put our rules and standards into force. Like jobs in any other field, to work in the field of law requires expertise. Trained experts are the most desirable to be hired by organizations, tasked to manage justice, to direct their operations. By writing articles for the legal website, I learned to assess law enforcement situations orderly. I learned to make use of the basic legal and management theories to analyze the situations. I got the opportunity to show my understanding of the key process in the U.S. criminal justice system. I also learned to combine approaches from management, law, and the behavioral science to apply them to the situations I was studying.

The main task of my internship was to gain more experience and knowledge of our respective field. Overall, the experience proved to be both enjoyable and rewarding. During this internship I used the skills that I learned from my Medical Assistant class and used them in the real world scenarios at the hospital. Also while I there I was exposed to new experiences. Such as performing Urine test on Drug and alcohol patients. For this procedure I had to stand in the restroom with the patient's and watch them urinate into a cup. I had to stand in the restroom with the patients because in the past they try and cheat the system. For example

For my internship, I served under the Allegheny County Health Department in Pittsburgh, PA. I served as the National Health Corps Member for the Women, Infants, and Children Program as their Care Coordinator for all nine offices. Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a supplemental nutrition agency that targets pregnant and postpartum women and young children ages 5 and under who are at risk of malnutrition. My supervisor Annie Nagy along with my mentors in the office made sure I was able to receive all of the materials and resources I would need to have a complete and successful internship.

The abuse counseling career that most interest me is a substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselor because I desire to assist those with addictions of all kinds by finding and treating the source of the client’s problem. Dealing with abuse can be a very difficult road to recover from due to the individuals need to cope with life daily however there are techniques and creative ways to introduce to those who need help in recovering. There are addictions that are responsible for certain behavioral disorders such as child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence which may cause the client to be withdrawn or overly active each case varies. Other behavior traits can be genetic and or learned over

Currently, I am a sophomore studying Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nevada, Reno. As a college student, one of the most important aspect of my education career is to gain different kind of experiences from opportunities that are offer at the university. Personally, I believe that completing a paid, local internship can give students, such as myself, the chance to gain valuable work experience and build networks and connections, while applying knowledge and skills in real life settings. Every type of experiences that exist, such as internships, offer me the chance to enhance my strengths, understand the world around me, and to push myself in continuing to develop as an individual to become successful in life. For example, I was selected as an art intern for the Summer Business Institute Program in Summer 2014. Throughout the eight weeks of exploring to arts, I had an opportunity to work with a team of artists to create a mural and an art piece for two local community centers in Las Vegas as well as organizing a civil engagement project for a neighborhood that have families who are in need of financial aid. As a result, we were thanked by the families to sponsor an event for their children to enjoy art for a day. Reflecting back on

The agency where I am completing my internship is called Center for Family Services. This organization provides a wide range of services. I am working in their Family First program. This program is a substance abuse program just for mothers who must attend drug court or have an open case with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. These women are ordered to complete a substance abuse program. This program serves a diverse cultural and ethnic population who may have experienced trauma in their life. Many times, trauma and post traumatic stress can lead to substance abuse.

The memberships that will be the most productive development is the professional foundation, Washington Mental Health Counseling Association. The resources valuable, such as legal advice, discounts on training on licensure prep, a quarterly newsletter, and conferences for continuing education credits (WMHCA, 2017). Benefits that accompany membership are learning about the realities of getting employment, so I think it is best to start with the state membership. Getting support in where to do an internship is a challenge, and information will be more assessable if networking within a community of counselors. The student price is only $15.00 for a year, includes topics in recent news, ethics, and lists of supervisors to complete requirements

It has been a while since I started at the internship and I am really glad I decided to work here. I think the experience in this area is a good preview of my career and future. I am learning some important skills and finding out some things about myself and the tough skin I will need in order to stay in the area of juvenile support.