Therapist, I am not.

While it's been a while since I've written here, it has mostly been because I have been in a bit of a mental debate. I have decided to take next semester off from school to reconsider whether I want to be a therapist or not. While I feel like I had consider this before, there is nothing like the experience to show one the opposite.

Over the last 2 months I have been working at Tewksbury State hospital, which I was really excited about, until I started. And it was probably after I learned of the severity of the patients problems that I started to realize that I do not want to be trying to heal these people. While I do want to make the world a better place, I am not sure I want to do it this way. I am a very sensitive and emotional person and doing this work leaves me drained and depressed.

So my plan is to get a job after I return from Florida and to work and make art. I'll be staying in Boston because there are still a lot more opportunities up here than in Florida. In addition, this will give me the option to continue the program if I realize that it is where I want to be. I've also been looking at another program at my school called "Community Arts" which is a masters in Education. It's a shorter program and would redirect my work back to the type of work that I had been doing. I think education is a better place for me.

I'll keep you updated on the process. Right now I'm feeling really good about this decision, and everyone at school has been really supportive too. It was difficult at first to not feel like I had failed, but the truth is that I'm glad I tried it and would have never really known otherwise.

Internship - Update

So the word on my internship. Well, I applied to two sites, and I got calls from both. The site that I was really interested in is at Tewksbury State hospital in Tewksbury, MA. This is the oldest state hospital in the country, so it has a really good reputation and really interesting programs, so I was really excited when I found out I got it! Below there is a link that you can check out that explains one of the new technologies that is being used at the hospital to create music with individuals with varying disabilities. They also have visiting artists come throughout the year.

I'll be working with 2 different populations: medical rehabilitation and in-patient pysch. The first mentioned is the population that I'm most interested, but I also have the ability to learn even more at this site by having 2 distinctly different populations.

I'll be the 3rd intern that they will have this year. They normally only have 2, but when the supervisor saw my resume she said that she would make an exception in bringing me on too. I guess she liked me. Well, I am really flattered and excited about this opportunity. This will be a great addition to my resume.

I'm suppose to start the week of Sept. 22nd. So I'll keep you updated on how it's going. I will be working there 2 days a week.

Check out this video if you have a minute. It made me cry the first time I saw it because it was just so beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj2QoLhfwew

First Steps - Internship

As part of my graduate education I must fulfill an internship of 450 hours my first year and another 600 hours my second year. In trying to make the most out of my summer, I have begun the search for a site to do my internship at. Lesley University offers a large database, but it's best to start the search sooner than later to get your top pick.

Just over a week ago I started my search to find a site that would be of interest to me (you can choose different populations like homeless, women, addictions, developmentally disabled, medical rehabilitation and so on). I found 3 of interest, with other potentials, and I started sending my resume and calling around. My number one pick, Tewksbury State Hospital, just got back to me today and said that they were impressed with my resume and wanted to have me come for an interview! How exciting!

The whole process of finding a place to do the internship is very much like finding a job, so am excited that it's working out and going smoothly. I have 2 other sites that I still plan to visit, but I am really excited to meet with my top choice. My interview is next Monday, wish me luck.

First Day of Class

This last weekend I had my first class. While I was a little nervous, since this was my first graduate class, I quickly felt reassured as class went on. This class is a weekend intensive, which is broken up over two weekends: one in June and one in July. The class is called Lifespan Developmental Psychology. This is actually one of the classes that I had to take at the undergraduate level to get into the program, but this class is much more in depth. I'm actually surprised at how much I'm enjoying it.

The books in the class are also really good too. Probably the best textbook I ever had to read: "Lives Across Cultures." And I'm just breaking into "Women's Way of Knowing." The class is focused on two areas of development that offend get over looked: cross culture development and women in general.

Today I received my first paper back in the mail. The topic was on Ecological Systems, and I received a B+, which I was happy about, but was really wanting that "A". My teacher has a great policy: we can rewrite any paper in the class to get a better grade. The emphasis is really on learning the material and not on test taking. Actually, we don't have any tests for this class. What a relief!

While the material is challenging, I welcome all of the debates and information presented. There are just so many smart people here. It's really great to be at such a good school.