This has been a repetitive theme of my blog lately and I apologize for boring people to tears, but I'm fitting in another "end of the semester" blog entry.
Tomorrow's the last day at my internship site and I'm so sad about it. I've loved it over there so much. I'd work there for free if I could. OK, maybe not, but I've enjoyed it that much. I'm going to miss the patients so much even though they're only there for about a week at a time and the crowd is constantly changing. I feel like I've actually made a difference in these kid's lives. I see kids come into the hospital in a really bad off way and leave with a smile on their face and it feels so good to know that they have that fighting chance.
I had a family session at the end of the day today and thought to myself "that went horrible, she's not leaving anytime soon." The reason she's not leaving anytime soon is that she's still a threat to her family. Basically, people come into the hospital because they're a threat to themselves or a threat to others. Usually suicidal or homicidal attempts or ideation. We don't discharge them until the doctor thinks they're no longer suicidal or homicidal. So when I realized that the girl wasn't going home because she was still a threat to others, I had this moment of awakening that all of the other people who do go home have actually changed and they're actually not a threat to others anymore (for the moment at least). It felt so good to come to that realization and to think that I may have had a hand in steering them towards the change that they need to make. I definitely think that it's the client that does the work and makes the change. I take no responsibility for that. But it's nice to think that I might've put a spark into someone's mind that ignited a fire for change.
So now I'm getting nervous about not being able to find a job. I talked to a girl today who works at a grief counseling center for children down here and she said she would give my name and number to her boss. That made me happy. I'd love to do that. There's really not a whole lot of places to work with children here in New Orleans. That's the population I want to work with. I love working with adolescents. I've enjoyed it so much this semester and I know that's where I belong. Just can't find a place that will pay me to do that. I can do that in private practice, but I need somewhere to work while I'm getting my licensure first. We'll see.
On a totally different note, I've sparked up quite a conversation in the comments section of a previous post about a website that Marina told me about. The website is bookcloseouts.com. Now, in addition to that, bookfool went on to tell me about currentcodes.com that has a code for bookcloseouts.com that offers an additional savings. The bookcloseouts.com website offers all kinds of really great books at, you got it, close out prices. I scored 10 books for $60.15 after shipping. All of the books were hardcover or trade paperbacks. Marina also told me that you can enter a wishlist and it lets you know when books you want become available as closeout books. WARNING!! This is a VERY dangerous website ;) Stephanie wanted to know what books I bought, so here they are:
1. Wyrms by Orson Scott Card
2. The Book Of Ballads by Charles Vess and others
3. The Faery Reel ed. by Terri Windling Illus. by Charles Vess
4. The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
5. Into the Green by Charles de Lint
6. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
7. Tithe by Holly Black
8. What it Takes to Pull Me Through by David Marcus
9. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
10. Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser
Not a bad list, eh?
Showing posts with label internship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internship. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
So Begins The Last Week Of School
Not only is this the last week of school, but it's my last week as a student. I have very mixed emotions about this. A part of me is so relieved that it's over and ready to move into the workforce, but another part of me wants to remain a student.
My graduate student experience has been chaotic to say the least. It started with Katrina. Since then, everything has been up in the air and constantly changing. But I made it through, and it will make that degree mean that much more to me. I've made a couple of really close friends and one in particular who I'm sure I'll continue to keep in touch with. I've learned tons! I feel like I've learned more in these past two years than I have in any other schooling. I've learned more in the practical sense...how counseling actually works. And I've really enjoyed it despite the huge amounts of stress and the having to fight for everything. The faculty hasn't been a huge help to me, nor has the administration which is unfortunate. I've learned the most from my supervisor at the hospital where I've been doing my internship.
Now it's time to find a job. I've sent out a few resumes, but haven't heard anything back yet. I'll just sit and wait for now. I'll start going at it full force after Mexico. Get in a little bit of R&R and then play hardball.
Plans for the rest of the week: Today I have my last clinic class, tomorrow is my ethics final, Wednesday and Thursday are internship days, and Friday is my birthday :) Then it's all over! A week off and graduation on May 19th. It's very surreal that I will have a Masters in a little over a week. Strange...
I'm sure this isn't the end of school for me though. I can definitely see myself going back for the PhD. If there were a degree above that, I'd get that too....well I guess I could go for an MD, but that's definitely NOT going to happen.
My graduate student experience has been chaotic to say the least. It started with Katrina. Since then, everything has been up in the air and constantly changing. But I made it through, and it will make that degree mean that much more to me. I've made a couple of really close friends and one in particular who I'm sure I'll continue to keep in touch with. I've learned tons! I feel like I've learned more in these past two years than I have in any other schooling. I've learned more in the practical sense...how counseling actually works. And I've really enjoyed it despite the huge amounts of stress and the having to fight for everything. The faculty hasn't been a huge help to me, nor has the administration which is unfortunate. I've learned the most from my supervisor at the hospital where I've been doing my internship.
Now it's time to find a job. I've sent out a few resumes, but haven't heard anything back yet. I'll just sit and wait for now. I'll start going at it full force after Mexico. Get in a little bit of R&R and then play hardball.
Plans for the rest of the week: Today I have my last clinic class, tomorrow is my ethics final, Wednesday and Thursday are internship days, and Friday is my birthday :) Then it's all over! A week off and graduation on May 19th. It's very surreal that I will have a Masters in a little over a week. Strange...
I'm sure this isn't the end of school for me though. I can definitely see myself going back for the PhD. If there were a degree above that, I'd get that too....well I guess I could go for an MD, but that's definitely NOT going to happen.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Days That Make It All Worth It
I've come to learn very quickly that there are certain days that make all the work that goes into counseling worth it. There are those days (which are numerous) where it seems like the majority of the patients are not interested in getting better or at least don't seem to be getting any better. I know this is more common among adolescents than adults since adolescents are for the most part forced to go into inpatient treatment while at least some of the adults check themselves in. But every now and then, there are those days where I just leave with a big smile on my face and see so much improvement in my patients. Those are the days that count for me.
Right now, we have a lot of cutters and self mutilators on our unit. So, for the process group this morning, I chose to focus on why people cut and have everyone share their experiences. What an emotional group. Lots of stuff came up that triggered other clients and a lot of tears were shed, but by the end of the session, everyone seemed to be more comfortable...laughing and having a good time. A lot of these kids haven't laughed in months. It takes a lot of courage to talk about things that are this personal, but everyone did, and I could see the catharsis of talking about it on their faces. Everyone was sharing hugs by the end of the group, which usually isn't allowed on the adolescent unit because it leads to something else, but today it was appropriate...and I let it slide.
I've tried this before (a group on cutting) and it was a disaster. I don't know if I just have a better group of patients now or if I've become more comfortable with the job. It's probably a mix of both. I made a special point of pulling each patient aside for the day and letting them know how proud I was of them and how much I can see that they're working to get better. I hope it helped them as much as it seemed to.
I'm in such a good mood now as a result of this. Here's hoping that tomorrow is as good!
Right now, we have a lot of cutters and self mutilators on our unit. So, for the process group this morning, I chose to focus on why people cut and have everyone share their experiences. What an emotional group. Lots of stuff came up that triggered other clients and a lot of tears were shed, but by the end of the session, everyone seemed to be more comfortable...laughing and having a good time. A lot of these kids haven't laughed in months. It takes a lot of courage to talk about things that are this personal, but everyone did, and I could see the catharsis of talking about it on their faces. Everyone was sharing hugs by the end of the group, which usually isn't allowed on the adolescent unit because it leads to something else, but today it was appropriate...and I let it slide.
I've tried this before (a group on cutting) and it was a disaster. I don't know if I just have a better group of patients now or if I've become more comfortable with the job. It's probably a mix of both. I made a special point of pulling each patient aside for the day and letting them know how proud I was of them and how much I can see that they're working to get better. I hope it helped them as much as it seemed to.
I'm in such a good mood now as a result of this. Here's hoping that tomorrow is as good!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Monday's Here Again
Monday's here again already and it's kicking my ass. I feel very blah today, just sort of cranky. Not really sick, but not really well. Just sort of flat. A comment this morning made me sort of angry and I found that I just couldn't let it go. Then I started thinking that it wasn't necessarily meant the way that I took it. It's funny how it's so easy to give my client's advice on how to better handle situations, yet I can't take my own advice. Makes me have a lot more respect for the changes that my client's make and the effort that they put in.
I need a job badly as well. I've applied for a job with a nationwide organization but they came back saying that my salary demands were too high....so I lowered them. We'll see what happens. My demands weren't all that high, but I guess in this field, they need to be lower. I was aiming above what I thought I'd get. I really want to work with children and adolescents, but the only place in Louisiana to work with that population in a psychiatric setting is in private practice or the hospital I'm at. Can't do private practice yet because I don't have my licensure, and the hospital I'm at offered me a job at $15/hour with no benefits. That's not going to work for me. I need health insurance. So I'm looking in other areas of the country. Any job advice and/or leads anyone?
And now it's almost time for 5 grueling hours of school. I just have to keep reminding myself that there's only a month left until graduation. Something good has to happen today! I'll continue to wait for it...
I need a job badly as well. I've applied for a job with a nationwide organization but they came back saying that my salary demands were too high....so I lowered them. We'll see what happens. My demands weren't all that high, but I guess in this field, they need to be lower. I was aiming above what I thought I'd get. I really want to work with children and adolescents, but the only place in Louisiana to work with that population in a psychiatric setting is in private practice or the hospital I'm at. Can't do private practice yet because I don't have my licensure, and the hospital I'm at offered me a job at $15/hour with no benefits. That's not going to work for me. I need health insurance. So I'm looking in other areas of the country. Any job advice and/or leads anyone?
And now it's almost time for 5 grueling hours of school. I just have to keep reminding myself that there's only a month left until graduation. Something good has to happen today! I'll continue to wait for it...
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Working With Adults And A Couple Of New Books
I got to work on the adult psychiatric unit for a little while today and it was a pretty good experience. I find that working with adults is very different from working with adolescents. It's easier to talk with most adults on the psychiatric unit. Most of them are there because they want the help whereas the adolescents are there because their parents, the hospital, or the law made them go. I found it more rewarding in an immediate sort of way with the adults. I can actually do therapeutic work with them and see their interest and their desire to change. I can see their hurt, their pain, their addictions, their feelings of loss. With adolescents, alot of that is hidden by anger. Adolescents are rewarding as well, but certainly not immediately. It's rewarding to see how they come in and (hopefully) how much better they've gotten when it's time for them to leave. It was quite a good experience over there, though I must say that I was happy to get back to my adolescents. I just have fun with those guys and gals.
Got two new books in the mail today! Always a great thing to see in the mailbox. The first was a book that I bought so that I could understand childhood trauma a little bit better. We see alot of trauma on our unit. The book is called Too Scared To Cry and is written by Lenore Terr. It's a really great book and a big eye opener to trauma. The basis of the book is from a mass kidnapping in the 70's. 26 children were kidnapped and buried alive and they all survived. Lenore Terr interviewed them and examined how that affected the rest of their lives. She also examines other forms of trauma such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
The other book that I got was Colleen Gleason's The Rest Falls Away and I'm really excited about this one. It came signed to me with a few bookmarks for her next book. It's been called a Jane Austen meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of book. It's a romance with vampires. How cool is that? She's still giving away a few more copies on her blog up until April 15th. That's how I won mine. Check it out.
Sleepiness is winning over the gym tonight. There's seems to be just no energy left in my body. So I'll play in blogland for a little while and then just kick back and watch some tv for a little while. Sounds like a plan.
Got two new books in the mail today! Always a great thing to see in the mailbox. The first was a book that I bought so that I could understand childhood trauma a little bit better. We see alot of trauma on our unit. The book is called Too Scared To Cry and is written by Lenore Terr. It's a really great book and a big eye opener to trauma. The basis of the book is from a mass kidnapping in the 70's. 26 children were kidnapped and buried alive and they all survived. Lenore Terr interviewed them and examined how that affected the rest of their lives. She also examines other forms of trauma such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
The other book that I got was Colleen Gleason's The Rest Falls Away and I'm really excited about this one. It came signed to me with a few bookmarks for her next book. It's been called a Jane Austen meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of book. It's a romance with vampires. How cool is that? She's still giving away a few more copies on her blog up until April 15th. That's how I won mine. Check it out.
Sleepiness is winning over the gym tonight. There's seems to be just no energy left in my body. So I'll play in blogland for a little while and then just kick back and watch some tv for a little while. Sounds like a plan.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Getting A Little Better
So today has been a much better day so far. My skills as a counselor were put to the test this morning and I'd say I passed. One of the social workers was out today which left me to fill her position for the day. How nerve wracking! I always have my supervisor there to help me out. Well today I didn't and I think I did fine. Did the process group (which I'm used to doing by myself), got all my discharge plans done, set up family sessions, ran a couple of family sessions and just all in all had a pretty good day. Very busy day, but good nonetheless.
I find that I like it when things are busy. I'd take busy any day over bored. When I'm at work, no matter where that may be, I am just not a fan of idle time. The day progresses faster and I get a certain feeling of accomplishment knowing that everything's been done. I feel like if I'm not busy, that means I'm falling behind...a feeling that just overwhelms me too much. I need to be on top of things. This is sort of a theme of my day to day life. Whether at work, at school, or at home, I'm always doing something. Though I must say, I've learned to enjoy idle time at home a little more than I used to.
Right now, I'm filling my idle time by reading Orson Scott Card's Hart's Hope for the once upon a time challenge. It's wonderful so far. It amazes me how great of an author Card is. I've read about 30 of his books now and have not been disappointed by a single one. Now that's rare, though I feel the same way about Neil Gaiman. Every time I jump into a Card book, I think "it'll be good, but won't be as good as some others." You figure there's got to be a mess up somewhere in there. But there's not. Not only are all of his books great, but they even exceed my expectations. My favorite thing about Card is his character development. He has the greatest ability of any author I've read to create real, human characters...characters that we feel for and relate to. Can't wait to finish this one, though at the same time, I wish it were longer. Review should be coming in the next couple of days.
I find that I like it when things are busy. I'd take busy any day over bored. When I'm at work, no matter where that may be, I am just not a fan of idle time. The day progresses faster and I get a certain feeling of accomplishment knowing that everything's been done. I feel like if I'm not busy, that means I'm falling behind...a feeling that just overwhelms me too much. I need to be on top of things. This is sort of a theme of my day to day life. Whether at work, at school, or at home, I'm always doing something. Though I must say, I've learned to enjoy idle time at home a little more than I used to.
Right now, I'm filling my idle time by reading Orson Scott Card's Hart's Hope for the once upon a time challenge. It's wonderful so far. It amazes me how great of an author Card is. I've read about 30 of his books now and have not been disappointed by a single one. Now that's rare, though I feel the same way about Neil Gaiman. Every time I jump into a Card book, I think "it'll be good, but won't be as good as some others." You figure there's got to be a mess up somewhere in there. But there's not. Not only are all of his books great, but they even exceed my expectations. My favorite thing about Card is his character development. He has the greatest ability of any author I've read to create real, human characters...characters that we feel for and relate to. Can't wait to finish this one, though at the same time, I wish it were longer. Review should be coming in the next couple of days.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Migraines Pt. 2, A New Blog, Alice Poppets
The migraines have returned, so this will be a short post. I just want these to go away. Doctors appointment on the 30th of this month, so hopefully we can come up with a better solution then. I ended up leaving work early today which really wasn't such a bad thing. I got all of my groups done this morning and had my last family session at 1. So I would've just been twiddling my thumbs for the rest of the day.
There's a new edition to the blogroll and this one is very special to me. The blog's name is Girl Come Undone and it is authored by the same Megan that you hear me talk about on here. Me and Megan have quite a history as can be seen on this previous post. You can look forward to some excellent writing from her on all things interesting. She's a wonderful artist and a big fan of Dave McKean and Brian Froud. Very creative type of person. Enjoy!
Edit: One more thing! I just found the cutest damn things on Lisa Snellings-Clark's blog. Alice in Wonderland poppets!!!
There's a new edition to the blogroll and this one is very special to me. The blog's name is Girl Come Undone and it is authored by the same Megan that you hear me talk about on here. Me and Megan have quite a history as can be seen on this previous post. You can look forward to some excellent writing from her on all things interesting. She's a wonderful artist and a big fan of Dave McKean and Brian Froud. Very creative type of person. Enjoy!
Edit: One more thing! I just found the cutest damn things on Lisa Snellings-Clark's blog. Alice in Wonderland poppets!!!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
An Awakening of Sorts
Oh my Ford! (I'm reading Brave New World) What a day today was! No this is not some deep, meaningful post about a spiritual awakening. It's more like I awakened to the fact today that I do indeed work in a psychiatric hospital.
I usually have no problems at the hospital. I love my job and I love the clients that I work with. But boy did we have some serious behavior problems today. Without going into detail, 3 codes (psyc emergencies) were called today. All resulted in biting, kicking, etc. and one of the psyc techs ended up with a black eye and a bloody finger. I feel like a wet towel that's been wrung out. Also did a family session where I got chewed out for being an intern. Now I can kind of understand the parent's worries. I'm not a licensed therapist yet, I'm an intern and while I may be a month away from finishing my training, I'm still not done yet. But I think I knew what I was talking about. Anyway, that doesn't matter because I brought in one of the "real" therapists to finish out the session.
So I'm still trying to make myself go to the gym. That's been the plan all along, and I'm going to stick with it, it's just a matter of when that motivation will kick in. I plan on buying protein powder and Flax seed meal soon. I was watching Workout last night and one of the trainers gave the recipe for a mixed berry protein shake that you can drink in the morning for energy and just for health all around. I found a site where I typed in my weight and saw that I should have between 64-119 grams of protein daily. I'd be surprised if I'm having 10 grams a day right now. So I'm going to try to boost that up. It's supposed to help in losing weight.
Ok, back to Brave New World.
I usually have no problems at the hospital. I love my job and I love the clients that I work with. But boy did we have some serious behavior problems today. Without going into detail, 3 codes (psyc emergencies) were called today. All resulted in biting, kicking, etc. and one of the psyc techs ended up with a black eye and a bloody finger. I feel like a wet towel that's been wrung out. Also did a family session where I got chewed out for being an intern. Now I can kind of understand the parent's worries. I'm not a licensed therapist yet, I'm an intern and while I may be a month away from finishing my training, I'm still not done yet. But I think I knew what I was talking about. Anyway, that doesn't matter because I brought in one of the "real" therapists to finish out the session.
So I'm still trying to make myself go to the gym. That's been the plan all along, and I'm going to stick with it, it's just a matter of when that motivation will kick in. I plan on buying protein powder and Flax seed meal soon. I was watching Workout last night and one of the trainers gave the recipe for a mixed berry protein shake that you can drink in the morning for energy and just for health all around. I found a site where I typed in my weight and saw that I should have between 64-119 grams of protein daily. I'd be surprised if I'm having 10 grams a day right now. So I'm going to try to boost that up. It's supposed to help in losing weight.
Ok, back to Brave New World.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Feeling Good on a Friday and Web Wanderings
So in yesterday's post, I vented about sexual abuse because of a patient at the hospital right now. Well, this morning, I'm looking through the paper and see that the guy who did this to my patient was arrested on 3 counts of child sexual abuse! I was so happy to see that this man will be behind bars, but still wish I could take all of that pain away from my patient. For some things, there is no true justice, but at least this is something.
So that was a good thing and so was going to the gym. I finally made it back. But come to think of it, it really wasn't that long since I've been....just 2 days. I like to be hard on myself about things though.
On to web wanderings!
Quixotical has posted a wonderful review of Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. This book has been waiting patiently on my shelf to be read. It's being neglected by challenges, though in hindsight it would have fit perfectly into the fantasy challenge. Quixotical has been posting these wonderful little pictures of poppets with books for the fantasy challenge and I hope that the pictures continue throughout.
Up next is my favorite Friday Favorites of Carl V.'s yet. It's focus is Charles Vess, that wonderful, magical artist. Vess has done work on Gaiman's Sandman and Stardust, Clarke's The Ladies of Grace Aldieu, many comics and graphic novels, and the list just goes on and on. I like Carl's comparison, he's very much today's Arthur Rackham. Like Rackham, Vess is able to perfectly capture magic at it's purest in every painting or drawing he does. Thanks to Carl, I discovered that Vess has a comprehensive artbook coming out in August that I'm totally psyched about!
The Friends of English Magic blog has a wonderful interview with Jane Goldman all about the Stardust movie. It silenced many of my fears but confirmed one of them. Some fears are silenced because she said that everything we as fans loved about the book, the whole feeling of the book, is still there. What made me upset is that she said Yvaine had to be introduced really early in the movie unlike the book. I'm scared that this confirms that no time is spent setting up who Tristran is and where he comes from. Please be in there! She also mentions a "making of Stardust" book that will be released around the time of the movie as well as a visual companion book. Boy am I going to be poor come August!
Finally, their are two new editions to the blogroll. The first is Bookfoolery and Babble. This blog is fantastic! The author takes amazing photographs which are all over her blog and she has great taste in books and offers wonderful reviews. I enjoy her blog very much and hope that others can as well. The second addition is Colleen Gleason's blog. Colleen is an author who wrote The Rest Falls Away, a book that has had so many rave reviews and one that I must get around to reading. In fact, she's giving away 15 copies in a raffle of sorts through her blog. She touches on all sorts of subjects on her blog and her posts are always fun to read.
So that was a good thing and so was going to the gym. I finally made it back. But come to think of it, it really wasn't that long since I've been....just 2 days. I like to be hard on myself about things though.
On to web wanderings!
Quixotical has posted a wonderful review of Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. This book has been waiting patiently on my shelf to be read. It's being neglected by challenges, though in hindsight it would have fit perfectly into the fantasy challenge. Quixotical has been posting these wonderful little pictures of poppets with books for the fantasy challenge and I hope that the pictures continue throughout.
Up next is my favorite Friday Favorites of Carl V.'s yet. It's focus is Charles Vess, that wonderful, magical artist. Vess has done work on Gaiman's Sandman and Stardust, Clarke's The Ladies of Grace Aldieu, many comics and graphic novels, and the list just goes on and on. I like Carl's comparison, he's very much today's Arthur Rackham. Like Rackham, Vess is able to perfectly capture magic at it's purest in every painting or drawing he does. Thanks to Carl, I discovered that Vess has a comprehensive artbook coming out in August that I'm totally psyched about!
The Friends of English Magic blog has a wonderful interview with Jane Goldman all about the Stardust movie. It silenced many of my fears but confirmed one of them. Some fears are silenced because she said that everything we as fans loved about the book, the whole feeling of the book, is still there. What made me upset is that she said Yvaine had to be introduced really early in the movie unlike the book. I'm scared that this confirms that no time is spent setting up who Tristran is and where he comes from. Please be in there! She also mentions a "making of Stardust" book that will be released around the time of the movie as well as a visual companion book. Boy am I going to be poor come August!
Finally, their are two new editions to the blogroll. The first is Bookfoolery and Babble. This blog is fantastic! The author takes amazing photographs which are all over her blog and she has great taste in books and offers wonderful reviews. I enjoy her blog very much and hope that others can as well. The second addition is Colleen Gleason's blog. Colleen is an author who wrote The Rest Falls Away, a book that has had so many rave reviews and one that I must get around to reading. In fact, she's giving away 15 copies in a raffle of sorts through her blog. She touches on all sorts of subjects on her blog and her posts are always fun to read.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Being a Bum
Today was quite a mentally exhausting day. Working at a psychiatric hospital, you eventually learn not to take the problems home with you. And overall, I've done a pretty good job of leaving work at work. However, there are certain days that are just hard not to take home with you. One of the most upsetting things about working with children is seeing the amount of sexual abuse that goes on. I was shocked at how often this happens when I started over there, and even more shocked to find how hard it is to prosecute offenders. When they do get prosecuted, they're only in jail for a year or two, then they're back on the streets. Sexual trauma has such a huge effect on children. In my opinion, people who do this to kids should be locked up with the key thrown away. While they are satisfying their addictions, they are ruining the lives of these kids, or at least making their lives alot more challenging than they need to be.
So after all of that, I had decided that I was going to go to the gym again to work off some steam. But I made the mistake of laying down in bed first and now I'm in my pajamas going nowhere.
On a totally different note, Subterranean Press released the cover for their version of Neil Gaiman's M is for Magic, which I have already ordered and I was so disappointed. The cover is just horrible in my opinion. Yesterday's blog post had the most anticipated cover, and this has to be the most disappointing cover. Oh well, at least it's signed and numbered by one of my favorite authors.
One other thing I wanted to mention was that Endicott Studio had a post today about a new book on Charles Vess being released. It's Modern Masters Volume 11 and it's subject is Charles Vess and it looks amazing. It focuses mostly on his graphic novel and comic book work. Looking forward to this one!
So after all of that, I had decided that I was going to go to the gym again to work off some steam. But I made the mistake of laying down in bed first and now I'm in my pajamas going nowhere.
On a totally different note, Subterranean Press released the cover for their version of Neil Gaiman's M is for Magic, which I have already ordered and I was so disappointed. The cover is just horrible in my opinion. Yesterday's blog post had the most anticipated cover, and this has to be the most disappointing cover. Oh well, at least it's signed and numbered by one of my favorite authors.
One other thing I wanted to mention was that Endicott Studio had a post today about a new book on Charles Vess being released. It's Modern Masters Volume 11 and it's subject is Charles Vess and it looks amazing. It focuses mostly on his graphic novel and comic book work. Looking forward to this one!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Guilt Trips on a Monday
Without getting into too many details, I really hate it when people make sad attempts at putting guilt trips on people. If you need constant reinforcement, there are probably certain professions (such as counseling) that you probably don't belong in. Geesh...
Today was actually a decent Monday aside from the above comment. I think what kept me going strong today was that I know I don't have my ethics class tomorrow night....just the internship and I actually enjoy that, so it's all good.
As I walked into school today, I noticed a piece of paper in my box. This paper was strange. It was a form to fill out to nominate ourselves for the dean and/or chancellor's award. Who does that? Shouldn't it be the faculty's job to nominate us for said awards. I just find it strange and conceited to nominate one's self for an award. What does it actually mean when you get it in that scenario.
And finally, I've been enjoying Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. It's the first book I'm reading for the Banned Books Challenge, which I'm getting a late start on. I read this book as a child and absolutely loved it. It feels good to revisit it. Carl is starting a Fantasy and Fairy Tale challenge really soon that I'm REALLY looking forward to. Already starting to think of my books. I think I'll finally read The Last Unicorn for this one.
Today was actually a decent Monday aside from the above comment. I think what kept me going strong today was that I know I don't have my ethics class tomorrow night....just the internship and I actually enjoy that, so it's all good.
As I walked into school today, I noticed a piece of paper in my box. This paper was strange. It was a form to fill out to nominate ourselves for the dean and/or chancellor's award. Who does that? Shouldn't it be the faculty's job to nominate us for said awards. I just find it strange and conceited to nominate one's self for an award. What does it actually mean when you get it in that scenario.
And finally, I've been enjoying Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. It's the first book I'm reading for the Banned Books Challenge, which I'm getting a late start on. I read this book as a child and absolutely loved it. It feels good to revisit it. Carl is starting a Fantasy and Fairy Tale challenge really soon that I'm REALLY looking forward to. Already starting to think of my books. I think I'll finally read The Last Unicorn for this one.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
But I do Like Wednesdays
Just a quick catch up. Megan's in town and that makes me very happy. She's only in until Sunday, but at least it's some time that we get together. Tonight was nice. I met her after work, we went and got some chinese from our old favorite take out place, ate it by candlelight on the floor at her house, and then went target shopping where we bought more junk food. That was followed by just driving around and listening to music and showing off all of my fun Dave McKean things that I've bought since the last time she was in town. He's pretty much her favorite artist. They have very similar styles. Megan's big into collage/paint/sketch art, and McKean uses that same combination. A very simple night, but exactly what I needed.
Didn't get to see 300 as planned, but we will make it out to the theater soon. Tonight was just not enough time for a movie. Still haven't finished Stardust. I've been dying to finish it up (only like 20 pages left) but unfortunately, my life doesn't even allow me the 10 minutes it would take to do that. Maybe I'll just stay up late tonight and suffer tomorrow.
Tomorrow is nerve racking. My faculty supervisor is coming to observe me at the hospital and meeting with my supervisor. I'm pretty confident that all will go well, but still nervous nonetheless.
Didn't get to see 300 as planned, but we will make it out to the theater soon. Tonight was just not enough time for a movie. Still haven't finished Stardust. I've been dying to finish it up (only like 20 pages left) but unfortunately, my life doesn't even allow me the 10 minutes it would take to do that. Maybe I'll just stay up late tonight and suffer tomorrow.
Tomorrow is nerve racking. My faculty supervisor is coming to observe me at the hospital and meeting with my supervisor. I'm pretty confident that all will go well, but still nervous nonetheless.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Stumble Upon and Lisa Snellings
I'm feeling kind of blah today, but what the hell...I'll do a post anyway.
If you use any Mozilla browser, I highly recommend that you download Stumble Upon as an add on for your browser. It's a really neat little feature that I just discovered. You check off your interests from a huge list that they have. Then there's a little button that you click that says "stumble." It brings you to a random site that others with your interests have said that they like. If you like the site, you can click on "like it" and if you don't, you can give it a thumbs down and your interests are tailored to that. In addition, anytime you're at a site that you like, you just click "like it" and it becomes available to others with your interests. I've gotten some really cool results such as this, this, and this. Check it.
Lisa Snellings-Clark had a really cool post today. Lots of cool news including more details on the much anticipated PoppetPlanet. She's also announced a new sale that will run from March 17th through the 24th with some new art and poppets by her. I love the green poppet named Gaia on the post. She's also announced that she will be a guest at Balticon, and I really wish I could go. I'd love to meet her, she seems like such a cool person.
I really wish we'd have a good sci-fi convention here in New Orleans. I would love it. They have one here occasionally, but it tends to become an alien porno/fetish convention. Just doesn't do it for me....
In one other small piece of personal news, I feel that I finally reached a landmark in the internship. One of the social workers was out today so I kind of filled in for her and ran a family session by myself today unsupervised. I feel that I did really well. Family sessions are meetings with the family and our patient. They typically last an hour, but mine managed to last for two causing me to miss lunch. Lots of issues to work through, but I feel like I made some progress with them.
Ooh, one more thing. I wanted to plug Orson Scott Card's online magazine entitled Intergalactic Medicine Show. It's only $2.50 an issue and you get tons of stuff for that price. It usually has about 6-7 decent length short stories, Orson does an Enderverse short story for each one, there's young adult short stories, sometimes a comic, usually an audiobook or two, review columns, there's been a Card serialized novel called "Hot Sleep", and each issue has a new clock for your desktop which is really cool in the I-Wei's Amazing Clocks section. In addition, each short story always has incredible art to go along with it. I know he said that sales weren't too good, so I wanted to plug it. Really great deal. 4 issues to date with tons of stuff. At $2.50 a piece, you could get them all for $10. How cool is that.
If you use any Mozilla browser, I highly recommend that you download Stumble Upon as an add on for your browser. It's a really neat little feature that I just discovered. You check off your interests from a huge list that they have. Then there's a little button that you click that says "stumble." It brings you to a random site that others with your interests have said that they like. If you like the site, you can click on "like it" and if you don't, you can give it a thumbs down and your interests are tailored to that. In addition, anytime you're at a site that you like, you just click "like it" and it becomes available to others with your interests. I've gotten some really cool results such as this, this, and this. Check it.
Lisa Snellings-Clark had a really cool post today. Lots of cool news including more details on the much anticipated PoppetPlanet. She's also announced a new sale that will run from March 17th through the 24th with some new art and poppets by her. I love the green poppet named Gaia on the post. She's also announced that she will be a guest at Balticon, and I really wish I could go. I'd love to meet her, she seems like such a cool person.
I really wish we'd have a good sci-fi convention here in New Orleans. I would love it. They have one here occasionally, but it tends to become an alien porno/fetish convention. Just doesn't do it for me....
In one other small piece of personal news, I feel that I finally reached a landmark in the internship. One of the social workers was out today so I kind of filled in for her and ran a family session by myself today unsupervised. I feel that I did really well. Family sessions are meetings with the family and our patient. They typically last an hour, but mine managed to last for two causing me to miss lunch. Lots of issues to work through, but I feel like I made some progress with them.
Ooh, one more thing. I wanted to plug Orson Scott Card's online magazine entitled Intergalactic Medicine Show. It's only $2.50 an issue and you get tons of stuff for that price. It usually has about 6-7 decent length short stories, Orson does an Enderverse short story for each one, there's young adult short stories, sometimes a comic, usually an audiobook or two, review columns, there's been a Card serialized novel called "Hot Sleep", and each issue has a new clock for your desktop which is really cool in the I-Wei's Amazing Clocks section. In addition, each short story always has incredible art to go along with it. I know he said that sales weren't too good, so I wanted to plug it. Really great deal. 4 issues to date with tons of stuff. At $2.50 a piece, you could get them all for $10. How cool is that.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Rationalization for Settling
Still haven't heard back from the high school I applied to for the guidance counselor position, but I honestly don't really care. I was having thoughts about whether or not I wanted to work there, and my gut feeling told me that I wouldn't like it. It involves way too much "school stuff" such as scheduling classes, and I personally feel like I didn't get this degree to schedule classes for people. I want to be a counselor. My would be supervisor told me that I would do very little actual counseling if I got the job, and I just don't think I'm OK with that. So if they don't call, I won't be upset, in fact, I'll be relieved in a way.
Here's the rationalization part. I love the hospital that I work at, and I really want nothing other than to work there. My problem is the pay. It's horrible, and it's a hospital that's known for paying very little. I'm trying to find ways to come to terms with the low pay, but it's just not happening. I get along really well with everybody and it's the best psyc hospital I've seen in Louisiana. I feel like I'm becoming part of the team, they're giving me more responsibility, and I just feel like I'm in a very comfortable fit at this place. I've been putting the word out more and more to people there that I would like to work there when I graduate but that the pay would need to be a little higher. Maybe someone will hear that and suggest something. I've been told by my supervisor and one of the other social workers that they would like to have me and they can't wait until I graduate. That's very flattering.
Here's my rationalization: My ultimate goal is to go into private practice, which is hugely in demand right now in New Orleans. In order to do this I need my LPC. We have LPC supervisors at the hospital. If I can work my supervision being payed for into my contract, that would figuratively add $5000 to my salary ($100/week for 50 weeks). Once I have my LPC, I can start a private practice and supplement my income at the hospital with that. Or if all works well, do only private practice. I'd also have my foot in the door for private practice because we're always looking for outside therapists for our clients for after they're discharged. I honestly just want to stay where I am when I graduate, because I know I'd be happy, and to an extent, that matters more than money. At the same time, I need to make enough money to at least pay my bills. So what do I do?
I got the best complement today. One of my patients asked me if I do private practice, and I told her that no, that's why I'm in school right now so that I can get to that point. She then told me that she wishes I did, because I'm the first therapist that she's ever felt comfortable with and been able to open up to, and she feels like I've really helped her. That made me smile, and at the same time made me upset that she's never had a therapist that she could be comfortable with.
I guess what I'm getting at is that I know I would be happy at the hospital and I can do the type of work that I really want to do. I want to deal with clinical cases. And maybe I can find a way to adjust my life to be able to live with the salary. Eventually, the salary will be where I want it to be, I may just have to accept that I'm going to start off on the low end.
Here's the rationalization part. I love the hospital that I work at, and I really want nothing other than to work there. My problem is the pay. It's horrible, and it's a hospital that's known for paying very little. I'm trying to find ways to come to terms with the low pay, but it's just not happening. I get along really well with everybody and it's the best psyc hospital I've seen in Louisiana. I feel like I'm becoming part of the team, they're giving me more responsibility, and I just feel like I'm in a very comfortable fit at this place. I've been putting the word out more and more to people there that I would like to work there when I graduate but that the pay would need to be a little higher. Maybe someone will hear that and suggest something. I've been told by my supervisor and one of the other social workers that they would like to have me and they can't wait until I graduate. That's very flattering.
Here's my rationalization: My ultimate goal is to go into private practice, which is hugely in demand right now in New Orleans. In order to do this I need my LPC. We have LPC supervisors at the hospital. If I can work my supervision being payed for into my contract, that would figuratively add $5000 to my salary ($100/week for 50 weeks). Once I have my LPC, I can start a private practice and supplement my income at the hospital with that. Or if all works well, do only private practice. I'd also have my foot in the door for private practice because we're always looking for outside therapists for our clients for after they're discharged. I honestly just want to stay where I am when I graduate, because I know I'd be happy, and to an extent, that matters more than money. At the same time, I need to make enough money to at least pay my bills. So what do I do?
I got the best complement today. One of my patients asked me if I do private practice, and I told her that no, that's why I'm in school right now so that I can get to that point. She then told me that she wishes I did, because I'm the first therapist that she's ever felt comfortable with and been able to open up to, and she feels like I've really helped her. That made me smile, and at the same time made me upset that she's never had a therapist that she could be comfortable with.
I guess what I'm getting at is that I know I would be happy at the hospital and I can do the type of work that I really want to do. I want to deal with clinical cases. And maybe I can find a way to adjust my life to be able to live with the salary. Eventually, the salary will be where I want it to be, I may just have to accept that I'm going to start off on the low end.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Looking Forward to Saturday Night
One would think that with a title like that, I have big plans for tomorrow night. But it is in fact the complete lack of plans that makes me happy.
We're in the process of moving right now. We're finally getting out of this duplex and moving on up to a full 3 bedroom house. Slowly moving towards our pre-Katrina state. The house that we're moving into is a palace compared to this place. I'm very happy about it even though my room has horrible wallpaper from the seventies with blue sailboats all over it. It's worse than what you're imagining, trust me. I'll post pics tomorrow. I like this house and it's right across the street from my Dad and Grandma. Could be a good thing I guess, but could be a bad thing....the latter is more likely.
The thing that I like about this house is that it's somewhat affordable for the salary I'm looking at when I graduate. So when my mom either rebuilds or buys another house, I can stay in this one. It would be perfect for me. Nice size master bedroom, and two small rooms which could be used as a guest bedroom and an office/library.
I can't wait to get all of my books back! They're all over the place since Katrina, and luckily Katrina didn't claim any of my books (took most of them with me). It will be so nice to fill a couple of bookshelves and then just sit back and admire my friends.
So that's why I'm excited about doing nothing tomorrow night. It's been a long week...feel like I got back from Florida a month ago, and it's only been four days. Stressful week at the hospital. Been moving all day today and tomorrow morning. Work tomorrow afternoon. And then I can sit back and enjoy my weekend, or what's left of it, in the privacy of my own room. What a nice feeling. It's funny what we take for granted until it's taken away. I guess Katrina did have it's good points if you can call it that. The name Katrina actually means a cleansing or to start anew. I found that to be very appropriate in a strange way. Funny how life works sometimes.
We're in the process of moving right now. We're finally getting out of this duplex and moving on up to a full 3 bedroom house. Slowly moving towards our pre-Katrina state. The house that we're moving into is a palace compared to this place. I'm very happy about it even though my room has horrible wallpaper from the seventies with blue sailboats all over it. It's worse than what you're imagining, trust me. I'll post pics tomorrow. I like this house and it's right across the street from my Dad and Grandma. Could be a good thing I guess, but could be a bad thing....the latter is more likely.
The thing that I like about this house is that it's somewhat affordable for the salary I'm looking at when I graduate. So when my mom either rebuilds or buys another house, I can stay in this one. It would be perfect for me. Nice size master bedroom, and two small rooms which could be used as a guest bedroom and an office/library.
I can't wait to get all of my books back! They're all over the place since Katrina, and luckily Katrina didn't claim any of my books (took most of them with me). It will be so nice to fill a couple of bookshelves and then just sit back and admire my friends.
So that's why I'm excited about doing nothing tomorrow night. It's been a long week...feel like I got back from Florida a month ago, and it's only been four days. Stressful week at the hospital. Been moving all day today and tomorrow morning. Work tomorrow afternoon. And then I can sit back and enjoy my weekend, or what's left of it, in the privacy of my own room. What a nice feeling. It's funny what we take for granted until it's taken away. I guess Katrina did have it's good points if you can call it that. The name Katrina actually means a cleansing or to start anew. I found that to be very appropriate in a strange way. Funny how life works sometimes.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A Very Gloomy Day
I woke up this morning expecting to see sunshine, what I got instead was that annoying rain that's slightly above a drizzle, yet not quite a relaxing thunderstorm. Rain that just plain stinks! In addition to that, the wonderful chill in the air has been replaced with humidity.
The internship was very strange today. Since we're an acute care unit, the clients were all completely new to me since I haven't been there since last Thursday. The weather was definitely reflected in the staff's attitudes. Everyone seemed to have a very short fuse today. I picked a bad day for not wanting to be there, because their moods just made my day feel that much longer.
My supervisor can be really tough to get along with sometimes. She's a great woman, I really like her, but she has this very blunt, harsh side to her as well. I didn't like her my first few days there, but the more you get to know her, the more you like her. Today was a blunt, harsh supervisor day. She was very short with me at times for things that I didn't know how to do. In addition to that, I always feel bad asking her to sign any paperwork for me because I feel like I'm putting her out. She didn't really choose to be my supervisor, she was more appointed to do so. So now, in a few weeks, I have to get her to fill out a mid semester evaluation that's like 5 pages long and I know she's going to hate it. We'll see. I'll try not to worry about that for now.
In good news, I got to do my first individual session with one of the children today. We normally don't do individual therapy, but there is only 1 kid in the children's (ages 4-11) group. So the group counseling session turned into an individual session. I feel like it went great. I had no problem getting to the 30 minute mark like I thought I would and the kid opened up to me alot.
Now I'll lay in bed and catch up on tv. Then later I have to pack more boxes for the move. At least this is a short week....
The internship was very strange today. Since we're an acute care unit, the clients were all completely new to me since I haven't been there since last Thursday. The weather was definitely reflected in the staff's attitudes. Everyone seemed to have a very short fuse today. I picked a bad day for not wanting to be there, because their moods just made my day feel that much longer.
My supervisor can be really tough to get along with sometimes. She's a great woman, I really like her, but she has this very blunt, harsh side to her as well. I didn't like her my first few days there, but the more you get to know her, the more you like her. Today was a blunt, harsh supervisor day. She was very short with me at times for things that I didn't know how to do. In addition to that, I always feel bad asking her to sign any paperwork for me because I feel like I'm putting her out. She didn't really choose to be my supervisor, she was more appointed to do so. So now, in a few weeks, I have to get her to fill out a mid semester evaluation that's like 5 pages long and I know she's going to hate it. We'll see. I'll try not to worry about that for now.
In good news, I got to do my first individual session with one of the children today. We normally don't do individual therapy, but there is only 1 kid in the children's (ages 4-11) group. So the group counseling session turned into an individual session. I feel like it went great. I had no problem getting to the 30 minute mark like I thought I would and the kid opened up to me alot.
Now I'll lay in bed and catch up on tv. Then later I have to pack more boxes for the move. At least this is a short week....
Monday, February 12, 2007
A Good Start
This Monday has been really good so far! Can't remember the last time I said that. I had a great morning at work. We had a really small group, but the patients we did have talked alot and made some progress hopefully. I didn't have to pull teeth to get them to talk today.
I got home just about 30 minutes ago, and waiting for me at the doorstep was a very welcome package with hands and hearts stamped all over it. Opened it up and it was my "lucks dancer harlequin" from Lisa Snellings-Clark. It's amazing. 1000 times better in person than it looked on the internet, and I loved it on the internet! I'm so happy. She presents her art to the buyer very well. She's great down to the last detail of the packaging. And I got a little note from her with a poppet sketch on it, and a little pink poppet magnet.
Lets just hope that the rest of the day continues to go well. I have class in about an hour. And then I have a brand new episode of Heroes waiting for me when I get home!
Happy Monday everyone....hope everyone has as good of a Monday as me.
I got home just about 30 minutes ago, and waiting for me at the doorstep was a very welcome package with hands and hearts stamped all over it. Opened it up and it was my "lucks dancer harlequin" from Lisa Snellings-Clark. It's amazing. 1000 times better in person than it looked on the internet, and I loved it on the internet! I'm so happy. She presents her art to the buyer very well. She's great down to the last detail of the packaging. And I got a little note from her with a poppet sketch on it, and a little pink poppet magnet.
Lets just hope that the rest of the day continues to go well. I have class in about an hour. And then I have a brand new episode of Heroes waiting for me when I get home!
Happy Monday everyone....hope everyone has as good of a Monday as me.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
I finally got through to one of them!
Today was a very bizarre day on the unit, but a very good one nonetheless. Lots of aggression aimed primarily at staff...but I guess that comes with the job.
I've been working with this one little guy for about a week now. He's very shy, but opened up to me pretty quickly. I think the thing that has him down the most is his father's drinking. I know it gets to him, but he's too afraid to tell his dad anything. Well today (after a week) I got him to confront dad about his drinking and tell him how he feels. He actually did it! I was so proud of him. Dad broke down, and I think some progress will be made now.
I related alot to this kid. My father is an alcoholic. I felt like he wasn't there for me very much as a child, at least, we didn't do the things that dad and son typically do together..which I guess is ok, because I became a bookworm as a result of that :p There were and still are times where I feel like the adult and he is the child. This little guy felt the same way. I've confronted my dad before and it solved the problem for a little while, and then he went back to it. This kid's dad will probably do the same thing, but at least he got over his initial fear of talking to his dad. Me and my dad get along fine now, but I'd say it's more of a friendship than a parent/child relationship. But that's better than nothing. I hope this boy makes some progress. It feels good to know I made a little bit of a difference in a kids life.
He also refuses to eat anything but chicken! I think that we've found that this is sort of a trust issue for him. He won't eat chicken if someone other than his parents cook it. Well today I got him to eat a banana at lunch and though that's not much, it's something new. And he liked it! Aside from that, he's eaten nothing but cereal since he's gotten on the unit and has lost about 5 pounds already. Hopefully we can start pumping him with at least bananas now if not some more "new stuff".
All in all, a rewarding day!
I've been working with this one little guy for about a week now. He's very shy, but opened up to me pretty quickly. I think the thing that has him down the most is his father's drinking. I know it gets to him, but he's too afraid to tell his dad anything. Well today (after a week) I got him to confront dad about his drinking and tell him how he feels. He actually did it! I was so proud of him. Dad broke down, and I think some progress will be made now.
I related alot to this kid. My father is an alcoholic. I felt like he wasn't there for me very much as a child, at least, we didn't do the things that dad and son typically do together..which I guess is ok, because I became a bookworm as a result of that :p There were and still are times where I feel like the adult and he is the child. This little guy felt the same way. I've confronted my dad before and it solved the problem for a little while, and then he went back to it. This kid's dad will probably do the same thing, but at least he got over his initial fear of talking to his dad. Me and my dad get along fine now, but I'd say it's more of a friendship than a parent/child relationship. But that's better than nothing. I hope this boy makes some progress. It feels good to know I made a little bit of a difference in a kids life.
He also refuses to eat anything but chicken! I think that we've found that this is sort of a trust issue for him. He won't eat chicken if someone other than his parents cook it. Well today I got him to eat a banana at lunch and though that's not much, it's something new. And he liked it! Aside from that, he's eaten nothing but cereal since he's gotten on the unit and has lost about 5 pounds already. Hopefully we can start pumping him with at least bananas now if not some more "new stuff".
All in all, a rewarding day!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
One of them days
Today has definitely been "one of those days". I think the thing that set the day off for me was that I didn't take a shower this morning as someone else needed to at the time that I usually do. So I took my shower last night. For some reason, I am just unable to function without a shower in the morning. So I went to the neurologist this morning and she's upping my meds a little more for my migraines. Hopefully that will work. Went straight from the doctor to PJ's to get my coffee so that i could make it through the internship.
The internship was surprisingly slow and boring today. I did have one patient call another a "skank ho" and throw a chair at her, but that was all the excitement for the day...and that was not good excitement. Ended up leaving early because I had nothing to do and now I'm just playing in blogland until I have class tonight at 5:30. And as I type this, spellcheck tells me that "blogland" is not a word.
Two things did cheer me up very much though! Carl V. writes about the seduction and temptation of books quite humorously and honestly in this post. I laughed my way through that one because it's all so true! And then Lisa Snellings-Clark posted this wonderful picture to the left that just made me smile. Faceless poppet by Lisa and Horse by Ravyn.
The internship was surprisingly slow and boring today. I did have one patient call another a "skank ho" and throw a chair at her, but that was all the excitement for the day...and that was not good excitement. Ended up leaving early because I had nothing to do and now I'm just playing in blogland until I have class tonight at 5:30. And as I type this, spellcheck tells me that "blogland" is not a word.
Two things did cheer me up very much though! Carl V. writes about the seduction and temptation of books quite humorously and honestly in this post. I laughed my way through that one because it's all so true! And then Lisa Snellings-Clark posted this wonderful picture to the left that just made me smile. Faceless poppet by Lisa and Horse by Ravyn.
Monday, January 29, 2007
A Confidence Booster
I have been very wary of my progress on the unit. I didn't think that I was doing a bad job, but not exactly the greatest job in the world. I tend to be very critical of myself and my work and sometimes a perfectionist. I feel like if I don't know the right thing to say to a client, I have failed that client and have failed myself as a counselor. I'm slowly learning that the counselor doesn't always magically get the right words to come out of their mouths. But I'm learning to find those words even if it takes a few moments of silence.
I'm definitely getting a lot more comfortable leading groups. I was very shy, cautious, and nervous when I first started. I think I've gotten over the shy and nervous, but am still very cautious which isn't necessarily a bad thing. When working with adolescents and children, especially adolescents, I've learned that to an extent you have to be very selective in the comments you make because the wrong words could just set them off...then you're back at the beginning.
So on to the confidence booster. I leave at noon on mondays, so I'm home for the day now. Right before I left, my supervisor told me that "we're really happy with the work you've done here so far." That felt so good to hear that, because I wasn't happy with the work I've done so far. I don't think I'm doing bad, I'm just not that educated yet in the practicality of counseling. She then went on to ask if I'd be interested in a job as a client social worker when I graduate. Since I'm getting my degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, I didn't think my degree would be compatible with the job, but she said that they would just call me a social worker..I don't need an MSW. Whatever...I wish people acknowledged what my profession actually is, but I guess it's kind of all the same thing.
Here's the thing. I would love nothing more to work at River Oaks. I really would. It's a wonderful place and I love being on the unit. I love working with kids and adolescents. I look forward to it everyday. But then the subject of salary came up. She said as a professional right out of school, I would be looking at $13-$15/hour. I don't think so. It's so frustrating. I can't live off of that, but at the same time, this is the perfect job for my interests and it's the only psyc hospital in the area that has an inpatient adolescent unit. Maybe the salary will change. Maybe I can negotiate...lord only knows.
It's always interesting to see how the clients have changed over the weekend when I come back on Monday's. Half of my clients were discharged over the weekend. Some seem to have made incredible progress over the weekend. I just wonder sometimes if that progress is an act to get discharged or if they've really learned something. I guess either way, they've learned at least what they need to do to stay out, and even if it's an act it would improve their quality of life somewhat and bring up the GAF scores. It's strange...I notice that I make predictions for clients. The one's that I think will get better quickly sometimes regress just when I think they're doing great. There are others that I think will never change and they make huge strides of improvement. It just goes to show that the human mind is very unpredictable.
It's a good start to the week and hopefully it remains that way. Off to clinic in an hour where I will see my first one on one counseling session. Nervous but excited!
I'm definitely getting a lot more comfortable leading groups. I was very shy, cautious, and nervous when I first started. I think I've gotten over the shy and nervous, but am still very cautious which isn't necessarily a bad thing. When working with adolescents and children, especially adolescents, I've learned that to an extent you have to be very selective in the comments you make because the wrong words could just set them off...then you're back at the beginning.
So on to the confidence booster. I leave at noon on mondays, so I'm home for the day now. Right before I left, my supervisor told me that "we're really happy with the work you've done here so far." That felt so good to hear that, because I wasn't happy with the work I've done so far. I don't think I'm doing bad, I'm just not that educated yet in the practicality of counseling. She then went on to ask if I'd be interested in a job as a client social worker when I graduate. Since I'm getting my degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, I didn't think my degree would be compatible with the job, but she said that they would just call me a social worker..I don't need an MSW. Whatever...I wish people acknowledged what my profession actually is, but I guess it's kind of all the same thing.
Here's the thing. I would love nothing more to work at River Oaks. I really would. It's a wonderful place and I love being on the unit. I love working with kids and adolescents. I look forward to it everyday. But then the subject of salary came up. She said as a professional right out of school, I would be looking at $13-$15/hour. I don't think so. It's so frustrating. I can't live off of that, but at the same time, this is the perfect job for my interests and it's the only psyc hospital in the area that has an inpatient adolescent unit. Maybe the salary will change. Maybe I can negotiate...lord only knows.
It's always interesting to see how the clients have changed over the weekend when I come back on Monday's. Half of my clients were discharged over the weekend. Some seem to have made incredible progress over the weekend. I just wonder sometimes if that progress is an act to get discharged or if they've really learned something. I guess either way, they've learned at least what they need to do to stay out, and even if it's an act it would improve their quality of life somewhat and bring up the GAF scores. It's strange...I notice that I make predictions for clients. The one's that I think will get better quickly sometimes regress just when I think they're doing great. There are others that I think will never change and they make huge strides of improvement. It just goes to show that the human mind is very unpredictable.
It's a good start to the week and hopefully it remains that way. Off to clinic in an hour where I will see my first one on one counseling session. Nervous but excited!
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