Thankful Thoughts

I have so much to be thankful for this year. A wife that I love and who loves me. A dog who I love and who loves me. A God who I love and who loves me. Cool, huh?

As if that wasn't enough, I'm really enjoying my internship this year. Granted, it's not ideal to work 30 hours a week and not get paid, but that's life, and at least I'm at a site that I like. The staff are great to work with, and there's a high level of clinical competency and excellence. Wonderful supervision and good trainings. The agency focuses on family treatment and a lot of the clients come for issues related to substance use. The agency is also a leader in experiential education and wilderness therapy, which is a primary reason I wanted to be here. (Not to mention it's a mile from our apartment!)

In addition to my family and individual sessions, I co-facilitate four groups, all of which are very different. Three are on-site and one's in a local school. Also, last month I was able to take part in a training to be certified as a Wilderness First Responder (WFR). Since my internship site does wilderness therapy trips (and hopefully I'll be able to help lead some this year...), they provide training for trip leaders on best-practices in wilderness medicine when in remote settings. The training was intense, but fantastic. I was reminded of my love for the outdoors and getting away from the rest of society. I've just started reading a book titled "The Last Child in the Woods," and the author talks about Nature Deficit Disorder and the current generation's lack of exposure to anything outside. Interesting indeed.

That's just a little glimpse at my internship right now, and it's definitely something I'm thankful for. What are you thankful for?