1150 Hours

As of the end of May, I have officially completed my internship year at OMNI Youth Services. It's been a long nine months, and it's been a challenging and rewarding experience. When it's all counted up, I've completed a total of 1,150 hours, 525 of which have been direct client contact hours from doing either individual, family, or group treatment. That's a lot of hours. Especially when you're working for free.

There were four groups that I co-facilitated. The first was a Junior High group focusing on Anger Management and social skills. The second was an introductory multi-family group that introduced families to the agency. The third was a multi-family group for families working on communication, substance use, or any number of issues. And my fourth group was a school group at a local high school. It was a group for Latino males who were identified by the school as at-risk for substance abuse and gang involvement.

On top of the groups, I had my regular caseload of adolescents and families. Many made progress and left much healthier than they came in; some didn't and dropped out of treatment. All in all, though, I think I did alright, and I've worked with some really fascinating and great families. The highlight of my year was definitely when I was on staff for a wilderness therapy trip to Lake Powell, Utah over spring break. It was the best clinical epxerience thus far in my limited career, and it was a wonderful blending of my personal and professional skills and interests merging together. Thankfully, I'm planning on continuing to do trips with my internship site throughout the summers while I'm in school, and I've got two slated for this summer!

Of all the clients and families I worked with, I think I'll most miss the staff. Any type of work setting can present itself with interpersonal challenges, and I can say I was really blessed with the team of clinicians I was able to work with. They supported me, treated me more like a colleague than an intern, and allowed me to by myself. For that I am grateful.

On my last day in my school group, which was a highlight throughout my year, the kids were sharing about their experience in the group and how they felt the group helped them in high school. Some gave serious comments, some made jokes, and we all laughed and enjoyed our last few class periods together. But one kid said something that has stuck with me, and I think will stick with me for a long time. You see, being a caucasian leading a group of Latino males can present its own challnges, and my co-leader was African-American. The mix of races provided a great opportunity for us to use the group as a forum to discuss race in a safe and healthy setting. I loved it. But back to that comment during that last group that continues to make me smile and be glad I'm in the field I am. One of the kids remarked, "You know, we used to just call you 'White Guy,' but now we know your name and call you Stephen."