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."

Bored Man Behind Hillary

I saw this on Jay Leno last night, and laughed so loud I woke Joy up who was sleeping in the other room. It's definitely worth repeated watching.

A Sign?

Wow. I just went online to check my checking account, and in our account it showed we had exactly $666. I immediately made a transfer from the savings account in the amount of $111.

Internship Ending

Oh, what joyous days these are! I have really enjoyed my internship site over these past nine months, but there are also times when one wants to stop working for free. So, I enter this week as my last week with any individual/family sessions, and I'm also wrapping up 2 of my 4 groups this week. While there is a little bit of sadness in leaving the people I enjoy working with in an environment I find supportive, I'm looking to move on. So bring on those termination sessions, and let's get ready to move!

Battle at Kruger

I sumbled across this article in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/arts/television/10kruger.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1210393351-LAPkkXRD2P7UOJ/mL6nUdw

Before actualy viewing the video on YouTube:



Simply amazing.

In other news, I graduate from Trinity International University tomorrow with a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. Believe it.

Community

Joy and I went to Taylor University this past weekend. We were there with some friends to celebrate and remember the lives of some in the TU community and to reconnect with old friends. It was a blessed weekend. One of the things that stood out to me was the importance of community, particularly Christian community. I've been out of college for four years now, and it's a sad thing to say that I have not felt any type of community that even comes close to what I experienced during college. It's sad because I need community. Since I'm talking about community, perhaps I should say we need community. But I'm first in line, and it's harder to find than I ever thought it would be.

Do I have meaningful relationships now? Yep. Are there new relationships I've developed since college that I really value? Yep. But I still have this longing...intense longing...for the community I once knew. I feel silly talking about college like this, as if I am trying to relive those glory days of my youth, and it's not that I want to go back to college as it's wanting to form community now. The truth is that life is much more lonely outside of college, and not in a clinical depression sort of lonely, but a I-am-meant-to-live-with-others type of community.

There is light in this little post. Joy and I have joined what our church calls a House Gathering. It's not a Bible study and it's not a small group. It's a House Gathering--a gathering of Christ-followers to live life together and share stories of how we are living as Christians in the world. Our House Gathering has 8 members, and it's been a huge blessing for Joy and I throughout these past four months. Every Thursday night we gather over a meal and laugh, cry, and then laugh a lot more. It's good to be involved in some spiritual and intellectual discussion, but I find myself sometimes disconnected, a rusty tool brought out of the shed and into the sun. But as rusty as I feel, and as undisciplined as I am, I am seeking community. Because I find that it is when I seek and develop community that I usually encounter and find Christ.

Final Class at Trinity

Well, the time has come for me to wrap up my time at Trinity International University. On Wednesday, I had my final class. No papers due, no exams, nothing dramatic. I walked into my class, met with students and a faculty member for some clinical supervision, and then walked out with every last requirement completed before my official graduation on May 10. As is usually the case with these sorts of things, there is a mix of emotions, and most of mine lean towards the happy side regarding closing this chapter at Trinity. Overall, I've thoroughly enjoyed my educational, spiritual, and personal development while at Trinity. All of these factors have played a role in the clinician I am as I graduate, and I am thankful for being a part of an institution which gives significant importance and attention to issues related to integration between psychology and theology/Christianity, and I am especially thankful for this as I go into a secular doctoral program.

As I look back over the 60-some credit hours and about 1,250 clinical hours I've completed over these last three years, it is difficult to pin-point particular courses which have been pivatol or life-changing. To be sure, there are ones I enjoyed more than others, but each one played a subtle and distinct role in my development, and some were instrumental in leading me to pursue doctoral education. I loved Addictions Counseling, and particularly am thankful for that class introducing me to the writings of Gerald May. I loved the various Family Therapy courses I took, and enjoyed learning about how various theories impact the direct treatment planning and direction of therapy. Multicultural Counseling was one of my favorites, and has led to my continued interest regarding racial identity development and overall multicultural awareness. Psychological Testing and Research Methods were the two courses which pushed me to consider pursuing a doctorate. These were the two courses I was least looking forward to when I began the program at Trinity, but I had them concurrently during the same semester, and when the dust settled, they were actually two of my favorites. I wanted to learn more in these areas, learn more about projective and standardized tests, learn more about good research and how to do good research, learn more about publication and presentations, and all of these point to being a psychologist, not a master's level therapist. Another class was Personality Development, as intriguing as anything, especially when coupled with Psychopathology. I was drawn to attachment theory, and was able to develop this interest into the paper I presented at a conference this spring in Arizona. It's clear as I consider my current research interests the way in which they have been molded by various courses, faculty, and clinical experiences I've had over the last two years. While it is so likely to change and develop, as most things do, my current interests lie in the areas of adolescent development as it relates to family systems, multicultural issues and racial identity, and wilderness therapy. We'll see what happens...

Tonight I have the counseling department banquet with the graduating class. While I've not developed the intimate friendships I did while at Taylor in undergrad, I have really enjoyed being in class with my peers and getting to interact with them around their lives and interests. I will be so intrigued to see where everyone ends up in five or ten years, how their interests and growth continues to develop, and how they go out an impact their clients' lives. I will miss them, and I will also miss the faculty. They have been a clear support for me and have been so willing to meet with me separately as I've worked through various papers and projects, and they have been personally invested in my desire to go on for more schooling. Not to mention all of those letters of recommendations.

While I don't graduate for another two weeks, and I will be at my internship until the end of May, the chapter is reaching its closure, and another one will open. But for now, I am seeking to rest in the present before looking ahead, and when all is said and done, I will be proud to be a graduate of Trinity.

But it's still exciting that my last class is done.