Saturday, May 23, 2015

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement
          What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or senior project?
In my presentation I used a lot of examples to make sure content was understood and well- explained.

(2) Questions to consider
          a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self- assessment)?
P/P+

          b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self- assessment)?
P

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
         Doing research and finding videos or lectures on counseling or depression/suicide. In doing this, I became more knowledgable about my subject and could talk about it easily.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project of you could go back in time?
          I would definitely rehearse more. I feel like I had a shaky start due to nerves and would've liked to be more confident going in.

(5) Finding Value
           How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?
It has given me passion. I already have the reasons why I chose counseling as my topic, but researching it more and listening to people's personal stories and struggles have deepen my love for it more. It's made me want to spread awareness and get people and support I feel I didn't have at times. The dedication to senior project has personally brought me a step closer to me pursuing a career in the field and wanting to make more of a difference than it already did going into senior year.


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Blog 22: Mentorship

(Literal)  Contact Name and Mentorship place
         Joanne Carr - Presbyterian Inter- Community Hospital
         Ms. Williams - Ross Medical Pharmacy

(Interpretive) What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
         I would say coming to the understanding of the importance of satisfying your client and making sure they are appropriately dealt with to best suit them. At both places I've seen how important it is to maintain or build a relationship. There is a lot of trust that has to be built up and continued through the whole process of being with the clients.

(Applied) How has what you've done helped you to answer your essential question?
         Through mentorship, I've definitely learned a lot of communication skills and am constantly learning hot to deal with people if put in a certain situation. My mentorship with Ms. Carr was a lot more relaxed and harder to associate with the clients due to liability laws but the other mentorship was a lot more action. I had to constantly talk with people and sometimes people would just come in to vent. I've come to my best answer through mentorship because I've seen that talking things through with clients, getting them to understand and making steps for them to change really helps them. People need support and with talking their situation through and trying to take action, we see a lot of growth in them as individuals. My essential question being "What is the most effective way for a therapist to support a struggling client?" is best answered with the process of setting goals and a plan of action for the client. Mentorship has definitely been a big way of me coming to this answer.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Exit Interview

Content:
(1) What is your essential question, what are your answers, best answers and why?
         - My essential question is "What is the most effective way for a therapist to support a struggling client?"
         
         - My answer 1 is an effective way to support a struggling client is the the process of active listening. My second answer to most effectively support a struggling client is through setting goals and a plan of action as a team. While my third answer to my essential question is to get the client to self- realization of their unhealthy lifestyle and get them to desire change.

        - My best answer would be my second answer; The most effective way for a therapist to support a struggling client is the the process of setting goals and creating a plan of action as a team. I considered active listening as a strong candidate to being my best answer because without proper observation and evaluations, a therapist can not diagnosis or work with the client in a way the will beat benefit them. Although, this point is very important in order to see extensive client growth, a plan is needed. Michael Hutchinson also likes this part of counseling to build up "treatment alliance". Creating goals builds confidence and allows both parties to see progress.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
        - I gathered this knowledge mostly through my own research. I came across a guide written by a group of several clinical physicians called The Clinician's Guide to Writing Treatment Plans and Progress Notes, expressiong the process of creating plans and how effective they truly are. TED Talks is another great source I came across when completing my independent component 2. Several lectures being up the fact that every client's situation is different and a plan that best fits them personally is what helps them carry on steadily and most efficiently.

(3) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?
        -  Throughout my year, I've had to deal with the issue of confidentiality and not being able to hear or see cases first hand. It took away from my learning experience. The way I've used loopholes is through case studies and videos. Both are public resources, such as the TED Talks, a public source of credible first- hand information.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
        - If not my mentor in general through asking her questions, I'd say the Clinician's treatment guide mentioned earlier and a few other guides, and the TED Talks channel. These both have introduced me to methods, experiences and situations I have not been aware of and supported why client growth is a way to support them.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

April Blog Post

          This month was definitely more productive than the last. Realizing that independent component 2's due date was coming up, I had to make sure I had enough hours before the deadline. I really enjoyed doing hours for this component this time because I gave myself something to work on individually and still gain content to benefit my project

          I started a small amount of hours in March but invested a lot of my time this month to the component. In the last few weeks of March and all of this month I began a new book called It's Kind of a Funny Story by Nic Vizzini. It's a story about a teenage boy named Craig who is depressed. It's definitely given me a relatable outlook on a mental issue from a teenage perspective.
          I've also been investing my time in watching a lot of counseling related movies such as Good Will Humting. Along with movies, I've watched videos of personal stories regarding mental dysfunctions and it has given me a loop hole in confidentiality laws from my mentorship. Doing reviews and debriefing allows me to asses the issue and individual on my own and learn as well as gain useful notes.


Sunday, April 26, 2015

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

  (a)      I, Anais Bolden, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 32 hours and 45 minutes of work.

(b) Several videos I watched were from the site TED.com 

(c) to view independent component 2 hours click the Senior Project Hours link

(d) - Besides continuing to do some mentorship hours which tends to be dealing with a lot of client's paperwork and filing; for this component I took time to watch several videos regarding people dealing with depression or surviving suicide attempts. Some videos were just about the extremity of these topics and how to address them. These videos are done through what's known as TED talks. I also watched a few movies involving counseling to show how it's implemented today. I took the time to review these after watching them. At school, I've been using my ssr time to read a book called It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.

- Taking this much amount of time watching videos regarding counseling has definitely benefited me in answering my essential question and my senior project in general because it has given me insight and opened a door to what I couldn't always get at mentorship. People's personal stories are confidential and harder to obtain while watching people willingly share through the Internet is sort of a loop hole. These people have lots of courage with being upfront about their struggle; with the research I've done prior and information passed down through my mentor I was able to take these resources and techniques into account when reviewing these videos. Reading It's Kind of a Funny Story is a book about a teen suffering with depression and I appreciate this book because it's relatable and understandable coming from a teen like myself. My essential question is "What is the most effective way for a therapist to support a struggling client?" The TED talks videos have individuals speaking openly about what they'd like to see in counseling and what best comforts them and what worked. For that reason I believe investing my independent component 2 hours in these activities benefited me in answering my essential question.


Some of the TED talks videos I've watched
    
                     

Monday, April 6, 2015

Fourth Interview Questions



  1. What is important in a therapist - counselor relationship?
  2. How do you maintain the relationship?
  3. How do you ensure consistent sessions with clients?
  4. How can you ensure your client is telling the truth or  is keeping information when being assessed?
  5. How important is it for the therapist to be involved in how the client is receiving the right meds?
  6. How do you ensure a client is taking their medications, if any?
  7. What are benefits to family support in a client’s struggle?
  8. How involved do you keep families in the client’s situation?
  9. When it comes to families, how much do you keep confidential?
  10. What do you do if a client has no family to go to or get support from?
  11. What are some guidelines when assessing a client?
  12. What is expected from you as a therapist during a session?
  13. Is communicating with your client outside of therapy appropriate?
  14. In what situations is communication with a client appropriate or necessary?
  15. How do you get a patient to self -realization of their issue if they are facing denial or are unaware?
  16. What are some methods that usually work when trying to retrieve information from a client or getting them to open up comfortably?
  17. What methods are risky or tend to not work?
  18. How do you benefit from the counseling?
  19. Does counseling ever take a toll on you as a therapist?
  20. What methods or forms of counseling work best for a client?

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

March Blog Post

          This month wasn't very productive towards my senior project to be honest. I had some trouble with my third interview and was focusing on trying to contact my mentor and get a different person to interview, which didn't necessarily happen.


          Although, I did work on my independent component and watch a few films that are involved in counseling. I also have kept up with my articles to further my research.  I plan on continuing my independent component hours and going to mentorship soon.