Summary
The internship experience has honestly been going amazing. Since our last check in on a reflection I have accomplished a lot of what I wanted to do this semester. I meet with around 12-15 students on a weekly basis. Most of these students are on an individual basis, but a few of them meet with me in groups with students. We have done a few classroom guidance lessons. These lessons have ranged from growth mindsets to empathy. I have spent a substantial amount of time working closely with 3 students on couple times of the week basis. These students have done great since meeting with us. One student in particular at the beginning of the semester was struggling with self-harm, beating themselves on the desk in the classroom, stabbing themselves with a pencil in the class, and screaming how awful he is. The other thing I got to do was work closely with a special needs student who flips his lid quite often. I have been able to calm him down using techniques I have learned in class over the semester and the program. On top of this I have also nearly finished my hours.
Personal Reactions
I have really been enjoying my experience this semester. At the start of the semester, I would’ve told you that I did not like the experience. I have learned to love these students in this age group that I have never personally had before. Elementary was a learning experience for me. I found that I have had to take my language down and explain things more often. I have really struggled with the pain that these students are feeling at this age. For me the difficultly rested in fact that they do not have much protection from the pain that they are faced with. I think some of my approach for counseling has also changed from this experience. When I was at GOAL academy, I had a tendency to be a bit preachy. I think this stemmed a little bit from my background in youth ministry, but also from watching Rhonda Parris approach the role of school counseling. I think through this experience I have learned to stop, slow down, pay attention to the words students are saying more, and simply being a safe adult for these students. A lot of these students do not have stable home lives and having an adult to simply sit and listen makes a big difference for them. One student I have been meeting with this whole semester has made the entire internship worth every second. Like I stated above, this student was dealing with a lot of depression and anger. He would flip desks in class, scream, kick and punch himself, and on a few occasions tried to kill himself in class. His father refuses to take him to his DCS required therapy sessions. Throughout the semester I have been a continual presence in this student’s life and I have intentionally devoted at least one to two complete hours a week to being with him in some capacity. One of the things he used to say was, “I can’t think when I get mad. When I get mad I see red. I know I am bad. I know I am stupid. I don’t deserve to live”. Two weeks ago he told me, “Mr. Manning! Mr. Manning! I got mad in class today and I stopped, did turkey breathing, and I was able to think. I didn’t get mad or hurt anyone or myself”. In that moment I felt like I really hit my purpose. This student now regularly is top of his class and has had no referrals for over three weeks now. It is moments like that which are getting me through this very difficult semester.
Experience and ASCA
In my experience I have been blessed to be able to use a lot of Direct Services in counseling. I get to meet with a lot of students on an individual basis. I also have been able to spearhead a health initiative for the teachers. In doing so we were advocating for the teachers. I have also been helping with behavioral plans in Direct Services as well and sitting in on meetings, as well as participating in some of the conversations.
Integration of Theory
For the most part my approach and theory has remained the same. I think over the course of this semester I have adopted more of the SFBT model compared to different semesters. Being that elementary school is more concrete in thinking it has been hard to use more abstract models. I think if I did adapt other models, it was more than likely DBT. I have spent HOURS teaching students mindfulness techniques, and more specifically the ones that are focused on breathing.
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