Growing Through Practice: Lessons from a Community Mental Health Internship
By Paige Greenough
I am currently a fourth-year college student majoring in psychology, the scientific study of the mind and behavior. I have just completed my psychology-related field experience as an intern at a family mental health center called Fernbrook. Going into this internship, I felt a lot of nerves and anxiety, but also a lot of excitement as this was my first time getting hands-on experience in the field. I know that psychology is a very broad field, so there was quite a bit of ambiguity going into this, but the variety ended up being one of the best parts!
On my first official day, I truly did not know what to expect. What I quickly realized was that a lot of the clients at my internship struggled with behavioral issues, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual disabilities. While I had no problem working with these populations, I had to adjust my expectations a bit, as I had assumed I would mostly be working with clients with emotional difficulties such as anxiety or depression. Psychological disorders like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and PTSD have always piqued my interests and been a focus for my career goals. Although now I have learned that mental health treatment is extremely common among individuals with developmental delays and problematic behaviors.
I learned a lot about ADHD during my internship, as more clients that I saw had ADHD than did not. With this, the providers, therapists, and mental health practitioners (MHP) worked with these clients on skills such as listening, following directions, staying on task, using calming techniques, asking for help, and more. The most beneficial skills that I witnessed being used by clients were deep breathing when feeling overwhelmed and playing with fidgets when needing something to keep busy. Learning how to use these skills at a young age is so beneficial, and I believe it will positively impact these clients’ entire lives. A study conducted by Dvorsky and Langberg (2016) found that there are certain protective and promotive factors that can benefit children with ADHD. Specifically, social acceptance is a key protective factor that can help prevent poor academic performance and depressive symptoms (Dvorsky & Langberg, 2016). Additionally, positive parenting and positive self-perceptions of competence are promotive factors that support individuals with ADHD in succeeding.
While working on self-confidence, behaviors, and listening skills with clients with ADHD or ASD was a big part of this internship, I experienced a multitude of other things as well. My main role was to observe client and provider interactions, build relationships with clients, and interact with the clients when appropriate. I found that I used active listening and affirming speech when talking with clients because I wanted them to feel heard. The clients were showing a vulnerable side of themselves to me at times, and this is something that I did not want to take for granted. Many of the clients I worked with received services because they need extra support with daily living skills or emotion regulation. With this, the most common activities we did with clients were playing at the park with children and running errands with adults. Fernbrook’s approach to therapy and services is community- and in-home-based because most of the skills that need to be worked on can be easily seen and worked through when in these environments.
Playing games, going to the park, grocery shopping, and sitting in clients’ homes was not what I expected to be doing for most of this internship. But I immediately observed the benefits of working within the clients’ environment to best support their needs. The providers do an excellent job at using play to integrate skills work. For example, a client with an ADHD diagnosis who is working on task switching and following rules can be prompted to practice these skills by having timers go off when it is time to clean up a game.
Circling back to psychology, there is a specific type of therapy called play therapy that closely relates to the work I observed and engaged in at Fernbrook. Play therapy can be described as using imaginative play to help clients cope with distress (Cattanach, 2003). Cattanach (2003) states that the client can share their environmental issues with the therapist through play. For example, if a client is playing violently, this may indicate abuse or trouble at home.
All in all, I learned so many new things about psychology from my experiences as an intern. One significant takeaway that I learned is that mental health can come in all forms and looks very different for everyone, despite similar diagnoses. With this, I appreciate each and every client for letting me into their personal lives, and I can say that I learned something from every one of them. I will cherish everything I learned and experienced this summer—from how to integrate calming techniques when overstimulated, different types of fidgets, how to draw anime, new music, free community-based activities, talk therapy, welfare services, empathizing with clients, to balancing work and life, and everything in between! I have expanded my knowledge within the field of psychology immensely over the last two months, and I cannot wait to see where else this field takes me, because I know that the options are endless.
References
Cattanach, A. (2003). Introduction to play therapy. Brunner-Routledge.
Dvorsky, M. R., & Langberg, J. M. (2016). A review of factors that promote resilience in youth with ADHD and ADHD symptoms. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 19(4), 306–328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-016-0217-6
Vinh, Q. N. (n.d.). Boy playing on slide in playground [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/boy-playing-on-slide-in-playground-2143761/
Winstead, T. (n.d.). Illustration of a person’s mind [Photograph]. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-illustration-of-a-person-s-mind-8378740/