Reflective Essay On My Professional Experience

All of the courses I studied were the foundation for the experiences I was able to organize. My first taste of psychology in my professional experiences was working at a summer day camp as a special needs one-on-one counselor. This summer position was my first exposure of what it necessitates to interact with people who need special attention in a work setting. Over the course of the summer I learned how to tailor activities, speak, and interact with children who are considered different, but are essentially exactly the same as the other campers. These children showed me what joy is and helped me establish a deeper understanding of patience. I learned how to interact with guardians, mainly I learned how to appreciate the perspective each child …show more content…
Residents in the program would sit on the bus with me and tell me their stories, how each of these young women “ended up” at Hopehill was different, yet each one showed me the importance of redemption, reconciliation, and hope. I also had the opportunity to assist with the equine therapy program; this experience taught me counseling does not just happen in an office or on a couch. Rather, counseling can occur outside by teaching young women assertiveness while leading a horse, praising them for remembering the anatomy of a horse, or asking them questions about their story while the horse is groomed. At hopehill I also learned the importance of preventive therapies, the young women I interacted with on a daily basis had hard lives of physical violence, drug abuse, and sexual manipulation; even though these young women were not exclusively from my community they too did not have access to treatment and developed maladaptive behaviors as a result, much like the individuals I knew. Finally, I interned with NewSong Counseling Center in my hometown a nonprofit offering counseling services on a sliding