Veterans Placement Reflection Paper

I am not currently in a field placement, but my first placement was at a homeless facility for veterans. The most common theme among this population was childhood trauma and complex trauma. This was true for the veteran’s I worked with and the overall population at the facility (based on conversations with my supervisor). There were many ways which their past trauma and military trauma impact this population, with the most common impact seen by myself were issues with addiction, interpersonal relationship issues, trust issues, legal issues, and a wide range of mental health disorders. The most common mental health issues were PTSD, Childhood PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, bipolar, psychotic disorders, and histories of suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempts. This of coarse did not apply to all the veterans, even some with traumatic pasts. The nature of the placement was such that I did not explore their past beyond what was shared in the assessment or that would occasionally be discussed in other …show more content…
I was surprised by the fact that I did not have more of a reaction to hearing very traumatic stories. I felt that my past impacted this, as I can discuss traumatic events without feeling anything. What I mean by that is I can, for example, talk about the death of my cousin, which was extremely traumatic, and feel nothing…it is something that happened. On the other hand, I can talk about it and get upset; it just depends on my state of mind or how deep I go into the experience. I do believe that this is what I experienced with the veterans; they were simply sharing an experience. My supervisor agreed with my opinion regarding my reaction and that had the internship been more therapeutic it would have been more challenging for me emotionally. Discussing this with my supervisor, who I highly respect, gave me comfort as I was concerned by lack of an emotional