Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement
Honestly, I'm mostly proud of the fact that I was able to pull it off. When I came here Junior year, I had little to no experience doing presentations. My senior year was my first year ever doing presentations like this, let alone making my first power point ever. I was really nervous & anxious that I would mess up in some way, & I actually did at some points. But I made my minimum & I'm honestly just really proud of the fact that, I did it.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. I would honestly maybe give myself an AP/P.

b. Overall, I think a P.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
What worked for me the best during my senior project was the fact that I never got bored of my topic. Especially when my focus turned more into drug addiction, my senior topic became into something that never had too much information. I was constantly finding something new & that really helped with things like, my mentorship, my iSearch & my interviews.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?
I probably would have started preparing for my two hour presentation months in advance because I'm aware of my disadvantage among the rest of my fellow seniors.

(5) Finding Value
My senior project has given me the opportunity to explore my career choices in the field of LCSW. At my mentorship, if it weren't for my senior project, I would not have been offered a future position as a drug counselor after my schooling. It has also helped me reflect upon myself in many different ways. One of the ways being, it has made me be more aware of the taxing burdens I would face as a counselor or therapist. This whole experience helped me get my feet wet for what my education would be like when I go off to San Francisco state to major in Psychology & Social Work.

Blog 25: Mentorship

• Literal
• Mentorship Log
• Sandra Perez / Kele Stahl of the Pomona Community Crisis Center, 9096231588
• Interpretive
• The most important thing my mentorship gave me was the first hand experience working with drug and alcohol addicts. I was able to observe their habits & behaviors first hand & I got to see how counselors reacted on certain occasions. An example of this would be when a client came up with a dirty drug test after being sober for a certain amount of time. I was able to see the steps the counselor took in modifying or helping the client get back on track to sobriety. Being able to work with my mentor & work with the clients so closely was a big advantage.
• Applied
• My nine month experience at the Pomona Community Crisis Center helped me answer my EQ because of my experiences. I was able to learn something new each day but still be able to identify the consistencies that took place each day, such as the counselor's main goal, which was use the best of their abilities & resources to help an addict reach their goal of sobriety.

Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

1. My essential question is, "How can a licensed therapist best serve a drug/alcohol addict?" My best answer is to involve the addict in individual & group therapy because it gives them the largest support system possible. As a therapist, it is your job to assist your client to the best of your abilities & when it comes to working with an addict, that means doing what you can to help them reach their goal of a sober life style. According to "Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction" from the National Association of Drug Abuse, having a large support system is one of the biggest keys to an addict's recovery. A licensed therapist can best serve their client by giving them the opportunity to have such a support system.

2. I realized that my first & second answer couldn't assist an addict reach their goal of a sober life style if you were to use them on their own. My first answer was to seek supervision or individual therapy on your own time as a therapist. Although this is a way you can help your client to the best of your abilities, it won't help them reach their goal on its own. I realized the same thing with my second answer, which was to incorporate cognitive-behavioral therapy with your drug or alcohol client. This is one of the most beneficial ways to serve your client but it lacks the outside moral support. Although that includes the support & guidance from the therapist themselves, it lacks to relativity to others & the support. I concluded that my third answer was the best because of my research & my mentorship. Through these two sources, I was able to realize that this component on its own can help an addict reach their goal because of my mentorship under Kele Stahl at the Pomona Community Crisis Center, "Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction" from the National Association of Drug Abuse & "Group Therapy" from GoodTherapy.org.

3. I think the biggest problem I faced was forming my essential question. At first my essential question was too general, it didn't focus on drug or alcohol addicts. I resolved this through Purther & Ogden, they suggested that narrowing down my essential question would also narrow down my research & help me find more specific answers. 

4. My two most significant sources are my mentorship under Kele Stahl at the Pomona Community Crisis Center & "Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction" from the National Association of Drug Abuse. My mentorship is, by far, the best source I could ever come across because I was able to work with drug & alcohol addicts first hand & learn from the counselors themselves what worked & what didn't. I was able to observe & learn about each client, what their drug of choice was, their story, what they were going through. Being able to help facilitate the group therapies was a huge advantage in my progress. In general, the National Association of Drug Abuse provided many useful resources but the article that was most useful was "Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction". It outlined the best treatment plans that would work for every addict, no matter what their need. It emphasized what was essential, such as being observant to the individual's lifestyles & how to find a treatment plan that would be most beneficial to them.

5. I've been completely set on my career decision to be a licensed clinical social worker, or therapist. Being able to do my senior project on it & being able to have the firsthand experience I had at my mentorship makes me all the more sure of my decision. But besides that, I've definitely grown as a person along with my experience. I've always seen myself as open minded but I didn't really realize how judgmental I tend to be until my mentorship. I saw people of all lifestyles walk in through the door with these crazy addictions & these stories about their life that could belong in a novel. From this experience as a whole, I've become much more open to people & their intentions. I've found that although it's easier to expect the worst from someone, it's just as easy to be proven wrong. I've lost count of how many clients have proven me wrong & finished the program successfully & sober. 

Blog 23: 2014 Interview

1. Who did you interview & what house are they in?
Nitjasin Quach Phyakul, East House.

2. What ideas do you have for your senior project & why?
"I was thinking something along the lines of nonprofit NGO's (non government organizations), which involves social issues regarding the community. I was thinking about this because my mom told me to."

3. What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?
"There's this organization that involves going around & harvesting fruit which is given to the homeless. I was going to help either do the physical labor or in their office doing the more organizing aspect."

4. What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

"Basically, just get a feel of what we're supposed to do for senior year."

5. What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project? (Or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior project.)
Q: "What am I supposed to do throughout the year?" A: Basically, just do your work as it is assigned & make sure you look past the obvious when researching & all that. Pick a topic you're really intrigued in, it would work to your advantage.
Q: "What's the big idea that I need to know to succeed during my senior year?" A: Don't procrastinate. Honestly, I think the key to your senior year is being on top of your assignments.

Blog 22: 3-Column Chart, Final

Final 3-Column

Blog 21: Independent Component 2

• Literal.
• I, Brittany Ho, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
• Damaris Elenes / Adrian of YMCA, 9092424376.
• Independent Component Log II
• Every Wednesday, I went to volunteer at the child watch program at YMCA from around 4 PM to 8 PM.
• Interpretive.
• For my second independent component, I had decided to continue volunteering at the day care because I wanted to improve what I had already done there. I wanted to change my approaches with the kids to something more interactive & to something that was more based on their individual behaviors. I've been a part of the child watch for quite some time now & I've gotten to know a lot of the kids pretty well. Besides being able to work on my patience, I was able to apply some of the skills I learned through my research to this. Although it seems kind of unrelated since my topic is dealing with drug & alcohol addicts,  there were actually a lot of occasions that I was able to apply my knowledge. For example, when the kids were overreacting or misbehaving, I was able to practice being realistic & stern with them. I was also able to practice my empathy & being able to pay attention to each of the individual children's needs. One of the regular kids there, Brandon, was a really tough one to get close to because he's very obnoxious. But after a while, I learned that I could get him to behave  & help out with the crafts if I gave him an incentive, like being able to go up to the pool. Throughout my hours, I was also able to help a lot of the kids out with their homework & I read to a lot of the little kids. I was able to make sure they left the child watch with something to hold on to & something they could improve on. By the end of my hours, Damaris & I had established a behavioral chart that would reward the kids that were the most well-behaved at the end of the month. We had also established an art wall for the kids to display their art. When we first started volunteering there, the kids watched a lot of TV & didn't really do anything else. Now, the kids do more art related things & play more games. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Applied.
• This independent component helped me answer my component by improving my ability to pay attention to individual behaviors, which is essential when dealing with drug & alcohol addicts. I basically explained everything in my Interpretive section. 

Blog 20: Three Column Chart

3 Column Chart