Seminar - Independence

The last week or so in practicum I have been establishing greater independence. I have been able to review more research and present my articles to the ED program team. Particularly, I found a research article about how to evaluate ED programs and some of the components of effective ED programs. While the surveys were meant for internal use only, I still decided to give them to the team so that I could figure out for myself some of their focal points.

It has been difficult to build and discover what the framework of this ED program is. It has appeared thus far to be a program based on ideas that have "worked" for a number of years and not based on any one theory. This has made for an interesting project as I attempt to find the strengths and weaknesses of this program. I gave the surveys to three of the team members and expect to have them back in a week or so. These surveys will inform me in the subject areas that the ED program is focused in (e.g. academics, social skills, or behavioral management). My plan is to then take that information and find out some similar problems or theories based on what the team views as the strengths of the ED program.

Aside from the research project, I have started a weekly counseling group with a social worker. There are 2-5 girls weekly who come in for about 20-30 minutes to talk about various problems. The focus of the program is around self-esteem, assertiveness building, talking out problems, and facing anxiety. I had my first session and it was pretty interesting.

The social worker was used to giving information or talking out problems, so I was able to offer some school psychology perspectives on her tactics. I brought up the idea of progress monitoring and solution-focused brief therapy treatment techniques. I suggested to have much of the therapy client-directed or group created. For example, if we asked the students to come up with their own answers on "how to talk out a problem," we could use their creation as a means for monitoring their success. At various points, we could ask them how they think the counseling is going. And finally, I added how I thought we could relate an individual's problem to another group member's similar (but not identical) problem in order to make solving the problem relevant for everyone. The social worker valued all of my input. She decided to hold a follow-up meeting with the girls this week on an issue that was brought up by one of them and is planning to use my ideas.

Overall, I am feeling like I am able to do more here. The social services team is becoming more familiar with who I am and are taking some of my suggestions seriously. It will be a difficult decision about whether I should apply for the internship with this high school. I feel very connected with the research project I will be working on and do not want to leave it. At the same time, I would like a well-rounded experience by trying an RTI school or elementary school. At this point, I am desiring to stay at my current site, but it may depend on the upcoming testing crunch.