Mental Health Internship Report

627 Words2 Pages

In addition to my research experience, I have also gathered clinical/hands-on experience working with adults and children in my community. Being a recent graduate of the Developmental Services Worker (DSW) Accelerated Diploma program at Humber College, I was able to complete two field placements within the Toronto District School Board (200+ hours) and at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (500+ hours). As a DSW student, I learned how to effectively promote the physical, mental, and emotional health of individuals with special needs and dual diagnosis – the co-existence of a developmental disability and a mental health concern. During my internship within the school board, I supported two elementary school students both diagnosed with Autism. During this time I was able to provide 1:1 support, both formally and informally, to encourage the attainment of educational goals and useful life skills. Formally, I was able to develop and …show more content…

This program consists of a multidisciplinary team that provides support to clients aged 16+ diagnosed with developmental disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder presenting with mental health concerns or severe challenging behaviours. The first half of my internship was spent on the Inpatient Unit, where I was able to provide 1:1 support to 6 different patients receiving diagnostic and treatment evaluations. My notable accomplishments while working on this unit include, the development and implementation of a Cantonese communication board, social skills training (e.g. appropriate conversation topics and body language), recognition, counselling, and reporting of abuse towards a patient (e.g. abuse inflicted by a family member off unit), and participating in the implementation of a positive behaviour support plan addressing healthy eating and

Show More
Related

  • My Education In Laura Cichoracki's The Elephant In The Playroom

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unfortunately, a lot of parents may have a difficult time accepting their child, and coping with their needs and the responsibilities. From the book “The Elephant in the Playroom,” some families dealt with depression and physical and mental deterioration of their health. These struggles were shown in the story by Laura Cichoracki. Laura’s son’s name was Patrick. Patrick was a 6-years-old boy with autism. “I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t showering regularly, I wasn’t sleeping well” (Brodey, p. 64). I also read the story told by Susan Marrash-Minnerly, which highlighted emotions that parents face. Susan also shed light on how wonderful children with special needs can be to a family, such as her ten-year-old third grader who had autism. Susan talked about how it was normal to feel angry at times, especially with the ups and downs a child’s disability may come with. “When I look back, I want to tell other parents that a child’s future is worth grieving over – but it’s not the end of the world” (Brodey, p. 75). After reading these stories, it became apparent to me that families who are raising kids with special needs, need support, kindness, and available resources. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by other moms who understood my pain…who could be supportive and emphatic.” (Brodey, p. 67). Overall, educators can use this kind of information that was shared in “The Elephant in the Playroom” about family systems and risk/resiliency by creating lines of open communication between families. This is to connect parents together that share similar struggles. By creating open communication is can allows for the teacher and parents to be on the same page when it comes to the issues affecting special needs students and

    Read More

  • Autism On Family Paper

    1936 Words  | 4 Pages

    To begin defines what autism is, and the stress that is bestowed onto the caregivers that support a child with this type of mental disability. Adam M. Hutton, the author, had conducted an interview of 21 families about the recognition, diagnosis of autism in their child, services accessed, and the impact of having a child with autism on their family. A common thread throughout the thesis is the empowerment of families, that have to endure the joys and hardships that come with having a child with specific needs. The author also encourages families to use the resources available to them to better care for this type of

    Read More

  • Child Life Specialist Personal Statement

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although my aunt is not a psychology professional, her hands-on experience with my cousin exemplifies her knowledge of his disorder and ability to care for him. Her strength and aptitude accompanied by my cousin’s optimism inspired me to learn more about the human mind and how it works. Along with my involvement in “Best Buddies” in high school, I frequently was exposed to other types of mentally challenged students that had autism, Fragile X syndrome (FXS), cerebral palsy and ADD/ADHD. Best Buddies is an international organization that creates one-to-one friendships between individuals with or without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD); that offers social mentoring and provides an improvement in the quality of life to the special needs population (Best Buddies International, 2017). Our organization would sponsor activities such as dances, after school activities, and provide tutoring.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    Chapter thirteen has two subject matter that it discusses in some detail, mental illness and developmental disabilities. This review will be exploring the history, philosophy and theories of developmental disabilities. Social workers come in contact with many clients that have developmental disabilities, and the chapter gives a glimpse the history, problems, and theories related to developmental problems. Chapter thirteen explores the issues of dealing with developmental disabilities in the past and what is being done today to help social workers face the issues.

    Read More

  • Transition Into Adulthood Essay

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    For all teens, the transition into adulthood is generally seen as a challenging and scary process. For teens diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as their caregivers, this transition is often more complicated. The period of transition for individuals with ASD into adulthood is intensely more challenging due to their “unique characteristics, the lack of services that address the special needs of such individuals in adulthood, and the expectations of society for a typical path to adulthood in the face of atypical problems” (Geller and Greenberg, 2009, pg. 93). Without the necessary resources to transition, teens with ASD find themselves unprepared for life at work, in college, or community living. Through this paper, the reader will obtain knowledge in regards to what ASD is, the barriers it yields concerning the transition into adulthood, and the effects it has on the individual as well

    Read More

  • Understanding Services for Developmental Disabilities

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a parent, learning that your child has developmental disabilities can be a life altering moment in time and can cause a devastating chain reaction of events. These events have the potential to change family priorities and structure, hurt relationships, deplete financial savings and stability, and emotionally drain everyone intimately involved with you and your child. How do you find human services programs, agencies, or advocates, whose primary job is to help you provide everything your child needs? It certainly can be an overwhelming barrier, but it's the first step in giving you, your child, and your family a plan of action, goals, success, good mental health and bringing everyone back together.

    Read More

  • Mental Health Disparities Essay

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mental health disparities, “the power imbalances that impact practices influencing access, quality, and outcomes of behavioral health care, or a significant disparity in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, or survival rate in a specific group of people defined along racial and ethnic lines, as compared with the general population” (Safran, 2011). Although there are many mental health care dipartites, I’m going to focus on the impact of poverty and lack of attention given to mental health. By advocating for a prevention, promotion, and intervention related to mental health, will aid in minimizing mental health disparities. Not only is it important to advocate on a macro level, but it is important to educate

    Read More

  • Autism

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...l awareness to the ability to process language and sensory experiences and integrate with ones own environment. Until research on autism and other developmental disabilities yields more information about how autism affects neurological function, children and adults who are affected will not be served to the fullest extent of our capabilities as providers of equal education and health care to all. It is only with more information about the neurological differences in the autistic brain that we will fully understand the best way to teach persons with autism so that they might participate to their fullest potential within their community. It is my personal belief that great progress will be made during my own lifetime and that a new level of outcome will be the normal expectation for parents when their child receives this shattering diagnosis during the next generation.

    Read More

  • Personal Statement : Special Education

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Two years ago, I embarked on a journey that would teach me more than I had ever imagined. As a recent college graduate, I was thrilled to finally begin my teaching career in a field I have always held close to my heart. My first two years as a special education teacher presented countless challenges, however, it also brought me great fulfillment and deepened my passion for teaching students with special needs. The experiences I have had both before and after this pivotal point in my life have undoubtedly influenced my desire to further my career in the field of special education.

    Read More

  • Autism Informative Paper

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having worked in an Autism program first hand I can tell you these people are doing everything they can to help these kids into functioning members of society. Though some will need to be assisted their entire lives some can lead semi-normal lives. In these classrooms these programs not only focus on learning the fundamentals like all children in school (english, math, science, etc..) they also teach social skills and activities, they teach the kids things like proper etiquette in public places, safety on the phone, all the things that that isn 't 'common sense ' to them because of their disability. They work hard to help the students who are more high functioning to integrate into normal classrooms and the children who are more so low functioning to be able to do the basics and beyond for themselves. These programs are continually developing and reshaping to best fit the needs of their

    Read More

  • Mental Health Assessment Essay

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    The mental health assessment is a crucial part in everyday nursing care as it evaluates an individual’s mental condition to assess for risk factors of mental illnesses and provide optimal care and treatment. Mental health is described as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (CDC) If the patient not mentally healthy, they can develop mentally illnesses, which can affect treatment and the disease process of physical ailments because without mental health a person cannot be completely healthy. “Suicide Risk Assessment in High Risk Adolescents” is a nursing article that outlines suicide risk factors and prevention strategies for assist nurses in performing mental health assessments. Suicide, the act of

    Read More

  • Personal Statement For Health Psychology Essay

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    My motivation is based on two things. Firstly, I really want to help other people as much as I can. The understanding of human behaviour is the key for me to help others improve their well-being. This made me start seeking for information and experiences beyond the university’s classes and books. There was 30 hours of supervised Clinical Child Psychology Practice, where I was shadowing a professional psychologist at an Educational Consultancy. I really liked my time there and I felt like I could not have chosen any other career. In 2014 I joined a foundation where we were developing autistic children’s social skills and perceptions with movements and exercises. In these months I saw different children with different disabilities. It was

    Read More

  • Autism is not a Disease

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...iagnosis becoming more powerful, public schools have found themselves searching to find methods to educate autistic children. Not only is it hard for schools to deal with the autistic children, but also the families have a struggle finding out that their child has autism. Parents of children with autism often suffer from stress and anxiety disorders. Dealing with children that are autistic places extraordinary demands on the parents that can be added over the usual parental daily work and responsibilities. They need to cope with different needs that their child has that the other family members don’t have. There are many support groups for parents that have a difficulty in accepting their child’s condition. They can even attend counseling with their child to find ways to cope with his or hers necessities. Now there are also programs that help the parents financially

    Read More

  • Mental Health Essay

    1582 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several

    Read More

  • Special Needs Children Essay

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are numerous careers related to special needs, all of which require different schooling, training, mentorships, and other types of preparation. Any type of job working with children with mental and physical disabilities can be challenging but also very rewarding when one sees the child improve (Tyrer, 2007). Different types of careers affect special needs children in different ways. For example a teacher will help them thrive in school, while other careers may help the kids improve at home or in a public setting. Special needs workers should be creative, flexible, and personable to be able to meet the needs of the child and also provide useful information for the child’s parents. It is important for one to at least complete minimal required training so one will be fully prepared to work with a child with any type of delay. Often children in schools do not improve at a higher rate because their teacher may not have the necessary training to assist them (Marković, 2014). No matter what special needs career someone chooses, everyone should have one common goal: to help special needs children thrive. Marković from the article “Work with Kids with Special Needs” puts it perfectly when she states, “the main aim is that children with disabilities get the chance to grow, learn, and socialize with children with normal development, and that these children can adapt and learn together with children with special needs. In this way, they develop understanding, tolerance, and humanity” (Marković,

    Read More

More about Mental Health Internship Report

Open Document