Blog 11: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
I am proud of the information I was able to give and talk about throughout my presentation. I feel like I covered important facts of the brain and how it affects teens in the sense of behavior and development.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.

I would give myself an AP, because even though I did cover the information and requirements of what had to be talked about for the lesson, I did not make time by 6 seconds, which was one of the requirements for P consideration.

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?

I think I would try not to be as nervous and speak as fast, because even though I did practice multiple times the day before and timed myself, it didn't go as according to plan. I would probably have more examples and extra information as well, so if I do happen to finish before the time I had practiced, I would have extra information to help me out.

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)
My mentorship takes place at a workplace. I go to my mentor's office whenever we meet. She has given me a book with a ton of disorders, and lately I've been taking notes on everything I find and I discuss it with her next time I see her. It's just her and me, but I think I am gaining knowledge of these different disorders.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  

I found my mentor on goodtherapy.org. I got her information off the website and sent her an email and left her a voicemail. She returned my call, and I told her what I was doing for senior project and how I needed a mentor, she then agreed she'd be able to help me.

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

My comfort level is pretty good with my mentor. She helps me understand things I don't quite understand and helps by figuring out things we can do in terms of assignments since it is a confidential field.

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

I believe I was able to understand my mentor's background a bit more. She did a very good job at answering my questions, and it gave me an idea of what I can do in this field since I do want to go in this same path. There isn't really much improvement we need yet. So far things are going good.

 

https://soundcloud.com/ariadne97/interview-2

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I currently have a mentor, and we've already completed the interview.

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.

My overall view within the psychology topic is adolescence. I have been focusing more towards the developmental, anxiety, and depression aspect of it.
  
3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

I think books will be good sources for me to look into. I would ask my mentor for these, or I'll look into the library.

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

What is the best possible way you can try and understand your patient, so that you can better help them?

Blog 8 - Independent Component 1 Proposal

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For my independent component I plan on mentoring at a Big Brother Big Sister organization. Within those 30 hours I plan on acting as a big sister to an assigned child and help her with any little thing she may need help with. I plan to devote my time to her and make her feel happy and better about herself in any way possible.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

 

I will have the organization sign off hours I will be getting done as well as take pictures while I am with my "little sister".

 

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

 

This will help me explore my topic in more depth because since I am working on adolescent psychology, I feel like acting as a mentor/big sister for another person my age who might be struggling a bit themselves might help me see what it's really like. This is a good way in my opinion to get hands on experience.

 

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

My mentor's name is Jasmine DeGuzman and she works at Crossroads Family Therapy in Covina.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?
- What is the process you took to get to where you are now?

- Once you got your degree, what did you do from there?

- What is your average workload like throughout the week?

- What do you believe contributes most to depression within people?

- What have you found is the best way to overcome depression?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?

My mentorship has worked pretty well for me. I like the whole idea of the project and I feel like I am gaining a bit more information on this topic, which is good considering the fact that I want to work in this field. I enjoy all there little assignments my mentor gives me, and she really helps me understand them afterwards.
 

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

I'm not really finding anything difficult as of right now. The only problem that I encountered was finding someone to interviewed, but I ended up getting a call back afterwards so that was a good thing in the end. I think just portioning out your time can help a lot and not leaving everything last minute. Another problem that I haven't encountered yet but am afraid of is running out of things to do with my mentor. I think a way the senior team might be able to help is by giving me some ideas as to what else I can do for my mentorship.

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

I learned many things from my interviews. I learned that there are different theories and works of study when entering the psychology field. I also learned that different age groups vary a lot from each other. You have to take a different approach with every client you encounter. You can't approach an adult the same way you would a child and I think that is very helpful information to know.
If I could do something differently for other interviews I think I would come prepared with more questions than what I had. I asked ten questions and I think maybe more would have given me more of a background.

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

I didn't get new contacts, but I did get some advice as to who would be a good person to talk to. Social services was one of the main one that was pointed out since I do want to work with adolescence. I thought it was all useful, because I was given a little more background as to why contacting one profession would be good and why; so I think just having variety is very useful.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

 

Both my interviewees where therapists and they both have their own practice. They've been working in this field for quite some time and have experience. Both therapists have worked with a variety of age groups and have the degrees necessary for the field.

https://soundcloud.com/ariadne97/sets/interview-1

 

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep

Throughout my senior project I plan, and hope to accomplish not just one, but many things. First of all, I want to be able to go through this project by meeting all the deadlines and doing the best I possibly can on any one of the assignments given. Not just to finish, but to get a better understanding and to better prepare myself. Not only do I want to accomplishing this project by finishing, but I also hope to learn a lot from this experience. I want to learn what it takes to become a psychologist, how to get there, and how to prepare not only for myself, but for any future clients I may have when starting to pursue this career. I also want to learn more about the human brain and how it works and what goes on through a person's head. I am hoping that this turns out being a great experience all together for me so that I'm able to finish my senior year with a strong understanding of what it is I want to do in my future to come.

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

I plan on interviewing a couple of therapists that my mentor knows and works with. Although my mentor would provide me with good answers, I would like to have a different range of answers rather than just her answers since I already have time to work with her. I think it would be a great opportunity for me to get a range of separate people for this interview. I would like to ask them questions and see what they have to say about the questions I ask so that I will be able to get a better understanding myself.

2.  Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.

-Have you ever had a problem where you didn't know how to handle a certain client? If so, what did you end up doing?
-What are some things a person who wants to enter this field can do to better prepare themselves?
-When working with adults, teens, and/or children, what are some differences you encounter?
-Is there any advice that you would give me considering the fact that I am interested in taking this career route?

Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.

Jasmine DeGuzman
(626)893-0647
Crossroads Family Therapy

2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?

Jasmine DeGuzman has been working in the therapeutic field for more than nine years. Her professions include counseling psychology, marriage and family therapy, and mental health counseling.
   

3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.

 

-What goes on through the minds of these clients?

-How do you know that your client has truly improved themselves with your help? 

-Some people may say they don't know why they feel the way they do; Why is that? Can it be true that there is nothing there, or can it go way back to an experience they had but don't realize it?

    

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

Me conducting my own session with my "client"

The most important thing I gained from this experience is understanding the symptoms of depression and learning how to conduct my own session. This is the most important to me because not only was I able to learn more about what the person may feel as they are going through depression, but I was able to put what I knew in practice with my own fake client.

 

 

 

 

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did mentorship help you make your decision?  Please explain.

My senior project topic is going to be adolescent therapy. My mentorship helped me make this decision by providing me with a lot more resources than what I already had and knew. I was also able to see what it was like to conduct a session so that helped me decide that this is what I wanted to do.

Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

 

1.  What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

Fitness, Therapy, and Early Childhood Development were the most helpful for me to see. These were the most helpful because I was sort of stuck in between doing fitness training or adolescent psychology for my senior project, and these topics helped me see and make the choice of my topic.

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

 

One thing I learned about senior project in interviews that will help me get off to a good start is to be on top of things and on schedule with my mentor. I chose this as the one thing I learned because I am not an upfront person. I have always been towards the more shy side, and I am always afraid to tell people what to do and how to do things, so I think this is great advice to get me started.

 

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

 

I was stuck between fitness training and adolescent psychology for a while. I wanted to go with my desired future career as a topic. I had decided to work on fitness training, but then as I started to think about it I realized there wasn't much information I would be able to get out of there and that maybe it wasn't something I really wanted to do. On the other hand, I'd always wanted to be an adolescent psychologist, so I thought working on this as my topic would help me get a better understanding of what it is to be a psychologist.

 

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? (Please don't worry about any sort of formula...we want this question to come from your genuine interest).

 

I think and interesting EQ for this topic would have something to do with understanding an adolescent/child that needs help, such as "In what ways can an adolescent psychologist make sure she can best make sure her patient gets the help needed?"

 

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?

 

I have already tried finding a mentor by searching many different psychologists online and contacting them through email/phone.