MarjAnn was a MSW Intern for Wasatch Behavioral Health during Spring Term 2023.
Briefly explain what you did and the result of your internship.
My major responsibilities in the internship included mobile crisis outreach involving adolescents and children, family therapy, individual therapy, assessments, and leading DBT and LGBTQ+ parent support groups. My internship affected me both personally and professionally. Seeing individuals in crisis situations on a regular basis has increased my understanding of human suffering and increased my capacity for empathy and compassion. I have been given the opportunity to learn genuine compassion for those in crisis and recognize how important it is to wrap support around families and individuals during challenging times. Engaging in this internship gave me opportunities to develop and refine crucial skills for a therapist, such as active listening, empathy, communication, and problem-solving. While discussions of these skills, and practicing them with classmates was helpful, it was infinitely more helpful to practice these skills in real life settings.
What did you learn on your internship that you were not expecting to learn?
My internship helped me gain a greater appreciation for the importance of setting professional boundaries and practicing self-care. The emotional toll of working with people in crisis made it extremely important for me to take care of my own mental and emotional well-being. I found it helpful to ask for support from and collaborate with colleagues and supervisor and to discover and mindfully participate in activities that helped to rejuvenate my spirit. While I may not always work in crisis, the solid self-care mindset that I have developed will be useful in whatever field I continue on to.
How have your future plans changed because of what you learned from your internship experience?
During my internship I had the chance to work on a team with several other professionals. I was able to build relationships with these individuals that I feel will be valuable for my future career, as they can be mentors and provide potential job opportunities. Observing and learning from seven therapists who specialize in various approaches exposed me to a variety of therapeutic mindsets and interventions. Seeing the tenets of theoretical orientations we learned about in class applied into actual treatment interventions helped me to develop a more well-rounded understanding of therapeutic perspectives and to begin to develop my own therapeutic style.
Please share how your experience led to personal inspiration or insightful revelation.
The nature of crisis therapy gave me many opportunities for self-reflection and personal growth. Interacting with clients whose backgrounds were sometimes vastly different than my own caused me to reflect on my values, beliefs, patterns in relationships, and reactions to adversity. Engaging in this self-reflection contributed to greater humility, personal growth, self-awareness, and a better understanding of my own strengths and limitations. Additionally, watching individuals in crisis overcome challenges and find strength within themselves gave me a profound appreciation for the humanity’s ability to be resilient. The more I saw people creatively solve the problems in their lives, the greater my sense of hope in the capacity for growth and healing became. This spirit of resilience was apparent among even the most disadvantaged and downtrodden of my clients. I learned that I should doubt my negative assumptions about people before I doubted their tenacity and ability to overcome.
Would you recommend this internship to other students?
I would absolutely recommend this internship to other students. The opportunity to move from "book smarts" to actual application is invaluable. Honing the skills of my craft and interacting with professionals who embody the type of therapist I want to be feels like stellar career preparation.
