As a full-time graduate student at 捆绑SM社区鈥檚 School of Social Work, I started with a CEGEP diploma in Social Sciences and Psychology at Champlain College and built from there by obtaining a Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Psychology at Concordia University. Upon completion of my Bachelor鈥檚 degree I realized that I was not suited for psychology; I preferred to learn about individuals, couples and families and their social, political, economic and psychological functioning rather than focusing solely on the individual and their psyche which is more common in the psychology world. As such, I decided to shift towards a career in Social Work and/or psychotherapy and became interested in this field when I researched the potential job opportunities and experience that comes from working in this field.
After my first year at 捆绑SM社区, I decided that, if I wanted to gain experience in clinical Social Work and psychotherapy, it might be a good idea to get an interview at a private practice organization for my 2020 summer internship. Through my own research and interview experience at the Open Centre, I found that their organization prides itself on their mission, values and beliefs surrounding holistic approaches that will serve individuals and couples by providing clients with specialized mental and physical health services, and specifically targeting and supporting marginalised populations (BIPOC, gender fluid, LGBTQ2+ or non-monogamous). It was clear to me that the Open Centre is striving to build a safe, anti-racist and anti-oppressive community environment and so I was very pleased to be offered a full-time summer internship. I have always been interested in improving my ability to provide private practice therapy to individuals, couples and families with a diverse range of mental health concerns. I felt that the Open Centre would allow me to get a better understanding of complex social and mental health issues such as cultural and societal oppression, systemic issues, minority stress, processing traumatic events, family functioning, interpersonal relationships, communication, personality disorders, anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation.
As a Black Social Work student, my goal has always been to research the mental health impacts of colourism on light and dark-skinned people of colour to improve my capacity to support Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour (BIPOC) who lack faith in our mental health system, who do not believe in the benefits of mental health due to negative past experiences, or who have rarely seen a mental health professional that resembles them. I wanted to go into this field of work, especially private practice, to demonstrate to BIPOC communities that it is possible to find and develop a strong relationship with Black therapists and other POC. In other words, I am passionate about promoting diversity in mental health systems, which are often only accessible to people with significant means and privilege. I approach counselling with an anti-oppressive and collaborative lens that recognizes the place of structural oppression in mental health challenges. There is a lack of diversity among mental professionals, which can have a detrimental effect on clients who are BIPOC. In this internship and throughout my future career, I hope to use my position to uplift BIPOC communities: both to advocate for people whose voices have traditionally been ignored and overlooked, and also to show clients that Black mental health professionals are working to reduce harm for the populations that they serve.
As a sliding scale supervised student counsellor, I offer one-on-one mental health counselling to a caseload of nine clients. My daily work routine typically involves meeting with two to four clients via video for one hour and then writing my progress notes for each session. When I do not have any sessions, I often do some research or read articles related to areas of mental health that I need more knowledge in such as substance abuse, personality disorders or dissociation. Having weekly supervisions sessions with my supervisor has also been an extremely helpful learning experience. Often times, I may send my clients homework or resources that may help them build certain capacities such as boundary setting, emotional regulation, mindfulness meditation, and interpersonal communication. Towards the end of my internship I provided each client with a closing session in which I provide them with resources for on-going support, while discussing their future goals or priorities, progress, and areas for improvement. Additionally, I have noticed that scheduling Zoom sessions with other 捆绑SM社区 Social Work students who are completing summer placements has been supportive as we discuss our stages, debrief, and provide each other with helpful tips and resources, and discuss our personal lives as well as how we are coping with COVID-19.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to Mr. Mooney and Ms. Marckmann鈥檚 generous support for making this internship possible during such a challenging time.
