Finally

It's finally the end. 100% of me is estatic about this. I have been waiting for this for four years, and I have endured hell and back again and again, and it's finally over. I can close this chapter of my life for good, and I will never have to look back upon it. I will never have to deal with making a country flag absolutely PERFECT with felt. I will never have to juggle college classes with the core classes and hardly making it. I will never have to come to school knowing I'm most likely not doing anything that day. I will never have to come to school and feel that sinking feeling in my chest. Don't get me wrong, I learned that felt is difficult to cut in a perfect line and I learned that some people just don't work well in groups (Yes, I remember sophomore year, when a particular group member stormed out of my house) and I learned some people don't work well with others in general. I've learned when more than one teacher leaves you, there is either something seriously wrong with your class and your school. One thing I've learned going to a school with the same 100 people for four years is that people are going to talk, but it's up to yourself to realize that they're all kids.

Thankfully, I couldn't imagine any better people to pick me up in my moments.
 Imelda, keep doing you, baby. You are so absolutely independent and opinionated and smart and beautiful. I couldn't ask God for someone more amazing.
 Malorie, you will forever outsass anybody I meet. I get my sass from you. You know you will reach your goals, and you're confident and adorable and perfect and I will forever admire that.
 Vince, you are the only person I've been friends with all four years. Through the ups and the downs, you know I love you. Leaving you will probably be one of the hardest things.
 Anais, you know I absolutely adore you. I have ever since we became close, and I intend on keeping you close. Night swimming and beach trips this summer?
 These people I love the most and I want to thank Ipoly personally for introducing them to me. Life will definetly not be as intimidating with them by my side. I won't stop myself from tearing up when I see them getting their diploma.

I want to thank Mr. Hogan for getting me through those days. Drama was always a place where my bad mood always immediatly dissapeared. Good luck to Desiree, Caroline, Illiana, and Brandon. I will forever remember the days we played improv games at the beginning of elective. WE ARE NOT A CULT. Fullerton 2014 was one for the books, even if iPoly WILL NEVER WIN. I will definetly cry saying goodbye to my drama family.

I have major goals for myself and I intend on reaching them no matter what. I can't say it's going to be easy, but I have everything I need to fight back on the hardships. College is the part of my life I will live to the fullest, with no regrets. I can't say that about high school. With about 2 weeks until I officially graduate, until I officially do not have to see anybody else anymore, until I don't have to work on group projects just to pass the time, I will use this time to offically end the chapter titled "High School: Lesson Learned".

Peace out, iPoly.

Blog 23: Senior Project Presentation

(1) Positive Statement

I think my activity was thought through, and was very well executed. People didn't seem bored, and I also played poetry therapy videos while they did their activity. Some people seemed interested in them. I spent a lot of time making the worksheet for my activity, and I also spent a lot of time coming up with it.

(2) Questions to Consider

I would give myself a P on my block presentation.

I would give myself an AP on my overall senior project.

(3) What worked for you?

The template and the lesson plan is what worked best for me. All the work we did that led up to it (iSearch essay, independent components, etc.) is what helped me prepare for this last presentation.

(4) What didn't work?

I would've tried harder to find a mentor that was as dedicated to me as I was to them. I hardly spent any time looking and went along with what was easiest.

(5) Finding Value

The senior project has made me realized that I have an absolute passion in this field. This is something I am 100% sure I will study in college. I have a set out plan for myself and my education and my career. Because of my mentor at Wescove Daycare, I was offered a summer job and took it. I look forward to this and spending time with the kids, and this is just a start to a career with children and adolescents.

Blog 22: Mentorship

• Literal

The link to my senior project hours is here.

Contact Name: Rita
Mentorship Place: Wescove Daycare

• Interpretive

The most important thing I've gained from this experience is how to work with different personalities. It is my passion to work with children. I've learned how to manage them one-on-one, as well as in a large group. I've learned how to make a child feel satisfied when they are upset, and I've also learned how to make them feel more comfortable to open up with me and tell me more about their personal life. I've learned different activities to show children thoughtful lessons.

• Applied

While volunteering at Wescove Daycare, I thoughtfully took apart my essential question and my answers. I tried to work with the kids in a group and teach them lessons as a group. I also worked with the kids while doing art, and I realized art and group therapy are all part of the big picture, which is case conceptualization and treatment planning. Group nor art therapy worked for every single child, and you need to figure out what is really bothering them to help them in the appropriate way, which is case conceptualization and treatment planning.

Exit Interview

1. What is your essential question, and what is your best answer and why?
A. My essential question is "How can a therapist aid their clients in overcoming actions and behaviors that led them to counseling?" and my best answer is case conceptualization and treatment planner. This is my best answer because it is the most basic part of counseling, and it helps the client in more ways than any of my other answers.

2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
A. At first, while researching answers for another essential question, I never came across this answer. However, after talking with the senior teachers about fixing my essential question, I asked my mentor due to my confusion about my essential question. She opened my eyes to this, and constantly tells me that is the most basic part of a therapist's job and helping clients. After she told me, I did research and found many articles and multiple journals written on this topic. These helped me understand more about case conceptualization. I realized that case conceptualization and treatment planning is mostly used with CBT, and that is what I started to form my senior project on.

3. What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?
A. One problem that I faced was time spent with my mentor. We were both very busy, and the only time I could ever really meet with her was over the phone. To resolve this, I decided to pick up another mentorship. I started volunteering at Wescove Daycare in West Covina, and my second mentor is Rita. Wesove Daycare helps my topic and essential question because we are constantly doing activities and games that a therapist would do in their office to help a child. Instead, we are teaching them lessons. I still contact my first mentor, Vivian Alvarez, to help me with any questions I have with my senior topic.

4. What are the two significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

Cully, Jefferey. Teten, Andra. "A Therapist's Guide to Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy." Web. 15 Jan 2015.

This journal was important because it covered cognitive behavioral therapy, along with my best answer, and also the practice of psychology and counseling. It also went over therapists and their behavior towards clients, and how they impact them.

Jongsma, Arthur E. "The Adolescent Psychotherapy Treatment Planner." Practice Problems. 2006.

When one of the psychologists I interviewed, Dr. Guy, lended this book to me, I found it was very important because it was a case conceptualization and a treatment planner in one. It had many examples, and opened my view on counseling.

Independent Component 2

LITERAL
(a) I, Camille Erskine, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 33.5 hours of work.
(b)- "General FAQ". Poetry Slam Inc. Web. 25 Feb 2015.
     -"Welcome to the National Association for Poetry Therapy." Welcome to the National Association for Poetry Therapy. N.p., 2005. Web. 2 Mar. 2015. -"Da Poetry Lounge." Da Poetry Lounge. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 10 Mar 2015.
     -"A Brief Guide to Slam Poetry." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 2004. Web. 19 Mar 2015. Wardt, Susan de. "Writing and Poetry Therapy." All Things Healing. Web. 27 Mar 2015.
     -Malchiodi, Cathy A. Expressive Therapies (2005): 1-16. Psychology Today. Guilford Publications. Web.
     -"How to Be a Good Host When Friends Come to Your House." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. -"Button Poetry." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
     -"Poetry Slam: Background, History, Timeline." Poetry Slam: Background, History, Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2015.
     -"Running a Poetry Slam in School: A Toolkit". National Literacy Trust. 2012. Web.
     -"Official Rules of the 2015 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational." Official Rules of the 2015 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. N.p., 17 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
(c) The link to my Senior Project Hours is here.
(d) I attended poetry nights every Tuesday at Da Poetry Lounge, and used what I learned there to host a small poetry slam within the people I know and am close to. I asked them to write poems about something personal that they wouldn't mind discussing with the rest of the group. I also researched articles and conducted interviews.
  INTERPRETATIVE

I attended Poetry Night on Tuesday nights weekly. We weren't allowed to take pictures because they post weekly videos on their website, which I posted on my last monthly blog. After going a couple of weeks, and having conversations and interviews over the phone with my mentor about art psychotherapy, I used what I knew about slam poetry and hosted a small poetry slam. We had a small discussion afterwards, about the effect poetry writing had on everyone. I decided to have it at The Joint on Amar and Grand, we had never been there before and when asking the owner if I could host something small, she said yes. Not only did I go to Poetry Nights, but I also set aside an hour weekly to research an article that would somehow help me throughout my independent component. Some were about the history of slam poetry, how to host a poetry slam, and poetry therapy.

 APPLIED
 By completing this independent component, I realized that poetry therapy is a useful way to help a client. However, in my research, I came across many other types of psychotherapy, such as reading, drawing, music therapy and more. I realized that poetry and art therapy is just one way that a therapist can aid their client in overcoming negative actions and behaviors. By doing this, I realized I should focus on therapeutic techniques as a whole instead of just one of them. I changed my third and final answer from Art Therapy to Using Different Therapy Techniques with Psychotherapy.

March Post

For my independent component, I have been attending poetry night every Tuesday at Da Poetry Lounge in Los Angeles.
They record the sessions and post them on their website. Here is the one from last Tuesday.

Fourth Interview Questions

1. What do you most like about your job and/or helping other people?
2. What types of art therapy is most generally used?
3. Which type do you/would you like to use?
4. Have you studied art therapy?
5. What are the cons to art therapy?
6. Would you consider other types of art other than drawing, painting, etc., as art therapy? For example, poetry, writing, etc.
7. Have you hosted a group therapy session? If so, what did you get out of it?
8. If not, would you like to? Why or why not?
9. Do you think group therapy is good for your patients at a certain point in your sessions?
10. What type of patients usually need group therapy?
11. What are some of the cons to group therapy?
12. In group therapy, have you ever had a patient that didn't participate? How did you work with the patient?
13. Does group therapy work well with adults as well as adolescents and children?
14. In my research, I've discovered art therapy works well with psychotherapy. Could a client work with art therapy on it's own?
15. Does group therapy have a better effect with or without psychotherapy on the side?
16. What are some activities that are practiced in group therapy to help people/clients feel more comfortable/satisfied?
17. What are some games/activities you have used in therapy to make the client feel more comfortable to open up to you?
18. Why do you use these specifically, and how did you come up with them?
19. What do you do, as a therapist, to have your client leave your office feeling satisfied, if not a little bit better, in how they can improve?
20. What do you think are the qualities of a "good" therapist?