Another Great Day of Internship with Collaborative Problem Solving and Roleplaying

Well, first off I want to tell a few things that I forgot yesterday. Bad Chris. Bad, bad, forgetful Chris. I was too busy being excited about getting a photo I.D. and keys. Here we go.

So, yesterday I forgot to mention some of the most encouraging things. First of all, I was overdressed. I wasn't sure how to dress as an intern, so I thought it would be a better idea to over do it than look like the lazy college student I usually look like. I was surprised to see when I got to the orientation that everyone was dressed mostly casually. Like "nice casual." Not T-shirts, but nobody else was in a tie. To be safe I observed the other employees and noticed that they didn't all wear ties, so I decided I could lose the tie. It may seem like a little thing, but being able to lose the tie and just feel a little more like myself is a huge comfort and makes me feel way less nervous each day.

Probably the greatest encouragement was when payroll forms were being handed out and I said to the HR person "I don't need one, I'm just an intern." She paused and smiled at me, "You're an intern, leave off the word just." Also, while all the new employees worked on that I was able to help the presenter with their computer a little, which made me feel very cool and smart. It was most encouraging.

I had another encouraging moment today when one of the other orientees, a future psych tech, asked me if I was taking time off from my PhD for my internship. I felt very cool when I said, "Uh, no, I'm an undergrad."

Today was really great. We spent most of the day discussing Collaborative Problem Solving, which was mostly a bunch of new ideas to me. We also did some role playing that was very similar to the type I had done in my Counseling and Psychotherapy class at Houghton, so I felt very well prepared. Thanks Dr. Lastoria! That was probably the most encouraging thing--just seeing that I actually DO know something about psychology and how to care for and work with patients.

Speaking of patients...Tomorrow I will see patients for the first time! I'm very nervous. Thought I will, I believe, be almost entirely observation, I'm still nervous. There's a lot of opportunity for me to look stupid or something. Ugh, I just hope I can hold it together and look smart.