Leah Cardinale

Reflecting on the Placement Experience

My experience at the Canadian Mental Health Association as a fourth year practicum placement has been one for the books. I have learned and grown so much more than I thought was possible in four short months. What at first seemed like it would be a dreadfully long 12 weeks, turned out to be much too short of a time at CMHAWWD.

I feel that each and every week of my Wonder of Me group was wonderful success. This group taught me so much about the developmentally disabled population and somehow helped me even learn more about myself. Acting as a co-facilitator for 10 of the 12 weeks I was in placement was such a great learning experience because I got to have so many one-on-one experiences helping others with their emotional regulation and coping skills. This group also helped remind me of the self-care techniques we all need in our busy everyday lives. I loved being able to form relationships with the participants of this group. Each week I had a moment with one or two participants that would always stand out in my field notes. I would always have these mini-breakthrough moments with them about something that really triggers them or a coping skill that they forgot would help them. I enjoyed working through the challenges with the participants and helping to make the group as beneficial as it could possibly be to them. It was so rewarding seeing each and every one of them stand up on the last session and present a section of the curriculum and show what they learned to family and friends. I think that Wonder of Me will continue to help individuals within the Guelph-Wellington community and even has potential to grown beyond that. I hope to be a part of this awesome program again in the future.

Another success during this placement was the rewarding experience of seeing smiles each week at ARC during my boccia ball tournament. I had the opportunity to volunteer on Mondays of each week at ARC industries as a boccia ball coach for the disabled individuals who spend their days working there. I believe that recreational

Leah Cardinale therapy is so important for this population specifically because it gives them an opportunity to have movement in their day and be a part of a team and enjoy a little excitement. Each week we had a different mix-up of participants ranging from 7 to 20 individuals. It was so rewarding seeing how much they began to enjoy the sport. Each smile on someones face as they participated in the recreational therapy was a success in my book.

Through my placement at CMHA-WWD I have had the experience of learning so much about client-worker interactions, one-on-one support and group counseling settings. Coming into this placement I had many experience with young children and some youth but I had never had the chance for client-worker interactions or specifically one-on-one support. During these sessions I learned a lot about what is required of both the worker and the client themselves. Ultimately clients have a role in guiding their success in counseling through determining their own goals and showing their dedication to progress. During both one-on-one interactions, as well as in my Wonder of Me group, I found many reoccurring themes within this population, specifically trauma and grief. There is such a high statistic of developmentally disabled individuals who experience trauma within their lives. These people have a lot of change happening throughout their life and sometimes they dont have the opportunity or courage to grieve. I found that a lot of them dont know how healthy it is to grieve and how there are many ways you can both do this alone and with others. I think that this may be an area I will explore in the near future for group programs once I find a my career in social work.

I am thrilled to have accomplished all three of my personal goals while at my placement. I was able to accomplish my knowledge goal of learning about CMHA-WWD programs as well as Guelph and county area organizations through attending many different staff meetings, personal conversations with collogues, and simply asking lots of questions. I also had the chance to learn about referral processes and what the steps of service were for many programs through attending a few initial appointments and an intake assessment. I was able to reflect upon the intake assessment in my third critical reflection this semester because it really left a lasting impression on me. I learned from

Leah Cardinale this experience that I really enjoy family interactions and I know that I want that to be a part of my future career. I love working with families to help them establish behaviour techniques that work for both their child and fit their family needs. I noted in my field notes how responsive families were to me throughout my placement, and I think I have very strong communication skills that helped me develop a confidence in these environments.

I was able to also accomplish my skill goal of learning about counseling skills for everyday interactions with clients and my revised skill goal of building relationships with clients. I really enjoyed my one-on-one interactions with clients because they allowed me to build my confidence as a personal support worker and practice the skills I will one day need to use in my future social work career. I really focused much of my time in practicum seeing what I could learn from my clients and the Wonder of Me group. As recorded in my field notes, I actually stood up in front of my Wonder of Me participants and their guests on our final group day and personally thanked each and every one of them. I thanked them for the time they, the emotions, the stories and the experience they have shared with me. I wrote out personal cards for each of them and explained that I quite honestly may have learned more from all of them then they have from me. I spoke about how much faith I had in them and how they inspire me to continue working in the field that I have learned to love.

Finally I believe I attained my value goal through always being true to my personal values. These values are what shape my characteristics and my work ethics everyday. I have always held the goal of striving to be objective, caring and understanding regardless of the population I am working with, but this can take some practice. I wanted the goals I created for this placement to be both realistic and very personal. I think accomplishing the goal of attaining an open-mind and developing an understanding of client needs was one of my most successful experiences during my placement. Having an objective outlook on life is hard when there are added stressors of a new environment and university work on-the-go, but I think I deserve a pat on the back for how well I balanced my persona, goals and course work throughout the

Leah Cardinale semester. I came to practicum each day with a positive attitude and the goal of accepting challenges as they arose. Even at the middle-point of the placement, I still wanted to focus this specific goal on reminding myself everyday there will be new challenges presented from clients. I need to be aware that while I may need to adapt to their needs and act as a support system for them, I also must hold true to my values.

The goals I set out to attain at the beginning of my placement really described what my personal philosophy was at the time, and by working toward these goals I was really able to develop a professional philosophy. I believe that my professional philosophy developed the same way my goal development did. The experiences I had each and every day allowed me to grow in ways I hadnt expected, and all of the goals and philosophy I had for myself at the beginning of the semester, now just seemed very simplistic. I went into my placement at CMHA with not much of a professional philosophy because I was still unsure where I fit in the career world. I came out of my placement with not only a personal mission statement, but also an outlook on life that shapes my own philosophy and values. This philosophy is parallel and unique from the one CMHA-WWD has outlined (as displayed on the home page of this portfolio). I am dedicated to supporting a special and mental health needs population. I value kindness, positivity and individuality. I believe that every journey is unique, and that well-being encompasses hope, love and respect.

I hope that my own journey and passion in this field will continue in the years to come!