Similar to my time during internship one, I had the opportunity to continue to learn how

it is to be with an array of clients. I stayed at the same site for the duration of my practicum and

internship, so I was able to continue the continuity of care for my clients while growing my

counseling skills. My time in my internship gave me the chance to learn how to use the skills we

have been learning such as nonverbal/verbal minimal encouragers, active listening, open

questions, summarizing, paraphrasing, affirmations, and reflecting on feelings, and meaning. I

have also been able to continue to practice and learn how to properly take notes after client

sessions, work on case conceptualizations on a deeper level and learn new interventions I can

take with me as I continue within the counseling field.

In my last self-evaluation paper, I stated that I had learned a great deal about play therapy

by working with children, and I have continued to develop my play therapy skills. I also still

stand by the fact it can be difficult to work with parents, especially in high-conflict cases. I had

the opportunity to work beside my site supervisor this last semester with a family therapy case,

which was unique and interesting to learn more about family dynamics. I was able to observe

other sessions that my supervisor had, as well as sit in on my colleague's sessions, which was a

major portion of my learning experience. It was helpful to see the different methods everyone

has when working with clients, and it gave me the opportunity to learn techniques and activities

that I could incorporate with my clients. Supervision was equally helpful because I could share

recordings and get direct feedback on things I did well and what I can improve on. I will

definitely carry the feedback and ideas I got from supervision with me when I begin seeing

clients as a licensed counselor.

My experience during my internship this semester did increase my competency in the

objectives of the course, even further than what my skill level was at the end of internship one.
As I said, supervision was helpful in learning what I do well with clients and what I need to work

on. I feel I grew the most with my play therapy skills and I was able to get back positive

feedback from the recordings I shared. Tracking, reflecting emotions, and helping with decision-

making such as wondering aloud what the child can do to problem solve, are all important skills

to have when working with younger children. I also continued to learn limit setting and what to

look for in drawings or certain play themes. My site supervisor helped me learn how to be more

animated with my clients and other ways I can indirectly teach them emotional regulation,

especially in unstructured playtime.

I also found it helpful to be able to go back and read the evaluations from both my site

supervisor and university supervisor. The evaluations showed me what I was doing well and also

the things that I can continue to improve on. Last semester, note-taking was a struggle for me,

but I feel I have gotten much better at knowing what documents need to be included along with

notes in client files. I feel I saw a bigger shift in my performance at my internship site this last

semester based on how certain tasks were easier and the feedback I received. I had a few more

opportunities to observe and participate in small ways in group settings but I do hope that I get

more opportunities for group work in the future.

Throughout my internship, it was stressful when clients would cancel, which happened

almost every week. It made hitting my direct hours difficult last semester, however, I was able to

plan better during my internship two-semester and had a relatively stress-free time gaining the

required direct hours. I made sure to have more clients than I needed to help make up for the

inevitable cancellations that came up and I was flexible in my schedule to accommodate times

that clients needed.

 Looking back at the learning goals that I have had this past year, I have grown

tremendously from where I started in practicum. I stated in previous semesters that I wanted to

continue to learn and refine my ability to write case conceptualizations, become better at

utilizing silence with clients, continue working on note-taking, work on asking the right

questions, and of course work towards feeling more confident and comfortable with clients. Of

course, I have much more to learn and I know I will continue to improve on all of those skills.

There have been plenty of opportunities to practice case conceptualizations during class work

and creating SOAP notes for case presentations. Conceptualizations still take some time to

prepare, but I get through them quicker than I used to. It was helpful to go into

conceptualizations in more detail during group supervision this semester, as well as discussing

case conceptualizations during individual supervision at my site.

I feel much more comfortable using silence and letting my clients speak first. It still

depends on the client on how I feel using silence because there were clients that I felt more

comfortable with. I enjoyed using silence more with the quieter clients as it gave them that

chance to speak up and fill the silence instead of me speaking up because I was uncomfortable. I

am more confident with my note-taking skills and with the questions I ask, as they have both

gotten more precise. I will continue to be mindful of paraphrasing and reflecting in between

questions but I received positive feedback in supervision on my ability to reflect and paraphrase

during sessions. I do need to continue to improve with clients who are more resistant. I learned

how to take more of a reality therapy approach with resistant clients which was helpful.

I am eager to continue working on prepping for sessions and using the conceptualizations

I create to help formulate my treatment plans for clients. I mentioned imposter syndrome in my

last self-evaluation paper, and that is still an issue for me. My confidence is also something I
should continue working on, which includes planning for client sessions. It is not easy being a

counselor in training and wishing I knew the answer to things that I have struggled with. It has

meant more research and questions on my part, but I know that is normal for where I am as a

counselor. I know that I have improved from where I started and that will continue to be the

trend, as long as I continue working hard and staying focused on my goals.

My key areas of strength continue to be recording for supervision and receiving feedback,

even if the feedback was not always positive. Other strengths include honing some of the skills

we have been learning since the basic and advanced skills courses such as OARS, and new ones

that I have learned such as tracking behaviors, helping clients problem solve, challenging, and

even double-sided reflections. Challenging clients is one that is a strength for me with certain

clients and still an area of growth for me with others. I received positive feedback on my ability

to affirm, reflect, and paraphrase with clients. Mainly working with children also helped with my

ability to accurately track, limit set, and find meaning in play themes. Problem-solving was a big

area of focus when working with younger kids as well. Autonomy and independence are

important for kids to learn and I did my best to foster an environment where that was possible for

my clients.

My learning goals will remain similar as I continue forward in my journey of becoming a

licensed counselor. My time in my internship may be over, but I will continue to work on all the

skills I have learned up to this point, while also learning new skills. I want to work on asking

better open questions and balancing out my reflections and paraphrases with my open questions.

I look forward to learning new skills and interventions that will help me become a better

counselor. Challenging and confronting clients is a big skill I want to continue to improve

because challenging correctly can be beneficial in helping some clients move forward and gain
better insight into their experiences and perceptions of situations. I want to remember the

importance of self-care as well and always make sure to take the needed time for myself.