Internship at Wraparound

Maryland Inc.,
Jalesa Hull
AHS 8100
 Chapter 1: Getting Started
Thoughts/Concerns
Will I learn what I need to Feelings
Will I be able to balance Nervous
Strengths Weaknesses
work/school/life
Is this a good placement Anxious
Strong Lack of
for me communicator experience in the
Will I gain the experience Excited field
that I want Quick learner No prior
Happy knowledge of
agency
Stressed
Work well Overthinking/ 2nd
independently guessing
Works well in a
group

" The past is your lesson the present is your gift the future is your motivation.
Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted
Wraparound MD
values/ mission

Understanding CARE
at New Transition & Introduced to Shared
Mental Health Case Village (electronic
Management health record)
(MHCM)

Wraparound MD
Policy/ Procedure relationship with
and training Community
Partnerships
Chapter 3: Developing Ethical Competence

No ethical dilemmas or issues during Internship

No ethical dilemmas occurred with staff or clients that
Intern could observe.
 Chapter 4: Learning to Learn from
Experience
The Integrative Processing Model (IPM).
Step one: gathering objective data from the concrete experience
Walking into the house visit I observe the mother and her four young children talking, eating and running around. There
seems to be no order to the house or very little for the children. There are toys, cups, and a number of other items
scatters about the floor and around the room. As we sit to begin the visit the children are walking around eating hotdogs
with no buns, brownies and candy. The mother has five children and the oldest of the five comes home while we are
conducting the visit. All the children are clean and well kept as well as the mother but the house is unorganized.
Step Two: reflecting
I realize during this visit I did not say much, I mostly observed but I recall thinking that the mother had very little control
or order. The youngest of the children was a one year old and she was walking around with just a diaper and a shirt. I
recall her pick up a hotdog off the floor and eating it, my first reaction was to stop her. One because it was dirty and two
because a full hotdog is a choking risk to a child that young. However, I did not act and simply observed to see if the
mother or the older siblings would stop her, but no one did.
Step Three: identifying relevant theory and knowledge
With my understanding of social constraints and social isolation I feel that the mother is overwhelmed with her
responsibilities and therefore finds it easier to have a more lacked approach to her children's behavior. Her spouse
works most of the day and gets home late and she does not work at all. This puts all her financial well-being dependent
on him and his income. The size of the family, seven in total, is a lot to balance on a one person income and there for I
feel it contributes to the lack of control and order that the parents put on the children.
Chapter 4 Cont.
Step Four: examining dissonance
I experienced dissonance quite a bit during this visit, mostly on a personal level. Even though the mother seemed
loving and cared for her children I felt conflicted by the way she let them eat whatever they wanted and the
disorder. Being a mother myself watching the youngest child eat the hotdog off the floor and no one stopping her
was very hard for me. Considering I have a young child myself and won't allow him to do such things. I spoke with
the Coordinator after about my concerns and she said that it's always like that when she visits that client and she
too deals with issues of the disorganization and the lack of control. I realize in that moment that, "sometimes,
rather than reconciling dissonance, you must simply learn to accept it and operate within it" (Kiser, 2016 p.124).
Step Five: articulating learning
Through this experience I learned how difficult it can be entering someone's home and trying to complete your
task affectively. I also learned that it can be difficult to separate your personal feelings and morals when dealing
with clients especially with children involved. However, speaking with the Program Coordinator that I was
observing I feel that it is normal to deal with such inner conflicts and it's just learning to balance your personal
feelings and your professional status.
Step Six: developing a plan
I was only at the visit to observe and was not an active member in the discussions but I did interact with the
clients, which were the children. It maybe helpful the next time if the meeting takes place at the office instead of
at the clients home. This would eliminate the distractions of the surroundings and give the children less familiar
space to roam and prevent them from stopping their mother and the staff from covering essential material. If an
office visit was not possible it maybe helpful to meet with the mother when the older children are in school so
that would only leave the two younger ones. If this wasn't possible either then possibly if I accompany her again I
could occupy the children with a task while the Program Coordinator covers the material with their mother or vice
versa. This way the children would be occupied and the necessary information could be covered with less
interruption.
 Chapter 5: Using Supervision
Supervisor is:
Understanding of needs
Calm and patient
Supportive of goals and desires
Gives feedback and positive criticism

Supervision:
Both one-on-one & group
Group with whole staff
Group with just interns
 Chapter 6: Communicating in Your
Internship
Opportunity to work with:
Individuals & families
The family as well as the client (individual) is the main focus of the organization
One-on-one call backs to parent's of current and potential clients
Sat in on two different family/team meetings and debriefed with the Care Coordinator Supervisor about those interactions.
Would like more opportunity to work with:
Groups & communities.
Attend an open house/ ribbon cutting ceremony for a new homeless shelter that was opening in the area and many other
organizations and people were in attendance
Interacted and mingled with people who work with and are in the community and those that work directly with the homeless
population.
Communication Skills
Strong communicator
Easily transition between an individual interaction to a group or any of the four levels of intervention.
 Chapter 7: Developing Cultural
Competence
Haven't had to encounter clients with cultural differences that
often.
Encountered a mixed cultured family on a home visit (Hispanic & Caucasian)
Observed an Hispanic family come into the office

My own culture-Black American Female

Black American Female feels normal in my internship
Majority of staff members are Black American females as well
Did gained insight to my social location.
Differs from some of the clients

Greatest cultural challenges

Language barriers (hasn't come up in the internship for me) but I've experienced
it at other jobs and situations.
 Chapter 8: Writing and Reporting within
your Field Agency
Documents I worked on
Updates to website and brochure
Donation letters to community partners
Updates to orientation manual and policies and procedures
Update consumer satisfaction survey
Create open house flyer for new location
 Chapter 9: Taking Care of Yourself
Stress
both professional and personal life
-Pressure to get everything done.
-Balancing my time at my internship site as well
as my full time job
-my personal life and keeping track of childcare
needs
-Finding time for myself.
Reduce Stress
-Focus on the end gain and not the totality of the task at hand.
-Helps me manage the stress, so I don't over think on the
number of things I have to get done
- Talk to my sister or best friend
- Helps me to put things into perspective and calm me down
when I feel anxious or worried.
-Avoid Pitfalls
-Over thinking and spinning out
-Catch myself focusing to heavily on the problems instead of the
solutions

I have a young son and I know that he needs my attention and affection and I do not want to
limit the quality time I spend with him.
Taking time out to watch a good movie, go to the gym, spend time with friends and family or
just take a long relaxing shower are just as important as getting my work done.
Chapter 10: Ending your Internship

Feelings
Relieved that it's almost over
Uncertain, not sure what my next move is or if I will land the job that I want
Appreciation
I learned a lot and got to experience a very close knit agency that works with the population I'm interested in
working with.
The time that my site supervisor dedicated to me and the things she allowed me to experience
Regrets
Didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked.
The times when I felt there wasn't much for me to do or that I was just finding any task to occupy my time.
Wants & Needs
To continue receiving hands on experience and be in an environment that encourages learning and growth
Chapter 11: Planning your Career
Short term goal:
Obtain a job in the HS field, and actively use my new degree within six months of graduation.

Long term goal:

Obtained a job at an agency that works with children or families and be a Program Coordinator
Move out of the area that I current reside in for better opportunities and a better chance for
advancement in the field.
Steps to accomplish goals:
Gaining "real world" experience. Come back to volunteer/intern even after this semester is over to
gain more experience.
Hands on training and being in the environment is the best way to learn for me
Even if 1st job in the HS field isn't in an administrative role I will accept it because getting a foot in
the door and gaining that experience is the most important thing to me.
Getting started is the hardest part, and once I've accomplished that I feel that the next level can and
will be obtained.
The End