I really like the current rotation I am on a lot. I'm working with a
center that does substance abuse counseling all throughout Philadelphia.
Almost all of my patients have been in jail at some point, and a lot of
them are court ordered. I have three roles: to sit in on group therapy
sessions, to help with recovery planning, and to sit in with the
psychiatrist, as a lot of these patients have concurrent psych diagnoses
besides their substance abuse, such as bipolar and depression. I'm in
some of the worst parts of Philadelphia, working with the population I
am working with, and yet I haven't felt unsafe yet. I mean, I've been
sitting next to murderers and prostitutes and drug dealers and have felt
very safe and welcomed. The program has both inpatient and outpatient
facilities, and I work at both.
Group therapy is amazing. Most of the time the counselor leading the group doesn't have to do much, just redirect if the conversation starts getting really off topic. The more motivated clients are really good at helping provide advice on how to recognize and avoid triggers, how to work on restoring past relationships, and helping the newer clients overcome their addictions. The stories you here are incredible. It's no wonder some of the ended up with the current struggles they have now...stories of being thrown in a trash can while an infant, being raped at young ages, suffering through incredible physical abuse. It's heartbreaking. These people are incredibly vulnerable with one another, and do a great job at keeping one another accountable. I think they reach levels of accountability and vulnerability that Jesus commands the church to have, yet I haven't been able to see yet. You can easily tell the ones who want to be there, and the ones that are court ordered. Yet the counselors say group therapy sessions really help the ones who aren't motivated. Although they come in unwilling to participate, being able to listen to people who have been where they have been is way more helpful than listening to the "educated, working class, (mostly) white people" in authority and leading groups. It's been a very encouraging experience overall.
Group therapy is amazing. Most of the time the counselor leading the group doesn't have to do much, just redirect if the conversation starts getting really off topic. The more motivated clients are really good at helping provide advice on how to recognize and avoid triggers, how to work on restoring past relationships, and helping the newer clients overcome their addictions. The stories you here are incredible. It's no wonder some of the ended up with the current struggles they have now...stories of being thrown in a trash can while an infant, being raped at young ages, suffering through incredible physical abuse. It's heartbreaking. These people are incredibly vulnerable with one another, and do a great job at keeping one another accountable. I think they reach levels of accountability and vulnerability that Jesus commands the church to have, yet I haven't been able to see yet. You can easily tell the ones who want to be there, and the ones that are court ordered. Yet the counselors say group therapy sessions really help the ones who aren't motivated. Although they come in unwilling to participate, being able to listen to people who have been where they have been is way more helpful than listening to the "educated, working class, (mostly) white people" in authority and leading groups. It's been a very encouraging experience overall.
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