A guest post by Maddie Lynnworth about her PSY 300 internship

For the first part of the Spring 2020 semester, I was an intern at Holistic Healing Services and Wellness Center in Saco, Maine.  My internship was exactly what I was looking for, in that I was able to tap into and explore the parts of myself that I know will be the most useful for healing others someday.  My internship required empathy and compassion, as well as a curiosity and genuine love for the work done. Beyond just counseling, this facility employs counselors that are versed in massage, reiki, essential oils, meditation, conscious touch and movement medicine, and more.  This provided me a unique opportunity to learn about many different modalities and how they directly relate to counseling and psychology all in one place.  I was gifted with the opportunity to engage with clients and staff in a setting focused on finding and keeping your breath, and I often left feeling more peaceful than when I arrived. 

This was among the most valuable things of my internship.  To have peace in one’s work is one of my greatest dreams, and it is so exciting to see that in action.  I think this internship has given me hope and empowered me in pursuing my goals with healing, because it has reinforced how creative one can be in their approach.  The exposure I got to so many different modalities will allow me to streamline my later education, as I will have more information on what each of those approaches are actually like in practice.  The welcoming and nurturing environment of this internship was indispensable.  I felt as though my interests, questions, and learning were of real importance, and my supervisor did a fantastic job of making me feel not only included, but wanted.  

This internship greatly affected the way I would like to approach my own journey.  In getting exposure to so many different treatment options, I will invariably favor some over others, which may have taken me years to learn outside of this internship.  It also gave me hands on experience with a counseling/clinical setting, and will help me solidify if that is the direction I want to pursue in the future.  In more hands-on experiences, I am learning what techniques, approaches, and perspectives I identify with, which will help guide the way I interact with my own clients someday.  This internship gave me the opportunity to learn about nearly every facet of what it is to be a clinician, which will inform me greatly on the way I choose to shape my future. 

 I see reflections of various classes sprinkled through my internship.  Concepts learned about, sociology and community psychology, as well as specific approaches like Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Humanistic psychology are all quite prevalent at this facility.  I had the opportunity to draft treatment plans based on learning goals, and saw concepts and approaches I have learned about CBT in class in practice there. Through becoming familiar with how my strengths and weaknesses will impact my goals, as well as how I will measure and hold myself accountable, I was able to see how well CBT really works. I watched its procedures make me aware of how to challenge my own beliefs and reframe limiting thoughts.  This internship validates much of what I have spent years studying.

Our thanks to Maddie for sharing her experience with us. All Psychology majors complete at least one internship, PSY 300, as part of their degree and work closely with a faculty supervisor as part of the experience. To learn more about Psychology at UNE, and our internship experiences, please visit: https://www.une.edu/cas/psych