Category: Uncategorized

A guest post by Aaron Tyler about his PSY 300 internship

My name is Aaron Tyler, and I am a fourth-year Psychology major at the UNE Biddeford campus. I spent the first three years of my undergrad as a Neuroscience major, but felt a change was necessary for myself.  For my psychology (PSY 300) internship in the Fall 2019 semester, I found an internship opportunity through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). As an intern for the State of Maine, in the Office of Child and Family Services, I have had more educational experiences than I have ever had in a classroom. I was an intern for a Behavioral Health Program Coordinator that covers Cumberland and York counties. In short, we spent time discussing youth with behavioral and developmental problems, that are in treatment, or that would benefit from it. We met with service providers in this area, and discussed the youth they care for, and any that we had in mind that would potentially benefit from their specific treatment styles. Our department works with various facilities such as hospital emergency department, residential treatment facilities, and even in home skill-building therapies. The main duty is to help the youth get the proper treatment they need, in a setting that best fits them.

While there are many valuable things that I have acquired over the course of my internship, I feel the most important, was that it helped develop direction for my career path. Before now, I didn’t know if I wanted to work with children or adults, and I think that I have felt fulfilled and satisfied working with children. To help someone that is otherwise unable to help themselves, is one of the most gratifying feelings you can experience as a person.

The things that I have learned in classes could not prepare me for the real world experiences that I have had. From traumatizing, to unforgettably positive, there are some extreme circumstances that I would have only thought I’d ever see in movies.

I have truly had a great experience at my internship, and have learned valuables lessons that I will never forget.

Our thanks to Aaron 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

A guest post by Fayla Sutton about her PSY 300 internship

During the Fall 2019 semester, I completed my internship at Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center. Seeds of Hope is located in downtown Biddeford and offers support to people who struggle with poverty. They offer a complimentary continental breakfast and soup all day. They have free clothing donations for people to take when they come in, and a career center where we help people look for jobs and apartments.

As an intern, I gave presentations on public health topics, like vaping and immunizations. I also assisted with the management and organization of new donations, making sure the food was stocked and clean, and cleaning the center. I did a lot of work in the career center where I helped people find jobs, apply for food stamps, look for apartments, and navigate government assistance websites. This semester I also helped administer homelessness surveys, where we sit down and interviewed people who are/have been homeless in hopes of better understanding the barriers they face in finding supports, and ways in which the city of Biddeford and Seeds of Hope can assist the community.

Interning at Seeds of Hope was intimidating at first. There were a lot of people to remember, a new culture to take in, and just general nervousness being exposed to so many new people. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone by being immersed in a new culture. Seeds of Hope is often very high energy and personal connections become very important and strong.  I was surprised how easily and quickly some of the neighbors (this is what we call our patrons) opened up. My world view also shifted, because we were required to deliver compassionate care to anyone who comes into Seeds, no matter who it is. This made me realize that you can care about and value people outside of their beliefs and the decisions they make/have made. Learning the culture and becoming part of the community was an amazing experience that I appreciate.

I am interested in community non-profit work and community psychology, so this internship provided me with a lot of really great experience. I got the opportunity to understand the way a lot of government assistance programs work together, and the challenges of trying to apply for and maintain them. I am got a lot of experience offering an empathetic ear to anyone who might need one. One of my favorite parts of my internship was that it offered me the opportunity to meet and connect with people I would not otherwise have been exposed to. I also think it was a really important tool in accepting that people’s worth and character is not dictated by their education level, living situation, or their background. Seeds has made me realize that there may be a lot more populations that I am interested in working with than I initially thought; it has pushed me to widen my scope when looking at jobs for next year.

One thing this internship has made apparent to me is how interconnected a lot of the concepts we learn in class are in the real world. I have seen a lot of overlap of concepts within individual neighbors including things like recidivism, substance abuse/dependence, mental illness, and co-morbidity. I am also confronted daily with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is hard, from what I have seen, for people to get help or be concerned with mental illness when they don’t have a roof over their heads or know where their next meal is coming from. On the flip side, I have been exposed to vast amounts of resilience and strength. It is amazing to see the things people have had to go through and that they can still maintain a positive outlook on things.  Being in a real-life setting made a lot of the concepts much more tangible and easier to understand as well as connect them to one another. 

Our thanks to Fayla 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

A guest post by Daria Casazza about her PSY 300 internship

My name is Daria Casazza and I am a senior Health Wellness Occupational Studies and Psychology dual major. Upon graduating, I plan to attend graduate school to obtain a doctorate in occupational therapy. I hope to eventually work in a psychiatric hospital as an occupational therapist.

During the Fall 2019 semester, I interned with a psychologist that provides neuropsychological testing to individuals of all ages. The office is small and there are only three other people who work in the office. I participate in a number of duties at the neuropsych office. I observed how to give neuropsychological tests such as the WIAT, WAIS, Rorschach InkBlot Test, and different kinds of achievement evaluations and memory evaluations. In addition, I also made educational brochures for display. I made three brochures on sleep. One for children, adolescence, older adults. I was also tasked with entering referrals into the computer. In addition, I also helped train other workers at the office by being the “test subject” for evaluations. I have participated in memory and intelligence evaluations. I had the opportunity to have an EEG performed on me. That was super interesting and fun! The people at the office are are extremely kind and embraced me into their practice. The office, for the most part, is a stress free environment. It is extremely easy to learn and absorb all the new elements.

There are many aspects of this internship that I found valuable. Everyday that I was there I learned a new skill or lesson. I made connections with health care providers. I developed better communication and leadership skills as well. I also deepened my knowledge in the psychology field. I learned a lot of office work as well. Although that information can be dry, it is also super valuable. I began to memorize different insurances and the differences between private or government insurance. I entered a lot of data into the computer and I became skilled in office work. In addition, I gained communication skills. I chatted everyday with individuals who had developmental delays. I became better at listening and expressing patience with these individuals.

This internship will help me in my career because I am learning patience. I think that patience is an extremely good skill to have. As an occupational therapist I am going to have to be patient. In class, we talked about memory and attention. This internship reinforces these concepts. I can see what happens when an individual’s memory is not working properly or when individuals cannot pay attention to certain the evaluations. I am beyond happy to have been given this opportunity to work with a neuropsychologist. I cannot wait to see what I learn by the end of the year and see how much I can grow as an individual.

Our thanks to Daria 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