Bringing it all together

As I presently stand I have been lucky enough to have completed over 700 hours in schools as part of my first and second year practicum. That number is staggering to me and it doesn't include the hours I'll complete between now and June. I feel so lucky to have accumulated so many hours, resources and experiences during my time at my placements. The other day I was working on my resume update for my portfolio and I thought back on all of the experiences I have had so far. I soon recognized the immense amount of knowledge I have gained since entering my program. I don't know how its possible to have accumulated so much in such a short amount of time but I have. However, in reflecting on it, it all seems so disjointed and hard to apply to what I have been doing so far...until this week.

Today I presented at meeting that helped shed light on the integration of my experiences and my classroom based learning/readings. It was a student I had done a significant amount of testing on, which tends to happen at my site (yay for having resources!), and I found myself struggling trying to bring it all together in the report. I wrote what I thought was going on and sent it off to my supervisor for a look. We met to discuss and  analyzed my findings. We then asked for the academic testing to do a discrepancy analysis. After seeing the student's performance on pseudoword decoding, the picture we had begun to paint finally made sense. We had a kid with difficulties of rapid naming, a very poor working memory, and very weak phonological awareness/decoding skills..the hallmarks of dyslexia.

I finally had a case that was not ADHD but something that required me to use all that I had learned so far in my training. It felt so satisfying to have a resource to refresh my memory/knowledge (Overcoming Dyslexia by Shaywitz) and inform my meeting presentation. I had my main points, I stuck to them (very atypical for me, especially when I'm nervous), and sounded somewhat articulate. I got compliments from colleaguees/supervisors. It felt amazing.

This was the first case that brought the big picture together. All those details I learned last year that were buried deep inside my memory informed our decision. So, my advice to students who feel overwhelmed by the disjointed-ness that can be graduate school...have no fear! You too will have a case that pulls it altogether for you and man does it feel satisfying. Be patient young grasshoppers :)

Until next thyme, 

Erika

Balance

I am writing this post as I sit in my office pretending to be busy. I know, I know. I shouldn’t be pretending to be busy at this point in the semester and at this point in my career. However, rest assured it happens. Within the past two weeks I have finished up two reports (neither of which I get to present in a meeting) and my counseling cases are well underway. I have already mentioned that I would like additional evaluations to work on, so the ball is not so much in my hands right now. I’ve put it out there that I want more, so what’s a girl to do? I figure I should be counting my blessings that with the end of the semester drawing closer, my commitments to my placement are much less than some of my cohort. So…that’s exactly what I am going to do.

Balance. I grew up as a gymnast and it was my ‘dream’ to be Dominique Mouceanu. I was going to the Olympics. I even applied to be on the game show Figure it Out as an ‘expert gymnast’ listed as my hidden talent. Alas, I had trouble recognizing the fact that being able to do a mere cartwheel or round-off qualified one as an ‘expert gymnast.’ Balance on the beam was a strong suit, even though I hated that event. As I have gotten older, my physical balance has its moments of going on vacation. I tend to be quite klutzy given my lanky stature. Overall, my physical balance is not what holds me back. Instead it is the mental balancing act I perform on a daily basis.

I have the hardest time juggling many of the responsibilities I have. That’s why I am attempting to soak it all in while I have the chance (without appearing bored or lost, that is). Allowing myself to breathe is a tough one and I’m sure many other mental health professionals and graduate students feel similarly. I really do try and find times to practice self-care, but man is it hard to do. How effective can it be if you have to schedule it in to your planner? In my practicum seminar we have been keeping a record of pleasant events in order to boost our sense of positive energy and mindfulness. I have a hard time with this and often forget to even fill the chart out let alone do any activities! My self-care used to be blogging and cooking, but over the past year its become increasingly more difficult. I really do need clones in order to do what I’d like to do. For example, I have plenty of homework and catching up to do tonight (stuff I avoided all weekend) but I am going try and attend a professional development training at my practicum this evening. In a nutshell this means going home after ‘school’ and then coming right back here within an hour of getting home. What are the chances of me not melting into my bed? Who wants in on the pool?

While this post was an attempt to look busy, I have taken a few minutes out of my day to be more mindful of my own needs. I didn’t know what I was going to write when I sat down. Someone this post developed and it reminded me to take more time out for myself. I need to start cooking/baking/blogging more frequently. It allows me to take a few moments/hours out of my day and do something to reflect on all the goings-on in my life. So I propose: a November resolution. I will do one of the following on a weekly basis (1) write a blog post or (2) cook/bake something delicious. Rather than set myself up for failure I will set a more realistic goal of one item per week. In true school psychologist fashion, I will be able to graph my progress based on blog posts/meals devoured. I may also decide to throw a rating scale in just for fun ;).

Here’s to success!

Until next thyme,

Erika

Post-script: I finally had something to do (a counseling session) and the student wanted nothing to do with me or our time together (he also doesn’t need to be there but that’s another story). It was like pulling teeth to make conversation. To top that off, he had an audience of my supervisor on one side of the bookcase wall and the third year intern on the other. Couldn’t they at least have listened in on a decent session with a kid who needs me??? Oh the joys of having a ‘psychology suite.’

Post-post-script: I am not/did not attend my professional development tonight. Who won the pool? I did however buy some adorable cupcake liners. Motivation to bake? I think so ;)

Master Erika

So here I am. Three months into starting my second year placement. As of yesterday I can officially call myself a "Master," which means young grasshoppers I hold all knowledge. ..or I WISH I did!

$40,000 piece of paper

MSPP Class of 2013

Yours Truly

In my time this academic year my experiences are vastly different from last year.  I'm gaining a lot more experience in my classes with report writing, social emotional assessment, and counseling work. My practicum supervision is just that: supervision. What's going well? Not so well? Where do you need support and how can you get it? At my placement I am branching out and coming into my own. I feel great about a report I turned in and got positive feedback. Even though my skills are still young, its great to have praise to motivate me to the next level (hint, hint educators).  I am also expanding my cultural repertoire.  I am now in a school in a higher socioeconomic status compared to my first year placement in Boston. I am in a middle school compared to elementary school which is a whole other ball game. Except, I'm starting to really dig this ball game. I'm enjoying what adolescents have to offer me. The conversations. Real life learning opportunities. Discussions about student needs WITH the student, not about the student. Helping students gain more independence.

Speaking of independence, I have an anecdote. Last week I participated in a re-evaluation meeting for an eighth grader. He seems unmotivated to his teachers. Does the bare minimum. Says he has no homework (Yeah, right!). Only cares about football. Testing was pretty average, other than low processing speed. His writing isn't great, but that's most likely due to the reciprocal relationship between his dislike and lack of reading. He feels he doesn't need his learning center time (small group with a special education teacher in addition to regular education classes). So, based on testing and his motivation, the team has decided to cut back on learning center time. This gives him what he wants with the understanding he must prove himself. He is now responsible for his own learning. Sink or swim time. His progress will be monitored and if he isn't up to par, back to learning center he goes. After a conversation with the student and his agreement to this plan, he has now gotten (part of) what he wanted. I'll be interested to see how this one turns out. 

These discussions with students and the hope to help them gain independence is something I love about this year. Getting to understand students on a deeper level is so critical. Its one thing to evaluate a student and assume we know what they need, but its more meaningful to find a way to include them in the process. This is something I hope to work on as I continue to work with these students this year.

Sidenote: If anyone reading this blog is interested in learning more about school psychology as a profession or about MSPP feel free to contact me by leaving a comment and I will be in touch!

Until next thyme,

Erika

Recent Hiatus

I have been a terrible blogger lately. However, I have a very good reason.


Over the past month I have been working hard to complete my first year of graduate school! It has been a one crazy thing after another, especially this month of May. I just finished my last final of the semester and have passed in all my assignments, including two psychoeducational reports and a research study/project. Now its time to buckle down and get ready for my first year comprehensive exam (eek!). This exam will be on all of the material I have learned this year. That's seven sections over the course of four hours to complete. As of tomorrow I have 13 days until D-Day. Within those 13 days I feel like I have a million other things to get done aside from studying, including a poster presentation at Northeastern University for a research project I conducted this past year and finishing up at my placement. 

I plan on updating the blog with both school psychology and cooking adventures in the near future. Stick with me readers as I ride this wave of chaos. 


Until next thyme,
Erika

Grad School

Wow, have I loved being away from classes! It has been so nice to get away from the busy schedule of school, being at my placement, and all other life demands. I have also been putting off school related things for the past month. I NEED to learn/practice a new test for my class (i.e. WISC) and haven't really done that. I have looked through the manual and actually read it (point 1 for Erika), but have not done anything else with it. So, I must must must get my act in gear. Unfortunately, I had to order my textbooks for next semester. Gah, only $400 later! I cannot believe books cost that much. The part I loved about undergrad was getting a discount from working at the bookstore (SMC Bookstore represent!). Either 10% or 20% off was a huge bonus when I had to buy expensive texts. I also loved being able to sell books back. Now, I need to hold onto these books and save them for my future office. Down the line I'm sure I'll appreciate having them, but I do not like them right now. Not one bit.


I have been eyeing some cooking accessories online that I would love to have for some recipes I have seen. To make my life easier I would LOVE a stand mixer. I have so many bread recipes that I want to get going on, but it seems impossible to do it without the beautiful-ness of the KitchenAid Mixer. I also want to try my hands at making ravioli. Parid and I are lobster mac and cheese/ravioli fiends (especially since we're New Englandas)! I would love to learn to make homemade pasta dough, but I am without a nice pasta maker/roller (which would be perfect with a stand mixer!). I know, I know. I can use a rolling pin. However, I am not so great with a rolling pin and want fun new gadgets for the kitchen too. Lastly, a nice cast iron pan. I dream about cooking bacon in a cast iron skillet, adding to the yummy seasoned-ness it has. If only I could inherit one from a southern kitchen(e.g. Paula Deen = butter, bacon, deliciousness, ha!). There are also lots of other pots/pans/cake dishes/tart pans/etc. that I would love to buy. If I only had that $400 in my account to spend ;).

Until next thyme,
Erika