Alicia
Stone has a crown tattooed on her finger.
It’s serves as a reminder that she, as young woman and aspiring
professional, deserves to be treated well.
Alicia,
a student in the Master’s in Clinical Psychology Program at St. Michael’s
College, has been interning under the supervision of Matt Sadowsky, Director of
Laraway’s Clinical Program. She earned
an undergraduate degree from Johnson State College in 2010 and spent several
summers working as a behavioral interventionist at Laraway. She’s worked with a variety of age groups,
but found a special affinity in working with kids.
Alicia
experienced some losses in her adolescence.
“I had some bad experiences with therapists when I was a teenager,”
Alicia said. “I want these kids to know that,
whatever they’re facing, you CAN get to the other side. Adolescents are a vulnerable population,
between childhood and adulthood. Rebellion
is part of the process.”
Alicia’s
office is bright and cheerful with an image of a large, red heart on the wall. There’s a stuffed animal---a brown bear---on
her bookshelf and plenty of small manipulative toys to keep youthful hands busy
while encouraging free-flowing, spontaneous chatter.
When
kids show up for therapy appointments, she may experience a variety of youthful
emotions. Some arrive ready to chat
while engaging her in a game of Pokemon or a romp outside on Laraway’s 39-acre
campus. Others might be quiet, even
sullen because of something that happened.
That’s when she gives them space.
“You’re
there for them, to hold their emotion,” she said. “They don’t always like to let others in to
help.” This is when she might simply let
them know she’s there if they want to talk.
Just being there, as a stable, supportive adult, can be helpful.
Asked
what she likes about interning at Laraway, Alicia smiled and said, “Every day
is different. Sometimes kids use you as
a punching bag and, then, later, they’ll send some small message---a word or
gesture---to let you know your relationship is still intact.”
Alicia
recognizes that therapists must carefully guard against vicarious
trauma---becoming negatively impacted by the trauma experienced by their
clients. She takes time for self-care
via yoga and a guided meditation app on her phone. She sees value in her 30-minute commute to
and from Laraway each day. Her cats,
Bolt, Callie and G (short for Giovanna) offer unconditional love.
“Everyone
should have some sense of unconditional love in their life,” Alicia said.
Alicia’s
8-month clinical internship ends of June 5th and she’ll soon have a
Master’s Degree in hand. She’s
thoughtfully planning “Termination”—the process of saying goodbye to clients
and ending the therapeutic relationship.
Progress, growth and strengths are shared in conversation. There’s also
a termination activity, planned with the client, to mark the passage.
“You
have to make an ending a positive experience,” Alicia said.
Reflecting
on her experience at Laraway, Alicia said, “I highly respect Matt Sadowsky and
strive to achieve the blend of both private and public sector work that he role
models. He’s been a really great supervisor.
Actually, Matt and Mag (Sladyk-Benoit) have both offered me great
insights when I’ve had questions.”
“Interns
like Alicia are the very reason we created Laraway’s Internship Program,” said
Matt Sadowsky. “She is bright, fun, and
really interested in learning this craft.
Best of all, the youth that she worked with got to learn from her as she
got to learn from them. That’s one of
the benefits of doing this work---we all get to be life-long learners.”
We
will miss Alicia and wish her well. Her
immediate plans are to study for the EPPP for Licensure and acquire full-time
employment, working with kids, of course.
What
have the kids at Laraway taught Alicia?
“PATIENCE,”
she say, flashing her broad, beautiful smile.
Thank
you, Alicia, for showing Laraway’s kids that they, too, deserve to be treated
well.
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