Today was my first day at Compass House. It was only training so I didn’t really get to meet with any of the client. We went over the policies and took a tour of the house. There was only one client that night and we got to meet him on the tour. Overall, I’m really looking forward to starting and getting to meet with the clients.
1/17/2012 . 7:00pm- 11:00pm
Today was my first real day at Compass House. Every Tuesday they have a “Peace Jam” session where the two women in charge of the program come in and talk to the kids about conflict resolution and how to handle problems in a positive non-violent manner. Since there were a few other new interns and volunteers there they held a short seminar for us to get to know about the program and talk about some things we thought might be difficult while working at CH. We got some good advice from them and each other on how to establish boundaries, not just for the kids but for ourselves as well. They said that we should remember that we’re not there to be their friends, and we don’t always have to please them which I found helpful.
After the Peace Jam session we had dinner, during which one of the boys was giving another staff member a hard time about eating. This particular boy had been disruptive earlier in my shift and interrupted the other kids there while anyone was speaking. He also had a hard time staying in his seat and made another one of the new interns uncomfortable by getting close to her and touching her repeatedly on the shoulder. I wasn’t able to read his case file so I didn’t know why he was there or if he had any type of disorders like ADHD, CD or ODD. Eventually he called his mother and left that night during dinner after his confrontation with the staff member.
After dinner ended we cleaned up and the two other staff members and I watched a movie with the two girls who were there for the night. It was a pretty uneventful night, and lights-out was implemented without a hitch.
1/18/2012 11:00am- 3:00pm
My shift today was a little slow since most of the clients were at school. Once I came in, I was able to read the case files for the clients who were currently staying there. I’m glad I got that opportunity because I was able to learn why they were there and what their backgrounds were. One more client had come in earlier in the day so in addition to the two girls, a boy was also staying there today. One girl (we’ll call her Stacie) she's 13 had stayed at CH opposed to going to school like the other two because she was suspended. It was a pretty laid back day. We watched a movie, had lunch and after lunch Stacie had decided that she wants to learn Spanish so I looked around the house with her to help her find a book. She also showed me a book she was making, it was kind of like a journal but it was more like a scrapbook where she put magazine clippings that she thought were cool or inspirational. She put other personal things in the book and although she didn’t let me read everything, I was glad that she felt comfortable enough to share a little bit with me. She said she was going home to her legal guardian either today or tomorrow so I won’t see her next week, so I wished her good luck with everything before I left. I had to leave before any of the other kids came home from school so I didn’t get to meet with them.
1/24/2012 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Today was very different from my first week at Compass House. There were a lot more kids there today opposed to last week. There were about 8. Four girls and four boys. Stacie was still there to my surprise. I thought that she was going to go home last week but she was still here this week, I never really got the chance to talk to her about it but she seemed to be having a hard time. The new kids that were there didn't really get along with Stacie* and one of the other girls, Taylor* who was her friend last week had kind of started to ignore her because the other kids didn't think she was cool. The biggest issue was that one of the boys, *Max had started flirting with Taylor and the attention she was getting from him was exciting for her so she stopped talking to Stacie. She was pretty upset about it and expressed that by not talking to the other kids, and just pouting on the couch. I talked to her about it for a little bit and she was understanding when the staff gave her tips on how to handle the situation, but I could tell she just felt out of place. I ended up driving her to a dance class that she had really wanted to go to and she was really grateful to be able to get out of the house for a little bit. After picking her up Peace Jam was there and we were doing an activity that involved pairing up with another person and talking to them, Stacie was not pleased and proceeded to just sit on the couch and not participate. The other kids weren't really coopering with either though. After Peace Jam I had to leave so I said goodbye to everyone and told them I would see all of them tomorrow.
1/25/2012 11:00-3:00
When I got to Compass House today the kids weren't there because they were doing a group therapy session at the resource center. Once they did get home though, some of the kids got in trouble because they weren't supposed to make any stops and some of them had stopped at the corner store to get candy. Stacie was the one who told the staff that the other kids stopped somewhere, only because she had been put on the spot. Unfortunately since she told the truth, the other kids got mad at her and continued to ignore her and make side comments. Before lunch we had two intakes and I got to sit in on one of them, which I was really happy to be able to participate in. The two intakes were very different, one girl is younger and had been in a psych hospital most of her life. She is 9 and doesn't know how to read. She had gotten into a fight with her grandmother and while there were no signs of abuse she claimed that her grandmother had threatened to throw something at her. The other girl was 17 and pregnant, her mother was threatening to kick her out. Lunch was being served before we could finish the intakes so I never got to hear her full story. Overall it was an eventful day, I got to learn a lot.
2/1/2012 7:00pm- 11:00pm
Today, there was even more kids than last week. Some were the same, some were new. One of the new kids *Kyle couldn't speak English so it was a little difficult, I wasn't really sure how to talk to him. He was pretty quiet though, and one of the other kids knew a little bit of Spanish. Stacie was still there and was doing better, I'm still not sure when she is supposed to leave or what the status is on that. Peace Jam was there when I got in but they were just about wrapping up. Max had gotten in trouble earlier that day for not coming home from school right away, so he was in a bad mood for the rest of the evening. He didn't really speak to anyone and sat on the couch for most of the night. Another girl *Hannah who had been taken in earlier that day had a particularly interesting case, she is 16 from Clarence and had run away from home because her Dad found her cell phone and she was scared that he wouldn't like what he saw in it. When the father was contacted he admitted that she should be scared to come home, and knew that was why she ran away. She also has a 24 year old boyfriend who she was trying to contact all day, and had lost phone privileges because she spent too much time on the phone. Another girl *Kayla is 17 and seemed very mature for her age. She knew what she wanted to do when she got out of high school and was very determined to reach her goals. I felt kind of weird trying to be a mentor figure for her because we are so close in age in addition to her maturity I felt we were more like peers. I wish I could have gotten to know the kids better today, but it was pretty uneventful and after dinner we just watched a movie and by 10:30 they were all in bed.
2/7/2012 4:00-8:00pm
Today’s shift was a little rough. Stacie is still a client at compass house and was still having trouble with the other clients. She’s been at CH for about a month now so it’s starting to be time for her to either go back home or try to figure something else out. There weren’t many clients at the house tonight, Hannah is still there and there was one new boy named Matt* and a new girl named Cassie* Stacie wanted to go to her dance class tonight instead of participate in Peace Jam, so I offered to drive her there. Unfortunately she couldn’t participate because she didn’t have the right shoes. Upon coming back to CH, she was not looking forward to Peace Jam at all, and was not cooperative. I think it was due to something she had heard earlier from one of the Staff, who said that no one really likes Peace Jam. The other clients tried to make the best of it, but Stacie’s attitude definitely had an effect on everyone else. This made me realize that even little things that are said can have a huge impact on a kid. They are extremely impressionable and if they hear from even one person that something isn’t “cool”, it could ruin their entire perception of something. Of course not all teens are like this, but Hannah being one of the youngest was definitely the most affected by the staff member’s side comment.
2/8/2012Today was a pretty good day. The inner city kids get one half day a month, and today was their half day. Stacie and Cassie were home from school and the other kids were at the resource center. Cassie wasn’t allowed to go anywhere because she is only home from school due to suspension, and CH says that clients cannot leave the house while school is in session if they are not attending school. The only place they can go is the resource center. Once I got there, that’s where they wanted to go, so I walked with them to the resource center. We got there and Cassie met with her case manager and looked at some books while Hannah tried to contact her social worker to try and see when she would be going home or put in foster care. She couldn’t stay much longer at CH or someone would have to start paying for it. After getting off the phone with her social worker, she talked to the director about wanted to try out for the swim team at school and needing a bathing suit for it. She said she had the money to go shopping, so another staff member and I took her shopping. This was an interesting experience, and it turned out she didn’t have enough money but I spotted her the rest of the money. She was really grateful that I had gone shopping with her. The staff member who drove us to the store was a male so he was also grateful that I was there to help her pick out swim suits.
2/14/2012 4:00-8:00pmToday was a really busy day at CH. There were a lot of kids there, some new and some old. Stacie was still there. When I saw her I asked her how swim try-outs went and she told me that she couldn’t try out because she had a certain number of write-ups. She seemed ok with it, but I have a feeling she was probably really mad about it at the time. She seemed to be getting along better with the other kids. It probably helped that the kids were older and more mature than the previous group. One of the new kids named Tony* is 17 and seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders, and seemed to handle adversity pretty well. He is passionate about running and is on the track and cross country team at school. I was helping Stacie with her homework when Peace Jam arrived, and she tried to avoid it as much as possible but I told her that we would make it fun this week, after a little motivation she finally joined the group. This session went much better, since more kids were there and there was a more positive energy since everyone was happily participating.
2/15/2012 11:00-1:00pm
It was really quiet today at CH. Everyone was at school except for Cassie who was at the resource center. Apparently Cassie had cut her wrists last night and when one of the Staff members saw it she broke down and agreed to be evaluated by someone from Horizon health services. They evaluated her over the phone the night before and it turned out she was not honest, and they said she was not a threat to herself or others. The next morning they sent someone out to see her in person. Since none of the kids were there I talked with the staff members for a little bit about the field and learned some interesting things as well as some discouraging things about what happens to homeless teens once they turn 18. It turns out this is especially difficult for boys who are 18 because if you think about it, they’re still kids. Shelters like the Buffalo City Mission take men 18 and up, but from what I heard, it’s not an ideal place to be. After talking I decided to leave since the kids wouldn’t be back till after 3 and that’s when I’m scheduled to be there till.
2/21/12 4:00-8:00pmToday was a little different since everyone is home from school due to February break. After reading the case files of the new clients I found out that Stacie was no longer there. I was happy to find this out since she was going on about a month of being at compass house and the typical stay is about a week. There were four new kids there, Kaitlin*(12) Jerry*(14) Alyssa*(14) and Fred*(16). Peace Jam came early and was half was through when I got there, so I just sat in on the last half hour. This group of kids seemed to work together pretty well and they overall had a good time with Peace Jam. Afterwards a few of the kids wanted to play pool in the basement so another staff member and I took them down to supervise. We played until dinner and after dinner we played card games. It was a pretty uneventful night until Kaitlin had a break down and was talking to one of the counselors about what was bothering her. Unfortunately I didn’t get to find out what happened because by that time I had to leave.
2/22/2012
When I arrived at CH today it was only the girls who were there. They sent the guys to the resource center for a few hours but I was glad that someone was there opposed to last week. We just relaxed for a little bit and watched TV till the boys returned. As they returned a confrontation had broken out in the art room between Kaitlin, Alyssa and Hannah. I’m not sure what happened but Kaitlin was upset about something that they had said. She is a little different but could probably tell that Alyssa and Hannah didn’t really want to hang out with her. One of the staff members took care of it and took Kaitlin in the other room to color and calm down a little bit. After this, I talked to one of the other staff members about Kaitlin’s situation and learned that there is a pretty good chance that she is pregnant. I find this very disturbing as she is only 12 years old and has a mental disability, and chances are she was abused. She told me and the other staff member that she feels like she’s having a baby, that she missed her period, and that he clothes feel tighter. The staff said that they were going to figure it out later. For now, the rest of us went downstairs to play pool till lunch. During pool I asked Alyssa about school since I had read in her case file that she attends the same high school I went to, it was interesting to hear what it’s like now from her perspective. She had a few of the same teacher I had and the principle is still the same. It also turns out that she lives on the same street as one of my good friends. After pool, Alyssa had to meet with her mother and the director, Yvonne. After their meeting she wasn’t happy at all because she had to return home. She didn’t want to go home but she didn’t want to tell us everything that was going on there because she didn’t want her mom and brother to get in trouble which really worried me. She continued to be upset about going home and tried to think of ways to put it off a little longer. She talked to Yvonne for a little bit and before I could find out what happened, I had to leave. Hopefully I’ll find out next week.
2/28/12 & 2/29/12Unfortunately this week I didn’t get a follow up on the residents from last week. This week there were a lot of new people. One thing I have been noticing is the difference in attitudes along with the problems that these kids are facing. They range everywhere from needing time away from confrontational parents to severe abuse. This isn’t to say that one client at compass house has it better or is worse off than another, but it has opened my eyes to the realities that kids face not just in the city but in the suburbs as well. The best part of Compass House, as far as being an intern here is that the clients here are so diverse. They accept everyone for the most part, including children with disabilities. Clients have come from everywhere around Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs and it just shows that a certain socioeconomic status doesn’t guarantee a child a better life.
3/6/2012 & 3/7/2012This week was one of the more relaxing weeks. I played games with the residents and just hung out for the most part. I’ve been getting closer with the staff here which is helpful because they tell me more about the clients that I usually wouldn’t be able to find out just because of the short amount of time I have with them. One of the clients, Mariah* was a type of client that I haven’t encountered yet. She’s a return resident and she has a past of causing trouble between clients, and also between staff. She was admitted to Compass House due to problems with her mom, her dad a few years ago and I think that is the main contributor to her problems. Her mom has a new boyfriend now and when I talked to her she talked about her dad a lot and how he used to be a smoker, and how she smokes now but knows she shouldn’t because her dad died from lung cancer. She talked about her dad a lot in general and this being a crucial time in her development of self and relationships, her father’s death must be taking a toll on her, and subsequently her ability to form strong relationships with other people. Despite the guard she puts up, it’s not that difficult to know that she is deep down just a little girl who is trying to be strong, and feels misunderstood. This doesn’t excuse her behavior but knowing her past gives me insight and understanding to why she acts the way she does.
3/21/12 & 3/22/12The weather was really nice this week so at CH we tried to spend some time outside. The kids really liked going out back and throwing around the football and Frisbee. It was an uneventful week overall. One resident, Danielle* has been here for about 3 weeks now, and has one of the more traumatic backgrounds that I’ve heard so far throughout my internship. Both and mother and father sexually abused her and her sister. It was shocking to me that the mother was involved as it’s more common for a male to be abusive. You would never guess that Danielle had been through so much. She seems like a strong girl who despite being in a terrible situation has the coping mechanisms to get through her tough past. One of her coping skills is being active, she plays volleyball for school and enjoys playing sports in general. She shows resilient qualities and although she’s faced things that no child should have to go through, I have faith that she will get through it.
4/3/12 & 4/4/12
This week was definitely interesting, and slightly entertaining. There were almost a full house so there was a large group participating in Peace Jam. After reading the case files of the residents I saw that there was a good mix of back grounds in the house, so I tried to consciously think about the situations and how they were effected, if at all because of the mix of people in the house. Peace Jam was probably the best time to observe this as everyone was together and had to discuss different issues. I realized that I am not that aware of the lifestyle of inner-city kids and what their struggles usually are. I noticed that usually, suburban kids have problems predominantly with their parents and trying to fit in or be the best, inner-city kids often face slightly different stressors. When talking about conflict resolution, one of the main focuses of the residents coming from the city were physical fights, and having to defend themselves or walk away from a fight. Another thing I noticed while looking at the case files is that often, the kids had ended up at Compass House due to being kicked out, or their parents not being able to support them. They moved around a lot, and lived with different family members. I don't think that it's unique to children from the city to live with other family members but through out my time at Compass House, I saw that it was more common in kids from the city to have been living with other family members like aunts and uncles before coming to CH.
4/10/12This week was uneventful, however, one thing I'm learning is that when it comes to working with adolescents, it's important to keep yourself as an authority figure. Getting adolescents to talk isn't so much about being his or her friend, as it is finding something in common to start conversation, and building trust. I think this is important to learn as the relationship between the client and the therapist is really important, especially when working with adolescents.
4/17/12 & 4/18/12
One of the most important things I've learned this week is probably the importance of building a good rapport. We talked about how important this is in my School Psychology class, but I got to see how important this is today. One of the women who lead Peace Jam, said something that wasn't really appropriate for the setting we were in. She often comes off as having a political agenda and seems as though she is trying to influence the kids to have the same opinions as her. This made me think about how counselors need to be unbiased when talking to clients. I think my personal viewpoints on issues outside of the counseling setting should not interfere with the way I help clients. As someone working with children especially, I don't think she realizes how easily kids are influenced by the viewpoints of adults. Seeing this helped me realize the importance of not pushing my opinions on clients, and being open to a diverse set of opinions.
4/24/12 & 4/25/12
One of the residents this week was very unique. This particular resident was very open and didn't hesitate to talk to me. As soon as I sat down I pretty much got his whole life story, like how he ended up there, what he wants to do, and what him and his friends used to do and how he wanted to change for the better. I was very surprised that he was opening up so much. I mostly just listened to him, I didn't try to give him advice or interject with my opinions. I think he just wanted to talk. When I did say something, I tried to put emphasis on the fact that he was doing something in the present to make his situation better. I guess I would say I tried to use a counseling technique, but I don't really feel like I did anything. I just tried to get him to think about how well he was doing now, and how I thought it was great that he took the step to better his life. He knew what he had to do, he knew he had to get away from his friends who had influenced a lot of his bad decisions, so there wasn't really anything I needed to say to him. I was just supportive and someone who would listen.
4/1/
This week, I realized how differently the dynamic between boys and girls is. There were no boys at CH this week, and when Peace Jam came, it felt very different. Usually there are adolescent males around, trying to make jokes and giving the group a much more lively atmosphere. This week, it was a lot more relaxed. We did an activity that involved being artistic and it was kind of like journaling, which has been proved to be beneficial when dealing with stress. Maybe it was just the group of girls, but there was little joking around or teasing each other and we kind of worked together more. I think this is because developmentally, girls and boys are naturally different. Especially when it comes to adolescent males and females, males mature much later than females. The last time we did something artsy with Peace Jam, there were guys in the house and a lot of them didn't really like it, or tried to make a joke of it, which I can see being the result of two things. Males don't like to be seen as sensitive, and they could have been using joking as a coping skill. Discussing sensitive issues in front of females could have been uncomfortable for them, so joking about it was probably how they handled the discomfort. Overall, today was one of the more rewarding sessions of Peace Jam.
*Name has been changed
