Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

Content:

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of being able to interact with the audience. I felt like I really engaged the audience and I felt like everyone was ACTUALLY paying attention. It felt good to know that they were paying attention, it made me feel like I was respected, and that in itself is a great feeling. I really loved how the class was attentive and cooperative.


(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

(AE)      I would give myself an AE

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

(P)        I would give myself a P

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

I felt that the things that worked for me include maintaining a log, consistent research checks, and blog posts. All these things helped me stay concentrated and kind of guided me to keep myself attentive and poised for success. 


(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I believe that having my essential question that I ended the year with, I wish I could have had that essential question since the beginning of the year because in the beginning I had an entirely different essential question and I had to make a lot of work up due to the fact of switching my essential question, so I wish I could have gone back and picked my FINAL essential question since the beginning.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

Senior Project has worked wonders for me and my future endeavors. For example through my senior project, I met my mentor Karla Vallejo Rodriguez whom is an amazing individual and is a marriage and family therapist whom took me under her wing and showed me the ropes. It has been an unbelievable experience being able to work with somebody who is in my desired field of work. All the experience with her only reinforced my desire to pursue that career of therapy. I now have a valuable connection with somebody who works in my desired career field and I know that now my range of possibilities has opened because my mentor Karla can one day help me get a job, or reference me to her other therapist friends. Senior project has also given me plenty of volunteer hours which I may now put in my resume as volunteer experience. All in all it was a pain in the butt, but a very valuable experience and I have no regrets. I loved everything, and I am confident to pursue my career now.

Mentorship

Content:

  Literal: 

-Log is already updated and posted on the right hand side of my blog as "Mentorship Log"
Contact Name: Karla Vallejo Rodriguez
Mentorship Place: Pacific Clinics School Based Therapy. In this case: Bassett High School  

Interpretive:

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
-The most important thing that I gained from this experience of mentorship had to do with basically that, experience! Thanks to mentorship I was able to get a taste of how it would actually be to one day be a therapist. My mentor, allowed me to work with her directly as she planned, and went through with adolescents and conducted therapy. I have also gained a vital possible network through my mentor. Now if one day she lives out her dream to have a private practice then maybe one day when I'm trying to find a job when I'm out of college my mentor can possibly help me find a job. Or, if it doesn't go that way I can also possibly get a recommendation for my mentor when I try to get a job because by that time my mentor will have lots of credibility with many years of experience and possibly people that she can refer me to. All in all, my mentorship was a life changing experience.                   

Applied: 

     How has what you've done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain. 
-My mentorship has helped me answer my essential question pretty directly! For instance my EQ is "what is the best way a therapist can help an adolescent cope with stress?" and I have been working with my mentor Karla (who is a therapist) and have worked with her and high school students from bassett high school (adolescents) thus I have directly worked with the key parts of my essential question. Through my mentorship I have been able to hear real life stories about adolescents and their stress. Fore example some get stressed due to financial stability. Meanwhile others get stressed due to not being able to express their emotions because there parents aren't open minded. Thus I came up with my first answer through my mentorship because my mentor taught me how to identify the sources of stress in adolescents and explain to them how to change what they do in order to ensure a less stressful lifestyle. I have also found my answer 3 through my mentorship by hearing stores about adolescents that aren't good at expressing themselves, which they need to learn in order to release stress. In conclusion my mentorship has allowed me to work first hand with the variables of my essential question and allowed me to come up with 2 answers. 

April Extra Blog Post

Content:

Over the course of the month of April I have been conducting group therapy sessions with some participants and I even created certificates of completion. They allowed me to teach them the ways of stress relief and trusted me with their inner most personal information.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:

1.) What is your essential question and answers? What is your best answer and why?

My essential question: What is the best way a therapist can help an adolescent cope with stress?
Answer 1: Helping the adolescent identify causes and be an effective gatekeeper of their emotions.
Answer 2:Teaching the adolescent to develop relaxation skills to employ when a stressful situation occurs.
Answer 3:Teaching the adolescent how to identify and express their emotions.
Best answer: My best answer is my answer 1. Answer 1 is my best answer because I have talked it over with my mentor and it is basically a common ground for all the other answers, like without the understanding of your stress you are helpless. Understanding the causes and being aware of the warning signs prepare you to cope and be ready to deal with stress. I also found the most research on my 1st answer which helps me justify and prove that it's the best answer.

2.) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

In order to arrive at my first answer It came through an article I had researched and discovered and I didn't quite understand the article so I asked my mentor for clarification and she helped me understand it better and explained everything in detail. It was a mixture, and ultimately it is my favorite and the answer I have the most confidence in as being the "best."

3.) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

I unfortunately encountered my fare share of set backs and problems throughout my senior project, however I was lucky enough to overcome them. For instance, I had to change my whole essential question and most of my research became virtually worthless due to a setback. The setback was that my mentor, Karla Vallejo Rodriguez, had to cancel her group sessions. This left me in a frenzy because my essential question was about group therapy sessions. I resolved the setback by changing my new EQ to revolve around adolescents and stress, and I had to start all over with research in order to turn the tide and research more stress oriented literature. Everything turned out fine and I was able to cope with the setback.

4.) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

Easily the two most significant sources that I used to answer my essential question are my mentor, and the "Anxiety and Phobia Workbook". My mentor obviously was my most important source because she guided me throughout 60 + hours of knowledge and hands on activities. I couldn't have made it this far without her. She gave me the opportunity to work with her and I'm grateful for her guidance. The Phobia and Anxiety Workbook was my other significant source because every chapter in the book covered different aspects of stress and anxiety and gave in depth explanations and examples so it made everything very easy to understand. The combination of the book and my mentor were impeccable to my understanding and developing of my answers to my essential question.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content: 

LITERAL:
(a) Statement: "I, Jorge Mancilla, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work."

(b) I had my mentor Karla Vallejo Rodriguez as my mentor.

I also used a book: The Anxiety and Phobia Work
Citation  Bourne, Edmund J. The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. N.p.: New Harbinger Publications, 2011. Print.

(c) Done. Digital log is on the side of my blog labeled "Independent Component 2 log"

INTERPRETIVE:
For this independent component I wanted to do something different. My mentor encouraged me to try and get some hands on experience and do a group therapy session so I started one with people that were willing to do it and help me. It was a remarkable experience because my mentor supported the idea and I was able to try out some stress relievers on my group. It was a great experience to be able to talk to my peers and be able to help them out with their troubles and stress. This experience only laminated my wish to want to be a therapist some day. It also helped me out with my essential question because I was working with 4-7 adolescents and helping them cope with their stress. Here are some pics of the "highlights" of the group sessions.

Close up on 1 of the surveys I made them take

Playing a good game of "high and low" (I explain what that is in my independent component 2 log)

One of the first days of therapy sessions. Getting the group together!

In deep thought thinking their survey answers through

They were taking their surveys I got for them

5 out of 7 with their certificates (Jesus and Christian Vasquez weren't present)

Christian with his certificate

Juan with his certificate

Victor and Danny with their certificates

This is the book that helped me think of ideas for my group

We sometimes went over chapters during group sessions.

I taught a mini lesson based off this chapter

We went over this chapter

This chapter inspired one of my sessions

APPLIED:

This independent component helped me out tons actually! It gave me confidence from my mentor to try something new and take on the role as the lone leader of group sessions. Thankfully I got some volunteers and I was able to do a couple of group sessions. It helps directly with my EQ because I worked during this independent component on actually helping adolescents cope with stress. For instance, I would ask my group to share their "lows" of the day which was the lowest point of their day and then I'd talk to them and try to help them out and prevent being stressed. I also implemented my EQ answer 2 by making them perform  stress relief tactics such as yoga and meditation. In conclusion I gained valuable knowledge on what works and what doesn't. I thought that doing "high and low" works well because it gave the group an opportunity to give moral support and also allow me to be able to use my EQ answer 1 and be able to explain that by knowing what triggers stress you'll be able to prevent. All in all, it was a great expereince. 

     

Additional March Post

Content:

As it already is evident that my essential question and research is all based off stress, I decided to research some potential activities that I can use for my Final presentation activity time. I came across gold when researching, because I think that I found a pretty cool activity that demonstrates the whole "limiting" concept that I go over in my first answer.

The activity would consist of the class forming a circle with their seats, a rather tight circle (as tight as possible). I would then begin to throw balloons in the middle of the circle (the objective is to keep the balloons from hitting the ground). Each balloon would be labeled with "homework", "work", friends" and etc. I would throw in as much balloons as possible that it takes for them to finally let a balloon hit the floor. Then I would conclude by explaining how the balloons represented everyday obstacles and how we need to learn how to limit ourselves and what we take on in order to avoid being stressed out. I mean it is obvious, the more you have on your plate, the more energy its going to require for you to complete the tasks, and once the energy runs out you end up relying on stress as a survival last resort. In conclusion, I believe I have found a pretty neat activity for my final lesson.

 

Blog 18: Third Answer

Content:

• Essential Question: What is the best way a therapist can help an adolescent cope with stress?
• Answer #3: The best way a therapist can help an adolescent cope with stress, is by teaching the adolescent how to identify feelings and express their emotions.
• 3 Details Supporting the Answer:

1. Many people who are stress prone tend to have difficulty with feelings. They may have a problem knowing what their feeling. Or at times people are able to identify their feelings but do not know how to express them. When feelings begin to come up during stressful times, there is often a tendency to maintain that stress which ultimately only increases your stress. 
2. Feelings are effected by stress. When under stress, your body is in a state of psychological distress which is directly linked with emotions. Since your already set to have emotional issues, it will not take much to set you off. 
3. An important first step is identifying your feelings. Secondly, you must learn how to express your feelings. This can be achieved through sharing your feelings with another person, or writing them out in a journal, or by "physically discharging" them by crying or venting anger perhaps with a pillow. Once you've given some expression to your feelings you can reach the final step and communicate your feelings to whomever brings out these emotions from you. To sum it up, the ability to gain awareness of and express your feelings is an essential part of the process of recovering from stress. 
4. (Additional Supporting Detail) Feelings can be compared to charges of energy that need physical release or discharge from the body. When not expressed enough, they tend to be stored in your body in the forms of tension, stress, and anxiety. Your physical health as well as your sense of well-being relies on your participation of acknowledging and expressing your feelings during both good and difficult times.   

My Research Sources:
This book that my mentor gave me:
Bourne, Edmund J. The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. N.p.: New Harbinger Publications, 2011. Print. 
My Mentor:
Karla Vallejo Rodriguez, Marriage and Family Therapist, employed at Pacific Clinics

• Concluding Sentence: Our emotions and feelings are very important to our health and well-being. Our emotions can be compared to charges of energy that need release or will be stores up in your body as forms of stress, tension, and anxiety. One of the best ways for a therapist to help an adolescent cope with stress is by teaching the adolescent how identify and express their emotions. Once they are able to be aware of their feelings and know how to properly express them, then they will begin to live a less stressful way of life.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

Content:
Post 20 open-ended questions for approval you want to ask an expert in the field of your senior project.  The focus of your questions should be on your many answers.   

1.) How will an adolescent best grasp knowledge about his/her stress and use it to their advantage? 
2.) What is the best relaxation skill to possess and why is it better than the rest?
3.) How would food and nutrients effect an adolescent's stress level?
4.) What makes adolescent's stressed in the first place?
5.) Is it better for an adolescent to attempt to handle their stress on their own or with the guidance from somebody, and why so? 
6.) How would an adolescent with a very stressful and busy lifestyle ever have the time to try and fix their stress?
7.) What are the main pieces of information that an adolescent should know in order to become successful gatekeepers of their emotional ways? 
8.) As an adolescent is it potentially physically or mentally dangerous to have stress? (Like I know when your older it can lead to heart problems, etc. As an adolescent are there any risks like that though?)
9.) How do you teach an adolescent how to become more stress-educated?
10.) Is stress inevitable? Can we only apply treatment to stress but never really just erase all stress completely for good?
11.) What are some examples of stress relief skills and tactics?
12.) If as an adolescent you are not able to treat your stress, will it be impossible or nearly impossible to do so as an adult?
13.) Where you ever stressed out a lot as an adolescent? If so how did you personally deal with your stress?
14.) What are the gatekeepers to an adolescent's stress and emotional levels?
15.) When in terms to stress, would physical training and exercise help relieve stress more? Or would something solely mental and non-active be more beneficial to ease your mind, and why so?
16.) If you were an adolescent in this present day, which stress reliever route would you chose and why?
17.) When dealing with stress is better to use a mixture of different stress tactics or stick solely to one thing that helps you with your stress the most, and why? 
18.) Can technology somehow help an adolescent manage our stress? Or is technology part of the problem when it comes to stress? Please explain. 
19.) Is there a certain method that gets you to become less stressed faster? More efficiently? Which? Why so?
20.) What is the best way a therapist can help an adolescent cope with stress?

February Extra Blog Post

Content:

During this month of February i didn't do too much mentorship, I could have done more if I wasn't so busy with the soccer season. However I did see my mentor on occasions this month and she helped me come up with my 2nd answer for my Essential Question which includes relaxation skills. She even showed me this really cool relaxation app on her Ipad called Breathe2Relax.

The app was pretty cool because it has a lot of interactive functions that help you with breathing exercises, and it can help you pinpoint a certain part of your body to mentally work out and relax.

I am considering using the Ipoly IPads to be able to utilize this app during my senior presentation and using it as an activity. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Right now it is a possibility that I'm pondering.

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

Content:

EQ: What is the best way a therapist can help an adolescent cope with stress?

Answer 2: The capability to use relaxation skills is the very foundation of coping with stress.

3 Details to support:

• The type of relaxation that really makes a difference in dealing with anxiety is the regular, daily practice of some form of deep relaxation. Deep relaxation refers to a distinct physiological state that is the exact opposite of the way your body reacts under stress or during a panic attack. Regular practice of deep relaxation for 20 to 30 minutes on a daily basis can create relaxation for your entire life if you keep doing it daily. After weeks of doing it daily, you will then begin to feel more relaxed all the time.
• Deep relaxation, among other relaxation skills not only will prevent stress but also increase energy level and productivity. It will also assist your concentration and memory. Regular relaxation skills tend to increase your ability to focus and keeps you from stressing out.
• Relaxation skills will also increase self confidence and reduce blame towards yourself. This is because stress and self criticism usually are paired up. The relaxation and muscle tension will make you feel confident and more able to be aware of your own feelings.

Concluding Sentence: When dealing with stress as an adolescent there are many different ways for somebody to cope. A possible tactic is to use relaxation skills as the foundation to cope with stress. Relaxation skills will allow you to exercise daily for 20-30 minutes which will lead to phenomenal relaxation results that will allow for the adolescent to feel the complete opposite of stressed out all at the same time as the relaxation skills also increase energy level, productivity, memory, self confidence, and awareness of feelings which are all positive traits to possess which will no doubt assist and adolescent cope with stress.

-Answer and supporting evidence were based off my mentor (Karla Rodriguez) and informational packets that she gave me regarding the different aspects and treatments of stress.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

Content:

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
I will assist my mentor Karla Rodriguez Vallejo and side projects such as the whole LGBTQ session things I was doing with her, and many other additional side things with her. Also I will continue my helping out at GRYD program with Adrian Mancilla and help him take down notes and discuss with him about the adolescents and their troubles.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
I will complete a log that documents my time as well as post up pictures and bring in papers that we worked on.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
For starters, anytime I'm with my mentor I am continuously getting help towards my senior project because she always helps me out and makes sure I fully understand everything. I will work with her on additional side projects that will tie into stress and thus get me more involved with my EQ. As for the GRYD program, I will work with adolescents and going behind the scenes with Adrian Mancilla and being able to find out the answers as to why these individuals are considered "at risk" and the answer is often due to stress based off certain events or people. Finding out about adolescent's stories and how they become stressed and the alternatives to getting around stress will be touched upon during the GRYD program. 
4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your other logs and call it the independent component 2 log.
Done.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

Content:

LITERAL:

(a) I, Jorge Mancilla, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work. (I completed 32 total hours though.)

(b) I completed my independent component hours thanks to two remarkable individuals.
-Adrian Mancilla, GRYD member
-Karla Rodriguez Vallejo, Marriage and Family Therapist

(c) DONE. All my hours are logged.

(d) I completed a total of 32 hours worth of Independent Component. For the majority of my independent component I worked with Adrian Mancilla who is a member of Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD) and he mentors at risk youth and counsels them whether it be school or home visits. He showed me the ropes at his office and gave me a general explanation of his job. He taught me how to write case notes which are notes that he first jots down during his actual conversations with the adolescents but than later on he officially types out the reports and makes them as precise as possible. I went with him on two home visits and was able to listen and observe to most of the conversation between the client (at risk youth) and the client's parents but I had to leave when confidential information was being said. Afterwards I would debrief with Adrian Mancilla on the way to his office and than assist him with his case notes. Not only did I formally work with Adrian Mancilla but I also worked in a recreational matter as well that involved teaching sports to certain of the adolescent and even being fortunate enough to go with the group of adolescents that graduated from the GRYD program and were rewarded with a trip to Knotts Berry farm.

The other smaller section of my independent component consisted of doing over time with my mentor, Karla Rodriguez Vallejo. This "over time" was basically me doing more hours of mentorship. For example I helped Karla create an LGBTQ pamphlet that provides information on LGBTQ specific programs with their addresses, numbers, and hours of service so that adolescents whom need assistance in "coming out" , stress, or anxiety can go seek assistance if they wish to. Other than the LGBTQ project that we were working on, Karla also personally helped me out with my foundation for my final presentation and we went over possible answers and activities together.

INTERPRETIVE:

The picture above is part of the permission slip for when the group of GRYD "clients" had their graduation reward of going to Knotts Berry Farm.

The picture above is a GRYD Substance Use Self Evaluation form that the "clients" have to answer themselves. This evaluation form makes it easier for the GRYD staff to assist the clients and achieve a better understanding of their cases with substance use.

The picture above is a piece of the daily route sheet that Adrian Mancilla is required to fill out for every visit to a client that he makes. Due to confidentiality I could not take a full sheet picture because the rest of the sheet had private information on it regarding the client and the client's family.

The picture above is of Adrian Mancilla's personal notebook. This is the notebook where he takes his informal case notes on during his visits. He later finalizes his notes and types them out at his office where he completed his final draft of his case notes. The reason why the picture is from far is due to confidentiality of the information written.

In the picture above is a flyer about the GRYD program's basketball sessions. As I explained in my log, GRYD also provides a recreational outlet for the at risk youth to enjoy themselves and have friendly fun.

In the picture above is the flyer about the soccer program that GRYD is responsible for. The soccer was in high demand over the other sports so they ended up expanding the day from just Monday's to Saturday's to. As documented in my log, I went to the soccer session on a Saturday and it was a fun day. I assisted Adrian Mancilla teach a little about the fundamentals of soccer and we concluded the soccer session with a scrimmage that consisted of all the clients. They really enjoyed themselves that day, I did too!

In the picture above is the calendar for GRYD activities that are scheduled for February. They had calendars for every month but UI messed up and through them out. I just got this calendar though and it basically foreshadows future independent component days for myself in which I will volunteer and assist Adrian Mancilla.

 

I didn't really take any pictures with Karla (my mentor) because most of the time we were either working on the LGBTQ packet (which I can bring a copy of) or she was assisting me with foundation for essential question answers and assisting me come up with ideas for activities. 

Overall throughout the 2 home visits I completed, soccer session, Knott's trip, office hours, and time spent with Kalra I was fortunate enough to complete 32 hours of independent component.

 

APPLIED:

My independent component 1 helped me in various ways to better understand the foundation of my topic and EQ. for example, with GRYD I worked with adolescents whom most of the time were stressed out and burnt out. Adrian Mancilla would ask them questions on why and I was able to hear REAL answers on why adolescents got to a certain point in their life where they became so stressed that they became considered "at risk youth." Through the GRYD program I also learned how athletic activity can also help relieve stress and take your mind off negative thoughts as well as exercise and provide great psychical health which according to research is also in correlation with a less stressful lifestyle. Through my over time with my mentor I learned about how things such as being a member of the LGBTQ community can lead to a more stressful lifestyle due to insecurity and low self-esteem however there are solutions such as LGBTQ specific programs that enhance courage and guide you along the way of becoming confident and coming out. Not only did I learn that from Karla but I also learned 3 potential answers as well as potential activities for my final lesson presentation. Overall I was able to experience the REAL reasoning of REAL adolescents whom were considered as at risk youth and discover the focal point as to why they changed their life ways and why they had/ have a stressful lifestyle. I also discovered solutions, and got a better understanding of how stress is created whether it be through the way you were raised, your neighborhood, your sexual preference, or your high standards. I have learned plenty from my independent component and I am grateful for the humbling experience.  

January Extra Blog Post

Content:

So this monthly extra post that I'm publishing focuses kind of on my independent component. As you may or may not know my independent component is based off assisting a program called GRID. The program is year round but new kids come and go. The program assists "at risk youth". Luckily my dad, Adrian Mancilla works with these at risk youth. So since the at risk youth ties into my EQ about adolescents and stress this is how I've been completing my independent component, well the primary part of it anyways.

So this month (January) was the graduation date for 16 of the participants of the program, or "clients" as they are referred to in the program. Well the program takes 6 months to graduate from, or a year for some...but for those 16 that graduated, they were rewarded with a trip to Knotts Berry Farm. I tagged along with my dad and the "clients" for the trip and it was pretty fun. The tickets were paid for, and we even got a free buffet over there. That concludes my additional blog post for January. Wooo hoooo Knotts was fun. Although I prefer Six Flags.

My fav ride of the day was Ghost Rider!

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement
What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
Personally I'm really proud of myself because I feel like I did a great job. I gave myself an extra pat on the back because I went first out of all the presentations and demonstrated my knowledge on my subject well. I'm most proud of being first and doing a good job, because often people that go on the 2nd day get more time to edit their presentations but I went first and I feel like I did really well. I'm also proud of how people got into my activity and demonstrated their knowledge of what I had just taught them, it made me feel good like if I did a good job as a presenter. 

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?
I would personally give myself a P+ or an AE-

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
I think I deserve a P+ or an AE- because I met all the P requirements from the lesson 2 component contract and I also fill like I did most of those requirements super efficiently and I believe I deserve more than just a "P" so I think a P+ or an AE- should be appropriate. For example, I always made contact and I engaged the audience, I spoke emotionally and I really got into my presentation and I felt so connected to the audience when I spoke. Another aspect in which I believe I did really well is my activity. The whole class got into my activity and when I asked 2 groups to present, their answers were phenomenal and definitely demonstrated their knowledge of my topic which means that I must have done a pretty good job at presenting my topic and EQ. In conclusion, I would be ever so grateful to receive a P+ or an AE-.  

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
As I mentioned earlier, I believe my engagement with the audience really worked. I felt connected to them as if I had their full attention. I also believe that when I interacted with the audience with my sponge activity and activity that both went really well because I had 100% participation and everyone seemed so into contributing to the overall activity that was at hand. It was really rewarding to see people engaged in my activities and it felt even better when they demonstrated their knowledge of the subject that I had barely taught them. 

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
I'm not too sure what I would have done differently, to be honest I'm pretty confident in the presentation that I completed. I feel like I did well and I don't think I would really change anything too serious. If anything I think I would just fix those one or two times when I talked and didn't stop for a breath and that led to me taking an unwanted stop in the middle of the sentence I was stating. So yeah, nothing too serious I would change.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
I've actually been lucky enough to be able to come up with two more answers already with the help of my mentor. One of my other potential answers is "Teaching relaxation skills" to the adolescent which is basically strategies and activities that can be taught in order to help control stress levels. The other potential answer is "Teaching identification and expression" to the adolescent and this is because sometimes stress is caused because people can't express themselves and everything gets clustered inside and that leads to more stress. My #2 answer will be one of those 2.

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

Content:

1) What is the most effective strategy in conducting a group therapy session?
(I know this is not the EQ we agreed on but I would like to revise the new EQ because I didn't like it that much.)

2) What do you consider the best method of therapy and why?

3) What difference does having a single parent or dual parents make?

4) What is the significance of having a father figure present?

5) If somebody isn't treated at a young age, would they still be able to change their ways when they get older or would it be too late?

6) Why do parent's neglect their children?

7) How do you prevent a kid from getting into unhealthy habits?

8) How do you prevent a kid from becoming bad if they're parents aren't responsible and don't care about them?

9) Can you give an example of a time when you had to deal with somebody whose parents weren't necessarily supportive or there for the child?

10) What is the significance of having an older brother/sister?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

Content:

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
     I am doing my mentorship at Bassett High School, located in La Puente. 

2.   Who is your contact?
     Karla Rodriguez Vallejo:
     -Phone (562) 907-7429
     -Cell (626) 660-5730
     -Email Kvallejo@pacificclinics.org
     My Mentor is Karla Vallejo Rodriguez. She is a Marriage and family therapist who works for a company called Pacific Clinics however she is currently finishing up a certain amount of hours as a marriage and family therapist at a high school named Bassett. Afterwards she will be able to apply elsewhere and even open up her private practice if she wished to.

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)? 
     I have completed a total of 55 mentorship hours.

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
     The first 10 hours that I completed during senior year consisted of getting familiarized with how my mentor works on a weekly basis. For instance she taught me how students can get 1-on-1 therapy sessions with her, and she even explained how teachers can request certain students to go to therapy sessions with Karla. All they have to do is fill out an evaluation form and check off/write why they believe the student needs therapy assistance. She also showed me how she schedules sessions and I even got to take on that task and appoint some schedules myself. In conclusion, my first 10 hours were relatively a basic introduction for the type of mentoring that I would be doing throughout the entire year. It was an opportunity to familiarize myself with her terms and work ethic as well.

 5.   Email your house teacher the name of your contact and their phone number confirming who they should call to verify it
     Done.

Senior Project, The Holiday

Blog 10: Senior Project: The Holiday

Content:

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?

The break, and the week before break for the most part weren't necessarily happy times for me in terms of my senior project. As I have stated in my December additional post, the group therapy sessions with my mentor have been stopped and will no longer proceed. It is a bad thing for my senior project and I think it is for the best if I shape my EQ a bit now. During the break I did plenty of research both with and without my mentor. All together I believe it was around 15 hours of research for questions that my mentor (Karla Rodriguez) had assigned us to study. Due to the loss of the groups my mentorship will be more along the lines of helping my mentor prepare for her individual sessions (which I'm not allowed to be a part of). Also my mentor will prepare me and give me glimpses of what it means to be a MFT. During the break as I stated earlier in this paragraph, I researched and created packets based on LGBTQ. The packet was created based off these questions:

  1) understanding attraction towards the opposite sex/ feeling comfortable with your identity2) how to/ support for youth that are thinking about "coming out"3) what is "coming out"?4) common reactions of the person coming out and reactions of loved ones5) how do I compromise between religion (parent's religious beliefs) and my true identity?   

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important thing I learned during my limited amount of mentorship (due to holidays) was that every individual is different. We need to accept and love everyone for who they are. Due to our corrupt and unfair society many individuals are forced to keep their real selves from the world due to the fact that they are scared of how they will be treated. Coming out is the phrase for when an individual "comes out" and tells others the truth about themselves. For example revealing they are gay, bi, queer, lesbian, or a trans. It is tough for youth to come out, but we can support them by giving them confidence with supportive words, and by letting them know that their parents will understand. If the youth is scared of their parents, they should consult an MFT for further specified information based off their situation, because as I stated earlier EVERYONE is unique and has their own different situations which require DIFFERENT assistance. 

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

Well the most obvious and deserving answer would be my mentor Karla Rodriguez Vallejo because she is my mentor and has been with me since the summer. She has taken me under her wing and has allowed me to thrive and learn from her vast knowledge on her profession. However another direction I could go is by interviewing Adrian Mancilla. He is a social worker and works with caretakers, troubled youth, and is involved in many organizations that involve family therapy. I have been doing about ALL of my independent component hours with him. Either one of those individuals would be great candidates to interview.