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. 

December Extra Blog Post

Monthly Post:

     Change occurs at the oddest of times for better or for worse. This month of December has been a mixed month in terms of my mentorship. For instance the "Anger Management"  group and concept basically got shot down and we will no longer be going further with it (and now I need to change my EQ). However there is a form of silver lining. Now that the anger management will not be continuing my mentor spoke to me of other "projects" in which her and I can begin.

     We have been talking about a potential LGBTQ group. In case there are people who don't know, the abbreviation stands for "L"esbian, "B"isexual, "G"ay, "T"ransgender, and "Q"ueer. Here is a list that we both came up with, in which her and I will complete and compile our research together.

     Find resources in the local community for LGBTQ (e.g. planned parenthood, community centers, clubs etc.) Also want to find online resources for adolescents.
Here are some of the resources I was looking for:
1) understanding attraction towards the opposite sex/ feeling comfortable with your identity
2) 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 ones
5) how do I compromise between religion (parent's religious beliefs) and my true identity?

     We understand obviously that this whole concept is a very delicate subject.We are not sure if this potential project will in fact develop into an actual group. For now we are in the building process by obtaining research that we need. I will continue to contribute to the research along with my mentor Karla in order to hopefully establish this group.

November Extra Blog Post

     My mentor, Karla Vallejo Rodriguez, assigned me to research a theory she has always found interesting: Whether or not certain foods affect one's moods. She assigned me to find several research on the theory. With all the research, she told me to than format the important facts of research and create a nifty and appealing pamphlet that she could hand out to certain people in her sessions that have unhealthy food patterns. I am currently in the process of assembling research and creating the pamphlet for Karla.

Through my research so far I have found somewhat of a correlation between eating habits and moods of people. According to reported research by NBC News, people should eat at least every 5 hours to keep their blood levels steady. Eating at this rate would ensure that your body gets necessary fuel, which may ultimately keep your mood stable. Also eating protein can slow the absorption of carbohydrates in your blood flow, which can improve your overall mood for various hours after a meal. On the other hand, meals with more fiber could slow the absorption of carbohydrates in your bloodstream which can decrease mood-swings. I will continue to research this topic and ultimately create a pamphlet for my mentor Karla.