Diary of an ACS Intern

Written By: Jeraca Marsh, Clinical Intern at ACS, Outlet Program

here we are  at the dawn of 2020, and I’ve officially hit my six month mark as an intern at Adolescent Counseling Services. I’m a second-year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Alliant International University, and my time at ACS has played a critical role in my training. This is my second-year practicum placement, immeasurably different than my first-year practicum placement, where I co-facilitated group therapy for folks struggling with substance use. This year I get the pleasure of working with youth who are struggling with gender and/or sexual identity, in addition to anything else people between the ages of 10-25 may be struggling with.

It’s hard to reflect on what a “typical day” has been like these past few months because my experiences have varied so greatly. While the schedule tends to be consistent, what happens during that time certainly keeps me on my toes, so on my toes I stay. I work on Wednesdays and Thursdays, where my mornings and mid-afternoons are typically filled with meetings with both the highly skilled clinical team and the amazingly supportive Outlet staff. I also have didactics during this time, where I receive training on a wide variety of therapy modalities such as Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and Internal Family Systems, as well as general topics such as Grief and Bereavement or Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression. The remaining kinds of meetings I have in the mornings are supervisions, both group and individual. Here I get really in-depth opportunities to evaluate the work I’m doing with my clients and create new strategies to help them as much as possible. Then I get to reserve the rest of my evenings to practice all the wonderful things I’ve learned from supervision and trainings with my clients.

As anyone in the mental health field (or any line of work that is dependent on client availability) can tell you, scheduling can be tricky! With a caseload of six clients, it’s common for there to be gaps in the evenings. Hopefully as my caseload continues to grow to its ideal level of 10 clients, those gaps will fill. It’s crucial that we recognize that things like forgetfulness, traffic, and life events can get in the way of attendance. Up until November, I only had a caseload of one client, and while that’s challenging in terms of overall clinical hour fulfillments, it was rewarding because I could dedicate all of my time to making sure our work together was truly substantial. Now I get to practice with six clients, and I truly love the work I get to do with them. They remind me constantly of why I wanted to be an out and proud queer therapist.

I began school to become a therapist so that I could be the person I needed when I was younger. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to help adolescents navigate their struggles, ranging from academic stress to who they want to be in this world. I can’t wait to see what the next six months hold.