Diary of an ACS Intern
Written By: Marcus Randolph, MFT Intern at ACS, On-Campus Counseling Program
A typical day for me
starts at 4 am, when I begin my morning routine. This routine includes prayer, reading my Bible, reading other spiritual literature, meditation, journaling, then I’m out the door by 5:00 am to work out at the gym with my wife. I usually leave the gym at 7:30 am and get to my placement site, Woodside High school, by 8 am. I don’t say all of this to brag about my morning routine – it’s to highlight that the first person I’ve learned to take care of in the morning is me, which is an important lesson to remember as a therapist.
Self-care! Self-care! Self-care! These are some of the first words I heard when I entered the Master of Science in Clinical Psychology program at Notre Dame de Namur University. As a student, it was always difficult to remember some of the technical classroom things like, “What is the exact protocol of a motivational interview?” “When should I use counter-transference?” However, the lessons of self-care are hard to forget, as every instructor I’ve had in grad school has highlighted its importance. I knew it was important then and it’s something I know I have to prioritize now that I’ve started my practicum, and I’m glad this routine is a part of my life.
One of the things I’m learning really quickly about becoming a mental health professional, especially with teens, is that you don’t have control over what’s going to come out of anyone’s mouth. The truth is, some teens have lived more life via trauma at 15 years old than many adults will go through in a lifetime. And because I have an unresolved hero complex to fight injustice for the little guy, my work could easily overwhelm me and leave me cynical about humanity. Whether it’s listening to a young woman who is trying to sort out her sexual trauma, or hearing about a young man whose family is paying a ridiculous amount of money to rent a garage with his 5 younger siblings, or talking to an exceptional young woman who is agonizing about making the right decision on where to go to college because she will be the first in her family to attend a 4 year university. All of these things can mentally wear on a human being if one doesn’t know how to take care of oneself.
So, every day, I come back to my morning routine. When I come out of the gym every morning, it makes me feel like I’ve put on a mental health super hero uniform and I feel transformed by taking care of myself so that I can be able to handle the profession of mental health.