So tonight, I awoke at 4am, and I’ve been unable to fall back asleep. I got up out of bed to try and do something to make tired, and that didn’t work. I then went back to bed and cuddled with my babies (Snoopy and Hotch), with one on each side of me. It’s comforting to feel them breathing next to me. I don’t know if I can’t stay asleep because B is gone for three nights, and so I wake up without her, or if it’s that my mind will not shut off once I wake up.
I took a leaf from a client’s book this morning, and took a hot shower for longer than I usually do (probably 15 min instead of 10 min) and just stayed in the present moment, by feeling the water and allowing it to calm and soothe me. I thought that while I was doing this, my mind was quiet(er) and not going back and forth about what I’m going to present to the treatment team today and so on.
I had a good supervision session yesterday, in which we discussed how I need to take care not to burn out, especially if I want to work full-time at my internship site once I graduate in December. I currently have 6 clients and 6 groups! We just expanded the schedule, so treatment is from 9-5 instead of 9-3 and the three different levels of care meet at different times. Thus, I’m leading two groups that I would not normally do. So I have 6 clients and 6 group in THREE days; I could definitely have more clients and so on when I am working full time and seeing clients/teaching groups/family sessions etc 5 days a week, but geez! So in two weeks, I go down to two days a week, and 2 of my groups will be led by my co-leader fully. Thus, I’ll have 6 clients and 3 groups. More doable, but still, no slot specifically for notes. Good thing I’ve become accustom to doing an entire clinician note, mental status exam and all, in 10 minutes in between sessions. I’ve also decided to only work (paid) at the residence on Saturdays and some Sundays from 3:00pm-11:30pm. Thus, I have almost all of Monday off (class from 3-4:30), Tuesday off, and Friday off. Wednesdays and Thursdays I’ll be gone from home from 8:00am-8:00pm with work and class, but I do get three days off to recover and work on homework 
This semester should be easier at least courseload wise, because it’s my last semester in internship, so I am used to doing tapes and writing case conceptualizations. My second course is counseling seminar, which is only 8 weeks, to help prepare us for the licensing exam (National Counselor Examination), and then Play Therapy, which is with a professor that I really appreciate. She is more into experiential learning, intrinsic motivation, and so as long as we turn in assignments, complete them thoughtfully and try, we’ll get an A. I had her for Group Counseling, and at first I had no idea what to do….I’m so used to structure or What if I don’t do it exactly right??. And this is exactly what my professor was trying to get rid of. It was a much needed break in that it allowed me to appreciate learning the material for the material’s sake. I do remember the main concepts of Group Counseling, and I use it each week when I conduct process groups. Psychoeducational groups are a bit different, but I am still glad to have retained that information.
With play therapy, I’ve already bought Rory’s Story Cubes and Rory’s Story Cubes: Actions. These are amazing and I can’t wait to use them! There are nine dice with 54 images in totality and children/teens/adults can roll the dice and create a story based on the images. There’s also an Actions one which have pictures of actions. For example, lifting a box, digging, walking through a door; and some less obvious ones as well, which can lead to interesting stories. It’s considered usable for people 8yrs+ so I hope to be able to use them in my practice some day
These updates are fascinating. To see your progress through your learning and manage the busy-ness of it all. Thanks for sharing x
Thank you for your support!