It's hard to believe that I’ve reached the end of my Winter Term project. The month went by much more quickly than I imagined it would. At the beginning, I had no idea what I was getting myself into: what I would see, who I would talk to, what I would learn. My project didn’t necessarily go in the direction I expected, in the sense that I learned things I didn't think I would, but that is sometimes where the best learning happens.
In no particular order, here is a list of things I learned about this month:
· Psychiatric medications: how they work and their side effects
· Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Model and the people it serves
· Telehealth model
· Autism symptoms and diagnostic parameters
· Depressive vs. narcissistic personality types
· Adolescent development (cognitive, physical, social, and emotional)
· Developmental stage of grandparents; skipped-generation families
· Theories of development (Piaget, Erikson, etc.)
· Historical trauma and unresolved grief
· Cultural psychology and culturally informed practice
· Native American/Native Alaskan health disparities
· Native American boarding school history
· Child vs. adolescent vs. adult psychology and psychiatry
· PTSD, bipolar disorder (especially mania), schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, depression, anxiety, psychosis, etc.
· Medical anthropology
· Nutrition and psychiatry
· Collaborative Assessment & Management of Suicidality (CAMS) Model of suicide prevention and treatment
· Different types of mental health care careers
· Different treatment models: dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive enhancement therapy, etc.
And here is a list of some articles and books I consulted during this Winter Term to supplement my shadowing experiences:
· “Historical Trauma Among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Concepts, Research, and Clinical Considerations,” by Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Josephine Chase, et al
· “Women Finding the Way: American Indian Women Leading Intervention Research in Native Communities,” by Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Josephine Chase, et al
· “Wicasa Was’aka: Restoring the Traditional Strength of American Indian Boys and Men,” by Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Jennifer Elkins, et al
· “Cultural psychology: Implications for Basic Psychological Theory,” by Joan G. Miller
· “Surviving a Distant past: A Case Study of the Cultural Construction of Trauma Descendant Identity,” by Carol A. Kidron
· Development Through the Lifespan by Laura E. Berk
· A powerpoint presentation on CAMS (I cannot find it or the author), but here is a link to a website about the model: https://cams-care.com
· And numerous Wikipedia and NIMH articles about subjects where I wanted some background knowledge (Medical anthropology, nutrition and psychology, historical trauma, various symptoms of disorders, certain medications, etc.)
So those are some lists with not a whole lot of substance, but I did take away some big things from this project.
First, I feel affirmed in my original career goal of working in mental health. However, shadowing psychiatrists this month has taught me that I would prefer to be a psychologist rather than a psychiatrist. Working with patients on managing medications and symptoms is very important work, but I have more interest in working in the deeper, more emotional and social aspects of a person’s life or mental illness. Both careers are extremely important, but I think this month gave me some clarity about the direction I want to go in with my career.
I was reminded of the importance of empathy in the mental health care arena, and also of the importance of self-care on the part of the practitioner. Being a mental health practitioner is draining work mentally and emotionally and achieving balance and taking care of oneself while also taking care of patients is a tricky thing to navigate. This is something I will be mindful of if I pursue a career in mental health care.
However, without a doubt, the most important thing I will take away from this experience is an understanding of the legacy of historical trauma and the importance of culturally informed and sensitive health care. New Mexico in particular is a state with many populations deeply affected by historical trauma as well as contemporary trauma. Despite living here my whole life, I didn’t have a good understanding of the lasting psychological effects of colonialism and genocide on generation after generation. But now I do. And while I am sure that I have only just begun to understand the true devastation of historical trauma, I have learned that understanding it, and practicing healthcare that takes into account the culture and identity of the patient, is paramount.
I am so grateful for the opportunities I had this month to shadow psychiatric health providers and I learned so much. Thank you to everyone who helped me get here. I appreciate it more than you know.
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