Psychology Major Internship Experience in a Creative Approach

If I would compare my whole internship experience to a symbol, an astronaut floating in space for the first time would be the perfect illustration of that. Because like an astronaut, I was equipped with all the theoretical knowledge on what to do and how to do certain tasks and duties, however, we all know that nothing goes exactly how we expect it to be.

Experience is truly the best teacher and it is up to me how I would go around experiences that come my way.

My preparation for this journey was far from easy, I was in my province in Leyte when announcements for a potential face-to-face practicum were stated. I immediately drafted my plan as to how I would go back to Luzon and find internship institutions. As a student, who strives for the best learning experience, I called and emailed a lot of national institutions. I kept myself updated on requirements that will be needed and accomplish them one by one. Unfortunately, institutions such as Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and National Center for Mental Health (NCMH), emailed back stating that they are not accepting internships at the moment due to the pandemic. I was truly disheartened by this but life goes on and at the end of the day I would need to find institutions that do. So, I coordinated with my fellow classmates and together we find institutions in Cavite where face-to-face internships were offered. Luckily, we found a few in Tagaytay and chose the one in Mendez named Heart of Jesus Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (HOJ).

However, in the midst of finalizing the memorandum of agreement, NCMH emailed once again stating that they are now open for an internship. I was drastically torn on what to do because all of my classmates are set to HOJ and wouldn’t want to go through the hassle of changing plans. I had a breakdown, and as funny as it seems, I truly cried because NCMH was my dream institution but I’m scared of doing it all alone in a time-pressured situation since we will need to start in HOJ in a couple of days. Choosing NCMH screams a lot of work to do since a partnership with the university is required and that entails a lot of requirements. I called my friends and they were supportive of me and would want me to follow whatever speaks the most to me. Thankfully, three of my friends were interested but it took a lot of convincing their parents before they finally decide to join me. Not only that, our OJT supervisor, Ma’am Noemi Atrillano, was very supportive of us pursuing the institution that we want and allow us to divide our clinical internship into two, 125 hours and 175 hours, respectively. It was a kinda-lost-rocky beginning but I managed to push through making things fall perfectly in their place.

During my first internship (Clinical) at HOJ, I was flabbergasted by how outdated their practices can be in treating addiction, something that books cannot even begin to cover. Also, in my experience at the NCMH, I was exposed to various cases face-to-face with patients that can be hard to read as compared to the DSM-V. It was challenging but an experience that I would never trade for anything. Lastly, during my industrial setting practicum, I was enlightened on how being a human resource employee, one would need to go beyond the rigidness of the business world and bring forth a level of humanity in dealing with employees and their issues in work or in life affecting their performance. My experience, when read seemed like a fun and fast-paced one but it was far from it.

Although, it was absolutely fulfilling the magnitude of effort and exhaustion were also raised to a degree that I was really challenged to take each day one day at a time. There were a lot of uncertainties along the way, a lot of breakdowns, a series of laughter, and a falling in love with learning.

I felt like an astronaut floating in space, stressing about how to land on the moon, constantly thinking about protocols to be followed to not make any mistakes, and fearing making mistakes–I suddenly stopped. Realizing that I’m right in the middle of what I used to look forward to. Looking upon the real world and soaring, following where my heart leads me. I was lost in the moment in a way that is surreal and monumental.