Anyway, I'm very infuriated with the clinic. Here's why:
1. Our director has skipped town, for a three-week vacation to Hawaii.
2. Our assistant director's contract is up on Friday, August 6th. He's leaving to go on vacation on the 5th. He wants nothing more to do with the place.
3. Our new assistant director has a contract which begins August 23.
4. The professors, who are all actually licensed, are out of town. No seriously, all four of them, within the department? Gone.
5. We are still expected to carry a pager, which clients are allowed to call should they feel suicidal.
6. The chain of command if that happens is this: They call the pager. I answer. I calm them down. I call the counselor (if they can be reached). I then call an assistant director. I also call a director.
It is illegal for us to handle these emergencies since NOT A GOD DAMNED ONE OF US EVEN HAS A MASTER'S DEGREE.
Not to mention the fact that I wanted (And needed ) a break away from the clinic for a while, but I can't have one. Every one else can, but not me.
God forbid anyone else should postpone a trip to the beach for a couple of days so that I can regain some semblance of sanity.
So there's that. The clinic can bite my ass.
We're leaning how to help someone through trauma therapy right now. I observed someone going through recapitulation, which is a very intense period in the healing process during which the survivor tells his/her story with as many details as possible, while processing the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that come up. The client I observed had been molested by her stepfather. She had written a poem, and as she read it, I became almost hysterical.
It was painfully emotional, and I think it would be for anyone. For me, it was beyond my idea of how the world worked. I mean, if someone has experienced the traumas I have, or something similar, like a rape, or an abusive parent, I would understand. And that doesn't make one trauma more or less than another, it's just how I see the world because of how I've experienced it.
To not only know that things like this have happened, but to see and to care about a person they've actually happened to, is a situation that I was not prepared to deal with.
I can't imagine what I would've done had she been my client. But I'm very glad that I'm getting to see this before I have to actually go forth and DO.
As it turns out, there is a joint right near my butt in my back that is out of alignment, which is why I've had so much pain. My doctor had given me Tylenol #3, and it wasn't doing a damn thing for the pain. After yet another venture up north to see the doc yet again, I'm taking Percocet. I'm not in as much pain, and I feel gooood.
I saw a preview for Exorcist IV: The Beginning last night and I almost crapped my pants. Sadly, I think I'm going to have to watch this movie, because if I don't, my nightmares will end up being worse than the reality. I'm such a dork.
That is all for now. I must rest before I return to the clinic.
Again.
Yeah.
Fin.
My apologies and a farewell??? - 2005-10-20
It should be Friday somewhere. - 2005-10-03
It's Friday again! - 2005-10-01
Amendment to previous entry... - 2005-09-26
Longer than I intended. It's to tide you over for another week. - 2005-09-23