Wednesday, October 26, 2011

What I've Learned So Far

1) What have you learned how to do since you started working on your senior project?
            Since I started working on my senior project, I have learned a lot about the different types of child abuse that there are like physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. I've learned what they are, what are the requirements for these things to be considered "reportable" and some of the things that are done to punish the abuser. I have also learned about the different types of side effects that may come up like children growing up not knowing how to keep a healthy relationship with anyone, like living with guilt and stress disorders. I have also learned about how therapists and psychologists decide what kind of treatment the victim will get. For example, if they are younger children, between the ages of 4 and 13, they will most likely end up in some kind of group therapy. Another thing that I have learned is that to help someone else you first need to help yourself. So, you need to keep working on yourself and helping heal whatever "scars" you may have whenever you can. 


2) Post evidence of this accomplishment.
To me, this picture represents that no matter how much research you do you will find contradicting answers, different definitions, and different ideas. The sticky notes on top of all of those other papers represent that you need to know how to manage your time because you will have lots of therapies, you also need to manage your personal schedule and anything that may come up. The very top sticky note means that therapists have a lot of decision making when it comes to children. You have to decide like whether they get group therapy or they get trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy or treatment (medicine). 


3) What research helped you to do this and how?
            My first interviewee, Ymasumac Maranon-Davis gave me a lot of the details about what therapists do. She have me an inside view on what she does, when she sets up therapies, when she has therapy herself and some of the decisions that she has to had made at one point or another and decisions that she has helped other people make. Another source that has helped me, A LOT, is a book called Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect by Cynthia Crosson-Tower. This book has a lot of information on what child abuse and neglect are, it also talks a lot about different treatments that may or may not be helpful in certain cases. Another thing that it talks about is how people react to abuse and what are some things that the abusers do. This is a really good book and I'm glad that I came across it, but unfortunately I haven't finished it so I don't know what the rest of the book is about, yet!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Independent Component 1 Plan Approval

1) For my independent component, I plan on working with someone I know who is starting a therapy and healing group for teens due to things that happened in their childhoods and I am thinking about helping her with that.

2) I think that this plan will meet the 30 hour minimum requirement because the class is scheduled to be from 6-8pm every Monday, maybe even more. With the classes themselves I get at least two hours per week but then we would still have to make the plans for what is going to happen and that is another two hours roughly. That would be at least four hours weekly, in eight weeks I should be done!

3) My EQ is: what is the best way to treat a child that has been abused? Therapy groups are one way of treating abuse. With this as my independent component, I will see and have a first-hand view on what a group therapy is like and in the end I will know if it works or not.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Defining the Essential Question

1. What is your EQ?
       What is the best way to treat a child that has been abused?

2. Define the words in your EQ to make sure we are on the same page regarding what your EQ means.
         Best: most successful
         Treat: to psychologically deal/work with a patient
         Abused: any form of abuse whether it be emotional, physical, sexual or neglect

3. What are some possible answers to your EQ so far?
         -By letting them talk about what they are feeling in an enclosed environment(one on one)
         -By working with them in a group of children that have all lived the same or similar experiences
         -By helping them join extracurricular activities to get their minds off of the things that had happened to them

4. What has been your most important source and why?  Be specific.  If it is a person, name them and what they do, if it is an article, book or video, name the title and author.   
         I truly believe that as of right now my most important source would be a book called Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect by Cynthia Crosson-Tower. This book has honestly helped me understand many things about child abuse and what it is, it has different statistics about child abuse and it also shows some ways that therapists work with abused children. This book has helped me and I'm more than sure that it will continue to help me.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Second Interview Questions

1. Where did you graduate from? What is your major?

2. What does your major have in relation to what you do here? In your opinion, is your major something necessary to work at a place like this?

3. Did you have any prior experience working or volunteering at a place like this or is this the only experience that you have?

4. How long have you worked here? What kinds of things do you do here?

5. Do you think that you make an impact by working here? If so, why? How?