Externship Overview

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Externship Overview

• By Kathleen Kern

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Skills

• Self Management
• Resourceful
• Self confident
• Relaxed
• Patient
• Supportive
• In order to feel comfortable in the prison
  environment I had to feel relaxed and comfortable
  with myself. I had to show support and patience
  in order to assist the counselor in helping each
  individual inmate with their particular problem
  or to refer them to someone else who would be
  able to help them.

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Skills

• Functional
• Advise individuals
• Imagine possibilities
• Lead with authority
• Think ahead with eye on the present
• Solve day to day problems
• Most of the functional skills work together as a
  team. I learned that often times I had to think
  positively and imagine the possibilities for the
  inmate because they could not see them. They
  were concerned with the immediate problems
  occurring. I learned how to go about
  prioritizing which tasks needed to be completed
  immediately and which ones could wait.

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Skills

• Work Content
• - Therapeutic community curriculum
• Peer accountability groups
• Looking up inmates by number
• Filling out charges for inmates
• Group structure
• All of the above skills were needed to get
  through each day. I learned how to do background
  checks on inmates coming in. I also learned how
  the groups were supposed to be run and how to
  follow the chain of disciplinary action when
  misbehavior occurred among the inmates.

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Reflection of my values and lifestyle

• Values
• Independence
• Helping those in distress
• Opportunity to be a leader
• A job as a therapeutic counselor embodies all of
  my values. I get to work independently, while
  contributing to a larger group. I got to help
  those in distress and exercise my ability to be a
  leader.
• Lifestyle
• Develop my expertise
• Find purpose and meaning in my work
• Learn formally and informally
• Have time for a stable family
• A career in this field seems to cover all of the
  lifestyle qualities that I would like to have in
  the future.

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Career Interests

• -Social Work
• -Probation/ Parole officer
• -Counselor
• -Case worker

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Externship site

• Indian Creek Correctional Facility

The Department of Corrections enhances public
safety by controlling and supervising sentenced
offenders in a humane, cost-efficient manner,
consistent with sound correctional principles and
constitutional standards.
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ICCC information

• ICCC is an intensive long-term institution-based
  treatment program for incarcerated substance
  abusing offenders. It is a medium security,
  dormitory-designed facility. ICCC houses
  involuntary male offenders in six housing units
  including one reception unit. The community
  defines right living as an integral concept
  through role modeling and confrontation of
  unhealthy lifestyles. A hierarchy structure is
  utilized within the community to create
  accountability and responsibility for the inmate
  population. Currently, Indian Creek Correctional
  Center is one of the largest prison-based
  Therapeutic Communities in the nation.
• http//www.vadoc.state.va.us/facilities/eastern/in
  dian-creek/default.shtm

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Reflection

• At Indian Creek, I shadowed a therapeutic
  counselor, an institutional counselor, and a
  clinical supervisor for one of the housing units.
  Overall my experience at the correctional
  facility allowed me to apply what I learn in the
  classroom to the field I hope to work in in the
  future. I learned how to uphold a professional
  client relationship between the inmates and
  myself. I learned more about how the department
  of corrections operates. This externship opened
  my eyes to the daily stresses and rewards that
  come along with a job in the social services
  field.

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Informational Interviews

• Therapeutic Counselor (Mr. Kucher)
• - First job at intercity mission in Syracuse,
  New York
• Previously worked alcohol detox at a hospital
• Prefers group counseling
• Have to balance work well with home life so that
  they dont interfere with one another
• Institutional Counselor (Mr. Myers)
• First job in the field was as a correctional
  officer
• Previously worked as a therapeutic counselor
• Advises that employees in this field need to have
  thick skin and a good sense of humor

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Do I fit in this field?

• I have . . .
• A good sense of humor
• Good listening skills
• Patience
• Firmness
• A good work ethic
• A balance of independent work and teamwork
• Do I have what it takes to be successful in this
  field of study?

YES
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Next Step!!

• I plan to . . .
• Research and apply for internships so that I may
  gain more experience in the field
• - Get certified as a substance abuse counselor
• Graduate undergraduate school and go onto
  graduate school to get a masters degree in the
  field of Social Work

Wish me luck!!